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Cape Town
South Africa
South Africa
Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Noise Nuisances By-law, 2007
- Published in Western Cape Provincial Gazette no. 6469 on 28 September 2007
- Assented to on 30 May 2007
- Commenced on 28 September 2007
- [This is the version of this document from 14 February 2022 and includes any amendments published up to 13 May 2022.]
- [Amended by Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Noise Nuisances: Amendment on 14 February 2022]
Preamble
WHEREAS the City of Cape Town ("the City") may make and administer by-laws for the effective administration of such matters as the control of public nuisances, municipal roads, public places, traffic and parking;AND WHEREAS aggressive, threatening, abusive or obstructive behaviour of persons in public is unacceptable to the City;AND NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED by the Council of the City of Cape Town, as follows:—1. Definitions
In this By-law, unless the context indicates otherwise—"authorised official” means an employee of the City responsible for carrying out a duty or function or exercising any power in terms of this By-Law and includes any employee delegated to carry out or exercise the duty, function or power;[definition of "authorised official" inserted by section 1(a) of the Amendment By-law, 2021]"beg" means any request made by a person for an immediate donation of money or some other thing of value or otherwise. This definition does not include passively standing or sitting with a sign or other indication that one is seeking donations without addressing any solicitation to any specific person other than in response to an enquiry;"City" means the City of Cape Town, a municipality established by the City of Cape Town Establishment Notice No. 479 of 22 September 2000 issued in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act 117 of 1998), as amended, or any structure or employee of the City of Cape Town acting in terms of a delegated or sub-delegated authority thereof or any duly authorised agent;"collection" means the door-to-door collection of money or some other thing of value in terms of written permission obtained from the City;"heavy motor vehicle" includes a truck, light truck, bus, horse-and-trailer, caravan, or any other like vehicle wherein it is possible to have persons residing, sleeping or committing any unlawful act or conduct;"kerb line" means the boundary between the shoulder and the verge or, in the absence of a shoulder, the part between the edge of the roadway and the verge;"informal settlement" means an area without formal services and with informal housing; Includes a settlement for residential purposes or a township for which no approval has been granted in terms of any law, or a township other than a formalised township as defined in section 1 of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act, 1991 (Act No. 112 of 1991), and any land which has been designated as land for a less formal settlement in terms of section 3(1) of the Less Formal Township Establishment Act, 1991 (Act No. 113 of 1991);"motor vehicle" means any self-propelled vehicle and includes—(a)a trailer; and(b)a vehicle having pedals and an engine or an electric motor as an integral part thereof or attached thereto and which is designed or adapted to be propelled by means of such pedals, engine or motor, or both such pedals and engine or motor, but does not include—(i)any vehicle propelled by electrical power derived from storage batteries and which is controlled by a pedestrian; or(ii)any vehicle with a mass not exceeding 230 kilograms and specially designed and constructed, and not merely adapted, for the use of any person suffering from some physical defect or disability and used solely by such person;"obstruction" in relation to a road, means any motor vehicle or any other thing which blocks or is likely to block traffic flow; "overnight" means the period from 20h00 in the evening to 06h00 in the morning;"parking and related services" means parking services, car cleaning services, car washing services, car security services, windscreen washing services and any other similar services;"peace officer" [definition of "peace officer" deleted by section 1(b) of the Amendment By-law, 2021]"public parking space" means any space in a public place designated by the City for the parking of a motor vehicle;"public place" means—(a)a public road;(b)any parking area, square, park, recreation ground, sports ground, sanitary lane, open space, beach, shopping centre on municipal land, unused or vacant municipal land or cemetery which has—(i)in connection with any subdivision or layout of land into erven, lots or plots, been provided, reserved or set apart for use by the public or the owners or occupiers of such erven, lots or plots, whether or not it is shown on a general plan, plan of subdivision or diagram;(ii)at any time been dedicated to the public;(iii)been used without interruption by the public for a period of at least thirty years expiring after 31 December 1959; or(iv)at any time been declared or rendered as such by the City or other competent authority; or(c)a public transportation motor vehicle,(d)but will not include public land that has been leased or otherwise alienated by the City;"public road" means any road, street or thoroughfare or any other place (whether a thoroughfare or not) which is commonly used by the public or any section thereof or to which the public or any section thereof has a right of access, and includes—(a)the verge of any such road, street or thoroughfare;(b)any bridge, ferry or drift traversed by any such road, street or thoroughfare; and(c)any other work or object forming part of or connected with or belonging to such road, street or thoroughfare;"public transportation motor vehicle" includes any train, bus, minibus or motor vehicle travelling on land, water or in the air, conveying members of the public at a fee;"roadway" means that portion of a road, street or thoroughfare improved, constructed or intended for vehicular traffic which is between the edges of the roadway;"shelter" means any structure that provides privacy or cover, that has one or more sides enclosed;"shoulder" means that portion of a road, street or thoroughfare between the edge of the roadway and the kerb line;"sidewalk" means that portion of a verge intended for the exclusive use of pedestrians;"street entertainer" means a person who mimes, plays a musical instruments for entertainment or engages in other performing or visual arts;"vehicle" means a device designed or adapted mainly to travel on wheels or crawler tracks and includes such a device which is connected with a draw-bar to a breakdown vehicle and is used as part of the towing equipment of a breakdown vehicle to support any axle or all the axles of a motor vehicle which is being salvaged other than such a device which moves solely on rails; and"verge" means that portion of a road, street or thoroughfare, including the sidewalk, which is not the roadway or the shoulder.2. Prohibited behaviour
3. Noise nuisance
No person shall in a public place—(a)cause or permit to be caused a disturbance by shouting, screaming or making any other loud or persistent noise or sound, including amplified noise or sound; or(b)permit noise from a private residence or business to be audible in a public place, except for the purposes of loudspeaker announcements for public meetings or due to the actions of street entertainers.4. Street and door-to-door collections
No person shall collect or attempt to collect money in a public place, or organise or in any way assist in the organization of such collection, except with the written permission of the City and otherwise than in accordance with such conditions as may be determined by the City, which shall not disbar any person or organisation from collecting money from door-to-door.5. Parking and related services
6. Prohibitions relating to motor vehicles
7. Objects causing an obstruction
No person, other than a authorised official or other official or person acting in terms of the law shall—(a)deposit, pack, unpack or leave any goods or articles in a public place, or cause any goods or articles to be deposited, packed, unpacked or left in a public place, other than for a reasonable period during the course of the loading, off-loading or removal of such goods or articles; or(b)in any way obstruct the pedestrian traffic on a sidewalk by bringing or allowing to be brought thereon any object or motor vehicle.[section 7 amended by section 1(b) of the Amendment By-law, 2021]8. Trees causing an interference or obstruction
9. Trees in streets
10. Goods, building materials, motor vehicle wrecks, dangerous objects
No person shall—(a)without the prior written permission of the City or otherwise than in accordance with any conditions determined by the City when granting such written permission—(i)leave, store, pack or unpack goods or cause or permit goods to be left, stored, packed or unpacked, or accumulate or cause to be accumulated in any public place or balcony or verandah erected beyond the boundary of a public road any building materials, motor vehicle wrecks, spare parts of motor vehicles, building, waste materials or scaffolding; or(ii)bore or cut stone, slake or sift lime, or mix building materials in any public place; or(b)leave or accumulate or cause to be left or accumulated in any public place, or permit to be placed in any public place from premises owned or occupied by him or her, any broken glass or other potentially dangerous object; or(c)transport or cause or permit to be transported building materials, mixed or unmixed, on a public road in such a way as to damage the road.11. Excavations in streets
12. Poison in streets and conveyance of animal carcasses and other waste
13. Prohibition of certain activities in connection with objects
No person shall in a public place—(a)including on a balcony or verandah erected beyond the boundary line of a public road, wash, clean or dry any object, including any clothing, except in an area designated by the City for that purpose;(b)effect any repairs to a motor vehicle or boat, except where necessary for the purpose of removing such motor vehicle from the place where it was involved in an accident or has a breakdown unless it is in a designated taxi rank or unless—(i)the motor vehicle or boat is in a designated taxi rank;(ii)the motor vehicle or boat is owned by a person resident on premises immediately adjacent to a public road and such work is carried out by a person so resident, but not where a motor workshop is run for commercial purposes; or(iii)the City has granted its prior permission in writing thereto, except where—(aa)it has been carried on for a longer period than is, in the opinion of the City reasonably necessary for the completion thereof; or(bb)it is, or the manner in which it is being carried out is, offensive or objectionable; or(c)wash or clean a motor vehicle, except—(i)in an area designated by the City for that purpose; or(ii)where the owner of the motor vehicle has no alternative or cannot do so on their private property:Provided that this shall not be permissible in a public parking area.14. Drying of washing on fences on boundaries
No person shall dry or spread washing, bedding or other items in a public place or on a fence on the boundary of a public road except where conditions in an informal settlement are such that it is not possible to do otherwise.15. Prohibition upon skating, rollerskating and dangerous acts
No person shall—(a)on a public road skate on roller-skates or a skate-board or similar device except where permitted by the City;(b)in a public place do anything which may endanger the life or safety of any person or animal, including—(i)to shoot with a bow and arrow or catapult, or throw a stone, stick or other projectile in, onto or across a public road;(ii)without the prior written permission of the City or otherwise than in accordance with any conditions determined by the City when granting such written permission or in contravention of any other applicable by-law, to use explosives or discharge fireworks;(iii)except for a lawful purpose to discharge any firearm or air, gas or alarm gun or pistol unless—(aa)the firearm or air, gas or alarm gun or pistol in question is discharged in any shooting range which complies with the provisions of any law applicable thereto; or(bb)the firearm or air, gas or alarm gun or pistol in question is discharged for signaling the start of a race at an organised and controlled sports meeting, provided that blank cartridges only are fired thereby; or(cc)the firearm or air, gas or alarm gun or pistol, or fireworks in question is discharged for a purpose and at a time and place approved in writing by the City.16. Control of goods offered for sale
(a)The City may, after consideration and consultation and implementing the necessary enabling licensing system, designate public places, public roads or road intersections where no person shall, display or offer for sale any goods or produce except as may be prescribed by the City, provided this will not apply to the selling of newspapers at intersections or to the sale of goods by non-governmental organisations or developmental organisations which may apply for exemption for all their traders.(b)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the City may issue licenses for the sale of goods and produce and in so doing, the City may limit the number of permits for an area and stipulate such conditions as it may from time to time prescribe.17. Bridges and crossings over gutters and sidewalks
No private crossing, pathway, bridge or culvert shall be made or built to or in front of any dwelling or other premises in any public place—(a)except with the written permission of the City; and(b)otherwise than in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the City.18. Control of amusement shows and devices
19. Sleeping or residing in motor vehicles prohibited
No person shall, in a public place—(a)sleep in a stationary motor vehicle except in dire emergency (or where such a person is the driver of a public transportation motor vehicle or is guarding the motor vehicle) or in a designated rest area; or(b)reside in a motor vehicle for longer than twenty-four hours.20. Display of street numbers
21. Exemptions
22. The city may act and recover costs
22A. Enforcement powers
23. Offences and penalties
24. Repeal of existing by-laws
25. Short title
History of this By-law
-
14 February 2022 this version
-
28 September 2007
Published in Western Cape Provincial Gazette no. 6469By-law commences.Read this version -
30 May 2007
Assented to by council.
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