I mentioned a few weeks back that a municipal policeman told me to remove my dog from Catfish beach where I have been walking every day for 16 years, “as there had been complaints”.
I obeyed but resolved to find out what the law says.
When I asked the municipality for clarification, they replied rather bluntly that dogs were not allowed on beaches. Well, that is not entirely correct.
They sent me Chapter 25 of the bylaws that deals with public amenities, defined as “any land, square, camping site, swimming bath, public resort, recreation site, nature reserve, zoological, botanical or other garden, park or hiking trail . . .” – but not a mention of beaches – and then the bylaw goes on to state that “No person shall bring any live animal, fish, bird or poultry into a public amenity except in accordance with the directions of the municipality.”
Most importantly, if the municipality intends to restrict one or other activity at a public amenity, it must display a “clear and legible official notice drawn up by a municipality in the official languages used in the area . . . and displayed at every entrance to or at a conspicuous place at or on a public amenity.”
I thought to get an expert opinion on the matter.
So, I asked attorney Andy Horton, a man well versed in municipal law having served as councillor and mayor of the old Dolphin Coast municipality and legal adviser to iLembe District Municipality.
Andy replied: “I have carefully perused the Public Amenities bylaw and I am in total agreement that the bylaw, as framed, does not deal with the issue of beaches whatsoever.
If you have recourse to the definition clause, as well as the other clauses later on in the bylaw relating to the use by the public of any public amenity it makes it clear in my mind that beaches are not dealt with in this particular bylaw.”
Perhaps, he suggested, beaches fell under another bylaw? No, said KDM, Chapter 25 was it.
I then visited every beach along KDM’s long coastline to establish for myself what signs were on display.
The results are:
NO DOGS ALLOWED: Ballito tidal pool area, Clarke Bay, Thompson’s Bay, Chaka’s Rock, Salt Rock main beach, Tinley Manor tidal pool and main beach and Zinkwazi main beach.
DOGS ALLOWED ON LEASHES: Salmon Bay and Zimbali, Ballito promenade and Blythedale Beach.
NO SIGNS: Zimbali, Catfish, Sheffield and the southern beaches of Tinley Manor and Zinkwazi. There are also long stretches of beach between Sheffield and the Tugela which border farmland and, being without restriction, are well loved by dog owners and fishermen.
So, aside from those where no restrictions apply as there are no notices, dog owners are grateful for the at least 3 official “dog friendly” beach areas where they can exercise their pets.
On a final note: where rules are signposted, they are selectively applied.
The notices at Ballito tidal pool and Salt Rock main beach, for example, order No Littering, No Dogs, No Drinking, No Fires.
Right. Every local will tell you how much attention is paid to those, or ever enforced. Nobody would argue with a quiet toot on the beach after a busy day, but the drunkenness and large-scale litter is the problem.
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I may be an exception, but I have little to argue with about the new municipal valuations of my own residential properties. Commercial values have increased a lot by comparison, but it’s hard to argue that Ballito hasn’t seen considerable increases in that regard over the past 5 years.
What does irritate me is that the owner of the property directly in front of me in Chaka’s Rock (the CEO of one of the Big 5 banks) knocked down his opgeboggered beach shack about 5 years ago and built a huge, double-storeyed mansion with hot and cold running bedrooms, verandahs and double garages that stole most of my sea view.
What really hurts is that the CEO’s beachfront mansion is valued at nearly half of mine.
How irritating is that!
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