capeocc@ourcapelife.org
Cape Chatter
I hope you have taken the opportunity to absorb David Hartney’s wisdom, stimulate your awareness and knowledge through his monthly Cape Chatter. David’s thoughtful musings about the wildlife around our home here at Cape has given us a great insight into how precious and beautiful our home is.
Photos credit: David Hartney
Residents’ Social Gathering
There will be a social get together for residents of The Cape on Saturday 12 July from 4pm – 6pm at the display home (2 Trumpeter St). BYO drinks and nibbles. This will be a great opportunity to meet and welcome new residents.
Wildlife Rescue Training – follow up
Per our last newsletter, wildlife do need people looking out for them and it is encouraging to see many residents posting and calling Wildlife Victoria (WV) over concerns about their welfare.
However, we need more residents who are willing to volunteer and be trained through Wildlife Victoria.
Please reach out to the OCC if you are interested and we can provide further information and sponsor your paid training.
I can assure you it can be very rewarding and at times challenging but there is plenty of support available.
AGM
Another reminder that this year we are planning to hold the AGM of the Owners’ Corporation on Friday 18 July at 4pm at the Cape Paterson SLSC.
If there are any matters you think need discussing in this forum, please discuss with the committee as soon as possible.
Seeking committee volunteers
As with every AGM, we will be re-electing the volunteer committee (Owners Corporation Committee – ‘OCC’). We always like to get new blood on the committee as longer-serving members stand aside. We encourage people to consider volunteering. The work isn’t glamorous, but it is crucial behind-the-scene governance activities that help underpin the smooth and harmonious operation of our community.
How we work. The committee meets for a couple of hours every month or so at the home of one of the committee members. There are also day-to-day things that come up and dealt with by the OCC. Typical matters dealt with by the OCC include:
- liaising with our OC management firm;
- liaising with the developer and maintenance crew;
- liaising with the committee of the Cape Community Farm;
- liaising with Council and CPRRA;
- complaints and disputes;
- planning of common-property maintenance and shared facilities;
- communicating with our community.
So, please reach out to the OCC via email if you are interested in participating in the committee in the future.
Fireguard training
The CFA will be running fireguard training for residents again this year. This aims to help residents learn how to help prepare and protect their homes and community against fire. The training will be run over five nights. The dates are yet to be set, but it is expected to be in August or September. The training will be free.
If you would like to attend, please contact Tad Hendry on 0419005857.
Masterclass on Nature Journaling at the Farm
The Cape Community Farm is running a masterclass in Nature journaling on 21 June. Bookings essential. See here for more details.
Nature journaling is a practice that’s been around for centuries. It combines art and mindfulness while being immersed in nature and is for anyone who would like to deepen their relationship with both nature and self. You do not have to be an artist to be able to enjoy this.
Vegetation management
Working group
An important part of the work of the OCC is considering how the common property should be maintained going forward. A big part of that relates to management of vegetation. And much of the work of the maintenance team relates to dealing with trees and weeds.
The OCC is seeking input from outside the committee for people who might want to participate in a working group helping us come up with guidelines about how we manage vegetation on our verges and common property.
If you’re interested in participating, please reach out the OCC.
Weed policy
We thought it would be timely to re-state the OCC’s thinking and long-standing general approach to weed management and the use of herbicides. The approach is to minimise the use of herbicides wherever possible. Weed control across The Cape is a significant challenge due to the large scale of the site and the history of weedy pasture species like kikuyu, couch grass, boneseed and blackberry. Left unchecked, these can quickly choke out native plantings, create tripping or fire hazards, and compromise the look and safety of our shared landscape.
The immediate vicinity of the playground has been identified as a no-spray area. Elsewhere on our common property, we engage landscape contractors who are qualified, experienced in ecological landscape maintenance, and apply herbicide minimally and carefully—only when necessary, and always in line with safety protocols. In more established areas like Seaward Drive, herbicide use has already reduced to very low levels, and this trend will continue as the landscape matures.
In response to community concerns over time, the maintenance team have trialed alternative weed control methods such as hand-weeding, steam weeding, and non-glyphosate herbicides. Unfortunately, these options proved either unsafe (especially near roads), ineffective on deep-rooted weeds, or prohibitively expensive—potentially adding greatly to maintenance costs if implemented broadly.
The maintenance team only sprays weeds, so if none are present there will be no need for the use of herbicide. Where residents have a personal preference for their verge or adjacent common property to be excluded from herbicide use, then they will need to keep these space free of weeds to avoid the use of spray by the maintenance team.
Lot 27 update
The OCC wanted to update the community about the situation with the unsightly and prominent signs painted on both north and south sides of 6 Periwinkle Place by the non-resident lot owner.
This delicate matter has been on-going since October 2024. The committee has tried repeatedly to work with the lot owner in question to achieve a negotiated removal of the signs. Unfortunately, we have not been successful. So, the matter has recently reached the point of a formal breach. The dispute resolution process now has to take its course.
Where appropriate, the OCC will keep lot owners informed. In any case, we wanted to assure the community that the matter is slowly taking its course.
Regular social events
- Men’s breakfast is the fourth Friday of the month at 8am, at the Cape Corner Store;
- Women’s catch up is the second Friday of the month at 9:45 am, at Zeal & Flow.
- Sunset Sippers. Every Thursday evening the Cape Paterson Surf Club is open from about 4pm. This is open to the public, not just surf club members. Drinks and light meals available.
Our Cape Life 