A Guide to living on the Estate

INTRODUCTION

Croydon Olive Estate has been designed to offer an up-market well managed residential estate and protecting your

interests and giving you an elegant and quality living experience is the developer’s highest priority. This has been

done by creating a financial and operating structure designed to ensure that the Estate develops and operates within

the framework laid down at conception. Various structures and agreements are in place to cover these aspects and

ensure that the rights and obligations are clear.

The Guide to Living on the Estate is your summary of these arrangements and it will assist you in understanding the

Home Owners Association documentation.

TO THE PROPERTY OWNER: THE CONTENTS OF THE RESIDENTS’ DISK

This disk contains the following documents;

1. The Guide to Living on the Estate;

2. The Constitution of the Croydon Olive Estate Home Owners Association;

3. The Architectural and Landscape Design Manual;

4. The Home Owners Association Conduct Rules;

5. The pro forma Agreement of Sale (for use in the sale of your property along with an information schedulethat is relevant to the sale);

6. Your stand diagram (required by your architect and builder);

7. The Lifestyle Centre Rules

8. The Estate Agents’ Code of Conduct

9. The Builders’ Code of Conduct

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CROYDON OLIVE ESTATE

HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION

All owners of residential erven in the Estate are required as a condition of title to be members of the Association.

The owner of the property automatically becomes a member on registration of transfer. If the property is owned by

a Trust or a company, then that entity becomes the member and an individual nominated by that corporate entity

represents the owner.

The Association is established as condition of approval and its main function is to operate the Estate which is a

private township. In essence this means controlling the architecture and security, owning and maintaining the open

spaces and services, owning the Lifestyle Centre and olive production facility and the olive groves and creating

Codes of Conduct for the facilities and controlling building operations. It is therefore the body that has to ensure

that conditions of sub division are complied with including those relating to the environmental integrity of the Estate.

Your attention is drawn to the fact that a shared services agreement exists between the Croydon Olive Estate Home

Owners Association and the Croydon Vineyard Estate Home Owners Association. These relate to certain reciprocal

relationships that govern irrigation water use and storage, the shared access road into both Estates, the electrified

fence between the two Estates and the wireless internet system for communications located in the Croydon Vineyard

Estate gatehouse. This agreement does not contain any onerous conditions and it exists to regularise the sharing in a

formal manner.

The members are represented by seven Trustees. During the development period, five of the Trustees are

representatives of the developer, and the remaining two are nominated by the developer and elected by members at

the AGM.

Clause 20 of the Constitution sets out the powers of the Trustees in detail.

The financial year end of the Association is 30 June and Annual General Meetings of the Association will be held

within three months of the financial year end. All members are entitled to attend these meetings, and they will have

one vote for each property registered in their name.

THE DEVELOPMENT PERIOD

The Development Period is the period during which properties on the Estate are being sold and improved. For

practical reasons, most of the functions of the Association are contracted out to suitable specialists during this

Development Period. Once the Development Period is over, the Association can either continue with these

arrangements or make different ones.

The developer protects home owners by meeting any shortfall in operating revenue during this phase. When the

Development Period is over, the Association is guaranteed that its assets will exceed its liabilities. The Development

Period may last for a minimum of five years from the date of the registration of the first transfer from the developer,

or until the last property is transferred and a dwelling erected on it – which may be longer than five years. In other

words, the developer may decide after five years whether it is necessary to extend the Development Period.

LEVIES

The Association has the right to charge monthly levies in advance to members (excluding the developer who

subsidises a financial shortfall) and they are required to complete monthly debit orders in favour of the Association.

The levies are used to cover the operating costs of the Estate (including the costs associated with procuring the

allocation of olives and olive oil) and Lifestyle Centre and this will be set out annually in budgets submitted at the

AGM of the Association. The levies are set at a reasonable and realistic level to cover actual costs.

THE OLIVE CELLAR AND LIFESTYLE CENTRE

The Olive Cellar and Lifestyle Centre and olive groves are owned by the Home Owners Association, and the

Association is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the olive groves. A separate enterprise called Croydon

Olive Company has been formed to operate the facilities as a business and it leases the olive cellar from the

Association. Any surplus revenue accrues to the olive enterprise and ultimately its shareholders. The olive enterprise

will have its own staff engaged in olive and olive oil production or it will contract out the function to another party.

All owners and residents are automatically social members of the Lifestyle Centre and they are entitled to use the

facilities subject to a Code of Conduct which sets out the rules for its use subject to availability. Members are

required to complete an application form as a formality. This can be done by visiting the Lifestyle Centre.

Each owner is entitled to an allocation of 500mg of olives and 500 ml of olive oil each month provided that the

production can sustain this allocation. This allocation is included in the levies.

ARCHITECTURAL AND LANDSCAPING CONTROLS

Croydon Olive Estate has been planned around a cohesive and appropriate aesthetic that will form part of a working

olive farm and olive produce cellar. The development has been carefully designed so that the architecture and

landscaping of the residential component harmonizes with the character of the cellar and olive groves.

The Architectural and Landscaping Design Manual sets out these architectural controls for the Estate as well as the

type of landscaping that will be required and permitted. The local authority will not approve house plans unless the

Association (which enforces these controls) has approved the plans first. Make sure that your architect is provided

with a copy of the manual as a point of departure.

Croydon Olive Estate is designed like a smaller Cape village, where a hierarchy of avenues and lanes characterize

the layout. The layout alludes to this village or ‘dorp’ structure by having a Main Avenue from which smaller Lanes

branch off. The architecture reflects this hierarchy; with the Main Avenue houses being built close to the street edge

thus creating a more central town feel. The Lanes have greater road setbacks with a more rural ambience. This is

because choice is a good feature of town space, because the choice is not between one thing or another, but far more

interestingly, it is about variety of choice. Your opportunity to interact creates a living quality to the village.

One of the basic considerations of the houses will be to make it possible to enjoy privacy. At the same time a house

will be set into a living street where people and play and interact, and enjoy life in a social space, like taking a stroll

down the Avenue. The sense of quality is created by defining the feel of the public avenue, with trees and walk ways,

that are combined with the more private elements such as verandahs, low garden walls, stairs and raised patios. To

enhance the rural village feel, the roads will mimic beaten earth tracks, and will be finished in exposed aggregate

earth-toned pavers, with detailed insets in focal areas.

The scale, proportion and simplicity of these villages are the characteristics that Croydon Olive Estate envisages.

These buildings portray an elegance and simplicity that is typical of an era of living and the Estate attempts to create

this in a tranquil setting for a modern society.

Thus the dwellings should be contextually sensitive, and to this end it is vitally important that the owners and their

architects buy into the vision for Croydon Olive Estate, and work together and support the principals of the

guidelines to create an environment that is of a high standard that is visually harmonious.

Note that specific restrictions relate to Erven 1602 to 1604; 1619 to 1621; 1626 to 1628; 1643 to 1647; 1651 to

1653; 1670 to 1672; 1673 to 1675; 1719 to 1726; 1728 to 1733; 1767 to 1768; 1798 to 1799; 1807 to 1809;

1811 to 1813; 1828 to 1830 Croydon, so as to control the specific urban and architectural conditions.

Refer to section 7 of the manual for information on the plan submission and approval process and ensure that your

architect is aware of these requirements. Note that a scrutiny fee is payable with the submission of the plans to the

Association.

CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES

The delivery of housing in the Estate is controlled in two ways. Firstly via the architectural design manual referred to

above, and also through a Builder’s Code of Conduct that sets out the conditions under which the Association

requires contractors to operate in the Estate. In essence the code regulates issues such as activities on the individual

building site, deliveries, times of operation and security. They are designed to minimise the disruption to the Estate

during the construction period and to control the visual intrusion of building operations. There are certain costs

associated with this code which include a monthly builder’s levy, and fines for violation of the code.

Your builder should be made aware of this code and the owner and builder are required to enter into an agreement

with the Association before construction commences.

Construction of a house must occur within three years of the first transfer from the developer and be completed

within 12 months of construction having commenced. This is to ensure that the Estate is completed within a

reasonable period. Penalties will be levied by the Association for buildings that are not completed in time, as well as

for cases where the building period has lapsed. These are as follows:

• Owners that have not started building within the first three year period are required to pay double Home

Owners Association levy. Once construction has commenced the Association levy returns to normal and

construction still has to be complete within 12 months (the monthly builder’s levy is still paid during

construction) ;

• If construction takes longer than 12 months, a triple Home Owners’ Association levy will be applied. Once

the completion certificate has been issued by the Home Owners Association the normal home owners

association levy will apply (the monthly builder’s levy is still paid during construction)

SECURITY

The Estate has been secured through four levels of security namely: an electrified perimeter fence, access control at

the entrances, and responses on site to individual house alarms and random patrols. The Association has contracted

this function out to a security firm, and the costs of this are recovered in the levy. Members are asked to respect and

cooperate with the Estate security personnel and to install burglar alarms that are linked to the Gatehouse. Home

owners should contact the Association to make arrangements for this.

SALES OF PROPERTY

Owners are allowed to use an estate agent of their choosing provided that the agent has been accredited by the

Association. This is to make sure that agents are familiar with the conditions of sale and title, the operational

structures of the Estate and with the procedures for selling property. Agents will be required to sign an agreement to

this effect with the Association. If you are re-selling your property you are required to use the agreement of sale

included in this disk and agents will be made aware of this when they are accredited.

OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (OEMP)

The OEMP is a complex plan which is a requirement from the Department of Environmental Affairs Development

Planning and for applications for development. It has legal force and effect and all activities on the Estate, including

capital development, agriculture, olive and olive oil production, housing construction and landscaping are influenced

by this plan.

The Estate is noted by its environmental credentials, and a great deal of effort and expense has gone into making

sure that the OEMP works successfully. Individual home owners will be personally affected by this plan in two ways,

namely through the construction of the housing and through the landscaping for their gardens. These requirements

are captured in the Builders’ Code of Conduct and in the Architectural and Landscaping Design Manual and

incorporated into the farm operations.

THE SIGNATURE ESTATES CLUB

The developer has established the Signature Estates Club, to which all owners of Croydon Olive Estate are

members. There are various benefits to this club.

Firstly, owners are assured that the Estate has been developed in accordance with certain development criteria which

establish the integrity of the development and meet purchasers’ expectations. The developer makes the assurance

that the utmost care has been taken in certain important areas:

• The development application has been undertaken in a professional and honest manner with the highest standards

of transparency, integrity and disclosure, and the developer has retained the services of the best qualified

professionals in every discipline;

• The capital financial structure for the project is completely secure and financial guarantees are in place to complete

the project in the manner represented to purchasers and future home owners;

• The social and natural environment has been closely examined to ensure the use of the best possible development

option for the property and undertakings relating to social upliftment and environmental management are being

met;

• The operating structure and finances of the operating entity will be realistic and reasonable and the developer

guarantees that the operations will be solvent and sustainable after the development period is over;

Secondly, the Signature Estates Club is a unique social club, with membership extended to only purchasers of

properties in Estates that are accredited to the Club. The social component has as its main objective the promotion

of social activities and events for the resident members and their guests. Regular events will be staged on each Estate

for home owners to ensure that they have the chance to mingle and socialise with their community. Functions will be

staged at certain times of the year such as during the harvest so that residents are able to participate in events as

much as they like.

Members will also be given preferential investment access to opportunities in future Estates as well as preferential

access to surplus produce from the other Signature Estates. The Club will also negotiate reciprocal relationships with

home owner associations on other Signature Estates when there are suitable opportunities.