From: John Fewster
Bet ya never seen a question like this before!
Help! Ive got a big problem with the local council.
One of my i.p's is a river front holiday home on the Murray, one hour out of Adelaide. Lousy yeild but has provided way above average capital growth.(purchased for 92K- now worth 200k after 7 yrs- not bad for an Adelaide I.P.) Very very limited supply but heaps of demand. Its proven to be my best investment by far (out of 3 i.p's). There is a small (100 ft wide) strip of "freehold council reserve" along the waters edge (typical for the area) which for the last 7 years has not caused any problems.Then my neighbour got out there with a shovel and built a boat ramp - in front of my property! How nice of him!
When I complained to him he said - its public reserve- you can't stop me! Needless to say, I dont like him anymore! I complained to council and my letter was tabled at the 'reserves committee meeting" but was totally dismissed. They didnt care about the problems it would cause me, or the damage to the river bank, or the fact that its illegal and unregistered, or in breach of the water resources act,or has "native title" issues etc etc. They stuck their head in the sand by voting to "monitor it" for now. What didnt help was the fact that the councilor who shot me down in flames owns most of the vacant land across the road and could possibly benefit from using this "new" boat ramp as a future selling point for his land (there is vehicular access to the reserve). He started his speech by portraying ME as the 'badie". How dare I try and stop what is obviously a benefit to the local community (i.e. him). Do I think I own the place or something?
The local council seems to be made up of self interested local farm boys, all mates and mostly over 60 yrs old.They hate the "townies", as they call them.These are the same people who recently approved the "Nildottie spud farm" along with the six huge water pipes that ruined the beautiful cliff face- Adelaide people would know what I'm on about here- it made the papers.)
Can someone with a bit of experience in dealing with difficult councils provide me with some direction as to how I should go about fighting the issue.
How can I educate myself about council procedures?
Are there any books on the subject?
Should I see the local minister?
Do councils normally have a right of appeal and how successful would this be?(if the same people are running it I dont think it would be successful at all!)
The Crown Lands dept and the Dept. of Environment tell me its a council problem. But council wont help!
Ive asked if there is a management plan for the reserve but they wont tell me. Im fairly sure there is not. And here in lies the problem. No rule book means they can make it up as they go along. Council seems to hold all the cards and i dont have any knowledge about council matters.
This boat ramp has the potential to seriously de-value my investment, especially if it becomes widely known.There are two other "proper" boat ramps in town but this new one is closer for locals that have a four wheel drive. I need to nip this problem in the bud A.S.A.P. Please help!
Bet ya never seen a question like this before!
Help! Ive got a big problem with the local council.
One of my i.p's is a river front holiday home on the Murray, one hour out of Adelaide. Lousy yeild but has provided way above average capital growth.(purchased for 92K- now worth 200k after 7 yrs- not bad for an Adelaide I.P.) Very very limited supply but heaps of demand. Its proven to be my best investment by far (out of 3 i.p's). There is a small (100 ft wide) strip of "freehold council reserve" along the waters edge (typical for the area) which for the last 7 years has not caused any problems.Then my neighbour got out there with a shovel and built a boat ramp - in front of my property! How nice of him!
When I complained to him he said - its public reserve- you can't stop me! Needless to say, I dont like him anymore! I complained to council and my letter was tabled at the 'reserves committee meeting" but was totally dismissed. They didnt care about the problems it would cause me, or the damage to the river bank, or the fact that its illegal and unregistered, or in breach of the water resources act,or has "native title" issues etc etc. They stuck their head in the sand by voting to "monitor it" for now. What didnt help was the fact that the councilor who shot me down in flames owns most of the vacant land across the road and could possibly benefit from using this "new" boat ramp as a future selling point for his land (there is vehicular access to the reserve). He started his speech by portraying ME as the 'badie". How dare I try and stop what is obviously a benefit to the local community (i.e. him). Do I think I own the place or something?
The local council seems to be made up of self interested local farm boys, all mates and mostly over 60 yrs old.They hate the "townies", as they call them.These are the same people who recently approved the "Nildottie spud farm" along with the six huge water pipes that ruined the beautiful cliff face- Adelaide people would know what I'm on about here- it made the papers.)
Can someone with a bit of experience in dealing with difficult councils provide me with some direction as to how I should go about fighting the issue.
How can I educate myself about council procedures?
Are there any books on the subject?
Should I see the local minister?
Do councils normally have a right of appeal and how successful would this be?(if the same people are running it I dont think it would be successful at all!)
The Crown Lands dept and the Dept. of Environment tell me its a council problem. But council wont help!
Ive asked if there is a management plan for the reserve but they wont tell me. Im fairly sure there is not. And here in lies the problem. No rule book means they can make it up as they go along. Council seems to hold all the cards and i dont have any knowledge about council matters.
This boat ramp has the potential to seriously de-value my investment, especially if it becomes widely known.There are two other "proper" boat ramps in town but this new one is closer for locals that have a four wheel drive. I need to nip this problem in the bud A.S.A.P. Please help!
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