My DA. First complaints are in

Well things are progressing but I looked through the objections today.

1# two story and privacy issues.( frosted windows where needed)
2# traffic ( your kidding right CBD people)
3# build over sewer pipe ( council is fine with this)
4# house values ( improve if anything)
5# granny flat. (we all know how NSW feels about them)
blah blah blah

they range from very wrong to just plain crazy.
Basically personal concerns poorly disguised as comunity concern. Good thing is most issues are covered and I should have no hassles.

So does anyone have anything to share inregards to disgruntled neighbours.

I would like to know how much people are affected by these things.
 
Hi Devo76

I had the same situation recently. Pretty much all DA's get them - human nature and fear of the unknown. What I did which I believe helped was to write to all of the complainants a nice letter explaining what I wanted to do and enclosing a copy of the concept drawings and offering to meet with them jointly or individually or speak to them on the phone if they so wished. I also sent a copy to the planning authority for info. This was duly mentioned at the DA meeting with the Authority which they seemed to be approving of in that I was trying to make the whole thing as open as possible. Well, I got the approval on the second go. Not saying it was because of it, but at least people got the true story.:)
 
Also should be noted that although the neighbours may have made these complaints, the council is not bound to agree or act upon them.
In my experience, the issues that always creep up are traffic and privacy. It's a non-issue usually if the proposal complies with the local planning scheme and does'nt exceed density requirements.

Boods
 
When we took a plan to subdivide to a pre-lodgement meeting several years ago, the council planners told us that they approve or decline on the guidelines. If it falls into the guidelines, it is approved and complaints from neighbours do not stop a development.

I know I am trusting and naive and I know rules can be bent. A house was recently removed from the street we have an IP in, one of a row of three queenslanders with a heritage overlay :rolleyes: and two brand new mansions built on the block.

One was also taken from our street (heritage overlay) and a brand new mansion built. I don't mind if rules are bent, as long as they can be made to bend for me if I ever need them :).

We also recently had a neighbour do the wrong thing regarding a fence between their house and our IP. In the negotiating we did, they said that they knew we would be developing this block one day, and that they would need to approve anything we wanted to do. This was their way of asking us for more money.

What they don't know is that on this particular block, we can put perhaps three townhouses plonked right next to their brand new house, but that has to go through the approvals process, or we have an option of dividing our double block into three and building a huge house in the middle, and they have NO right to object.

We also had a neighbour's (very well known in the media) son once tell us that his mother would not object to an extension we were doing IF we signed a letter saying that we would not object to anything he/she may want to do with her house sometime in the future.

This stuff brings out the WORST of some people.
 
Issues and complaints

Hiya

I just bought a house with a granny flat which had been rented before for so many number of years. When i took over, hey presto! council turned up the very next week; neighbour complained that it was an unauthorised dwelling. The council took a few pictures...then got back to me that basically because it had been there for so long, i had "existing rights" however need to rent out as a whole with the main house...

I thought bugger all (pardon the French); got a private certifier in who basically overode (overide??) the local council and got me a state ruling giving me approval for a granny flat! Total cost $1800.

Moral of story: look for solutions.....
 
I think the funniest thing for me is the neighbour opposite.
The main complaint they have is that a new house and smaller block is not keeping with the look of the area. And the granny flat is rented seperate.

Yet these very neighbours had a much bigger block originally. They subdivided and built 4 individual properties. All while living in my granny flat during building years back!!!!!!

Funny how its ok for them but not for me.
 
Funny how its ok for them but not for me.

Yeah!! The neighbours who implied they would withhold their approval on any future subdivision by us if we didn't pay half towards their very expensive fence were only rebuilding the fence due to their own subdivision and new build.

Go figure :D

(And there were three or four objections from immediate and close by neighbours, which obviously didn't stop their approval.)
 
pretend you're department of housing in nsw, then you can plonk a 12unit square brick development on a smallish residential block, in a quiet narrow street with no need to supply parking or have council approval.

actually, the only complaint i've had was a legitimite privacy issue that was resolved with adding a screen to the plans.
 
pretend you're department of housing in nsw, then you can plonk a 12unit square brick development on a smallish residential block, in a quiet narrow street with no need to supply parking or have council approval.

actually, the only complaint i've had was a legitimite privacy issue that was resolved with adding a screen to the plans.

Bahahaha, that's exactly what they have done opposite us. Happening allover the place at the moment. Parking is our biggest issue.........
 
Well things are progressing but I looked through the objections today.

1# two story and privacy issues.( frosted windows where needed)
2# traffic ( your kidding right CBD people)
3# build over sewer pipe ( council is fine with this)
4# house values ( improve if anything)
5# granny flat. (we all know how NSW feels about them)
blah blah blah

they range from very wrong to just plain crazy.
Basically personal concerns poorly disguised as comunity concern. Good thing is most issues are covered and I should have no hassles.

So does anyone have anything to share inregards to disgruntled neighbours.

I would like to know how much people are affected by these things.

are these council objections or neighbouring objections?

1) - two storey has no impact as long as your overshadowing is within tolerance and your clear glazing is above 1650afl.

2) - traffic impact is assessed before an area is rezoned, so this would have been done already as part of the new town structure plan or equiv.

3) - issue is.....?

4) - council are not interested in the fiscal matters of private enterprise. they are only interested in your plans meeting all legislated planning criteria in case of audit.

5) - no idea.

we had a doosie a while ago. some woman saying she has a bad heart and the extra electrical inteference from the neighbouring dwellings would have a negative impact on her pacemaker - it wasn't even recorded on council minutes and dismissed immediately.
 
are these council objections or neighbouring objections?

1) - two storey has no impact as long as your overshadowing is within tolerance and your clear glazing is above 1650afl.

2) - traffic impact is assessed before an area is rezoned, so this would have been done already as part of the new town structure plan or equiv.

3) - issue is.....?

4) - council are not interested in the fiscal matters of private enterprise. they are only interested in your plans meeting all legislated planning criteria in case of audit.

5) - no idea.

we had a doosie a while ago. some woman saying she has a bad heart and the extra electrical inteference from the neighbouring dwellings would have a negative impact on her pacemaker - it wasn't even recorded on council minutes and dismissed immediately.

They are neighbour objections and your right. most are either irrelevent or addressed in the DA. I even raised one window to be sure even though i didnt need too. I see the primary issue being the granny flat.

The argument from neighbours is having 3 rentals from the one block.

My argument is after subdivision i will have a 3 bed house with 1 bed granny flat( not a dual occupency) and a seperate 4 bedder on another title. Local area is currently under stress for cheap accomodation. Plus latest area study states CBD population to double within 30 years DOUBLE:eek:. I think i will be fine with these points in mind.

Another point raised is shadowing over MY GRANNY FLAT. Funny thing is its actually acceptable and i have plenty of room to move it away if needed and this will actually bring the house closer to the most upset neighbour. funny stuff.
 
I feel sorry for you devo. I'm sure that one day I will be doing my very own DA. I bought a property with a DA, so I didn't have to deal with the rubbish. I'm very interested to know the outcome and will use your examples to my best advantage when I do my first DA.

Thanks.
 
A house was recently removed from the street we have an IP in, one of a row of three queenslanders with a heritage overlay :rolleyes: and two brand new mansions built on the block.
Bet the owners of the other two QLDers are rapt; their "character" restriction is removed. :cool: My IP is in a row of four with a character restriction... if either my place of the neighbour's burns down, I can re-develop. :cool: I don't want to at this point, but in 20 years or so I imagine it will be engulfed by the CBD and there would be all sorts of new options open up...
 
We have just done a dual occupancy in ACT. We find, although the neighbours' objections don't really have a bearing in whether your DA is approved or not provided your DA complies with council requirements, it doesn't hurt to send a handwritten note with a copy of your plans to the surrounding neighbours with an invitation to further discuss. Most people fear the unknown and a little consultation goes a long way. You might even find some people are interested because they want to do the same thing.
 
The complaints process is simply to give the community a feeling that they have some input into what happens around them. We all know that in reality there is bugger all we can do to stop a development unless it is unlawful or in serious breach of development requirements for the area.

The only other way a member of the public can get a voice is to get a champion on the council or if a larger development the assesment commitee (now Joint Regional Planning Panel - JRPP in NSW). I was involved in lodging a large development through work which had to go to a local planning panel. Athough the development complied with the relevant codes and council requirements a member of the panel did not like the facade. This concern was upheld and added substantial cost to the development both in re-design and construction.

If you want to gather support for your development do so before submitting the DA. If you have spent time and money submitting a compliant DA then the neighbours can go whistle dixie. Don't waste another moment concerning yourself about the application, if the objections have any validity Council will either ask you to provide additional information or the matter will be addressed in the DA Conditions.

Regards

Andrew
 
Council has responded with a couple of concerns while disregarding the petty complaints. We have answers for the all issues and ways we can rectify/change items as necassary. In a nutshell there are no big costs involved and nothing fatal to the development. we will see over the next few weeks.
 
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