To Inform or not???

[JCM]

Hi all,

I am currently going through the Town Planning process to get a DA approval for a 4 unit site in the Eastern Suburbs Melbourne. Council will soon be sending out letters to the immediate neighbours informing them of the proposed development and also place an advert on the site of the proposed development.
I have always been in two minds, as to which will put the neighbours minds most at ease. Either to hear from Council first, or by me pre-empting and informing them first about who I am and what I am proposing, and the steps I have taken to make sure the development is inkeeping with the overall neighbourhood character etc.

I feel that by me keeping the neighbours informed of my intentions, it may bring them some relief and comfort knowing that I am not a careless developer doing whatever I have to, to make a profit.
Then again, sometimes it is best to keep the information to a minimal as it may cause the opposite reaction to what was intended?

Regards
John

 

[thepeoplesagent]

John, I think hearing it from your mouth is better than a letter from council.

 

[Change of Plan]

Hi John,

If you have a relationship with the neighbours I would say definitely speak to them. If you don't know the neighbours, as long as you go at it softly I can't see that it would hurt. Just be aware that they may not be comfortable saying anything to you, so they may indicate they are OK and then put in an objection anyway - human nature.

Good luck with it,

 

[tobe]

being one of the 'neighbours' informed by council letter, while the neighbours were on holidays, until after the timeframe to object, Id suggest poping over and speaking to them.

For us, it was a complete pain in the ar$e. Neighbours wanted to extend out back, and build to the boundary. we had no problem with that, just wanted to confirm our tree roots wouldnt impact their footings. No end of trouble, arbourists, council by laws officers, misunderstandings, kids shunned, malicious gossip, 'heritage tree listing'.

Awful stuff. In the end their planner misjudged the slope of the land, and the height exceeded limits (tools). Went to VCAT with the building inspector at fault.
Complete and utter nightmare which could easily have been avoided over a shared beverage in the front yard.

 

[JCM]

Great Feedback guys!

I tend to agree with all. One never knows how a neighbour is going to react, and it may be best to kill the monster while it is small, but notifying them in person early on. This will give an insight as to whether they will be accepting of the development or try and challenge you at a later stage.

John

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

We've just been through this late last year. Much better to talk to the neighbours about what you're doing long before your plans ever go to council.

We also had the architect and the neighbours around to walk through the plans and discuss the various impact of what we're doing and the ideas behind it. The result was only minimal objections (one which we're easily able to accommodate and the other is completely groundless).

Dispute this, the council rejected the application for numerous other reasons, but this was anticipated. As expected we'll spend some time in VCAT this year where we do expect it to get through.

It'll be worth it.

 

[Aaron_C]

Depends on your strategy. Go for the max without informing them for max effect and conditioning, then slip in a lower proposal with more consultation. Bang.

 

[westminster]

2 schools of thought

1. Human Apathy: you allow Council to send out the letters and they have to actually object. Some people can't be bothered or never get around to it. Council approve as no one objected

2. Human Intervention: relevant if you are going to live there or they are your current neighbours. They are more likely to see your side of it if they know you and you have to live with each other afterwards

I am a big fan of #1. Especially if your development is vanilla but still needs neighborhood consultation.

With the Gwelup DA the neighbours had all sorts of objections but many of them were unactionable objections - the Council did not care that the development was going to make their water feature look uncentered! As I don't live there and they don't know me from a bar of soap I don't want to get involved in their petty grievances.