PROPERTY developers have been put on notice by Frankston Council that breaches of planning permit conditions will no longer be tolerated.
A council audit of developments after a statement of compliance had been issued found more than 97 per cent were effectively “non-compliant”.
A statement of compliance is issued by council to ensure all conditions of a planning permit for a subdivision or multi-unit development are met.
At last month’s council meeting Cr Darrel Taylor said some developers get a planning permit then build without meeting the permit’s conditions.
“If a developer or applicant wishes to change or amend the conditions on a permit while being under construction they can make an application – like some respectable developers do – to amend the permit as it is. Not just continue construction and build it and leave it,” he said.
“Late last year I asked for an audit on a property in Yuille St and that came back with no less than 12 breaches of their planning provisions including landscaping, windows missing, stairs that were not meant to be, front pillars double the size they were meant to be. The building is a … monolithic monstrosity.”
Council officers have not been following up to check “out in the field” whether planning permits conditions have been met.
Independent building surveyors can carry out this work in Victoria since the formation of the Building Commission in 1994 as part of Kennett state government reforms of councils’ responsibilities.
Councillors voted to ensure 100 per cent of all property developments requiring a statement of compliance be audited for a 12-month trial period ending in January next year.
“We should have been following this up for years and we haven’t been,” Cr Colin Hampton said.
Cr Brian Cunial agreed.
“It is absolute common sense … I don’t know why we [council] have not been doing this for a long time,” he said.
Cr Glenn Aitken believed developers’ behaviour would change for the better “in six months after everyone has been targeted”.
“I think it is quite appropriate that if council is spending time with all our departments screening these applications [without] enforcing it then there’s no point in doing it. We may as well have ‘Rafferty’s rules’ out there.”
Cr James Dooley was the sole councillor to urge caution.
“We are telling people Frankston is open for business … something like this could unintentionally financially destroy a builder,” he said.
First published in the Frankston Times
