How would you change the local laws?

Yarra Ranges Council is calling on residents to have their say about local laws in the area, and how they can be improved or updated.

Residents can visit yrc.vic.gov.au/locallaws or visit a public drop in session to learn more about Council’s current local laws and have their say about what they’d like to see change.

Yarra Ranges Mayor, Tony Stevenson, said local laws help council to protect the look and feel of the Yarra Ranges, and promote a safe and healthy environment.

“The local law impacts a lot of things we do in Yarra Ranges, from keeping animals, advertising signage, overhanging vegetation and the way we use our nature strips, through to roadside trading and unsightly land,” Cr Stevenson said.

“We review our local laws every 5-10 years to ensure they remain relevant to the changing needs of our municipality and represent the community as a whole.

“This is a chance for you to provide feedback on what local laws you think may need reforming, to accommodate new trends and expectations in the community.”

The General Provisions Local Law Review began in October 2017, but was postponed following an overwhelming response to the Open Air Burning Local Law.

The Open Air Burning Local Law was reviewed and updated independently in 2018.

“This doesn’t mean your initial feedback has gone to waste – we’ll still be using it to inform our review, but if you’d like to give us more feedback, we’d love to hear from you,” Cr Stevenson said.

“To add some food for your thought, anyone having their say will go into the draw to win one of our Yarra Valley food hampers.”

The top ten local laws requests made to Council over the 2013-17 period were:

Following the consultation period closing, Council will develop a community impact statement, describing which laws are included in the next draft local laws document and why they are there.

The community will be able to comment on this document and the draft laws at this stage, with the final laws to be formally adopted later this year.

Council will approach any changes to its local laws within the State Government’s legal framework for reviewing, amending and making local laws.

The consultation on the Local Laws Review will close on Sunday, 26 May, 2019.

For more information and for drop-in dates, visit yrc.vic.gov.au/locallaws