Safety for our community and environment has to come first

Published on 25 September 2020

The aim of Council’s 15 month moratorium on unauthorised dwellings is to work with the community to ensure all housing structures in the Byron Shire are safe, compliant and formally documented.

“This is not a new approach – compliance has been a priority for Council for more than 10 years,” Byron Shire Mayor Simon Richardson said.

“Our motivation is simply to try and ensure all dwellings lived in by our community are safe and allowable – and we’re taking a thorough and fair, Shire-wide approach to achieve this, not an ad hoc one,” he said.

The moratorium is supported by Council’s existing Enforcement Policy; a Policy first adopted by Council in 2011. The Enforcement Policy refers to Council’s annual Compliance Priorities Program which allocates Council’s regulatory responsibilities and functions into Very High, High, Medium and Routine categories.

Council resolved at the 27 February 2020 Ordinary Meeting to adopt its 2020 Compliance Priorities Program. The Program recognises that unapproved dwellings are a ‘High Priority’ while those unapproved dwellings that place people’s lives at immediate risk or that are likely to cause a significant risk of environmental harm or pollution are a ‘Very High Priority’.

Council’s draft Unauthorised Dwellings Policy which is currently on exhibition until 21 October, builds on the existing Enforcement Policy, outlining planning pathways for unauthorised dwellings in the Byron Shire.

“We would love to finish with a result at the end of this process in September 2021 that means solutions have been reached for all our residents – and that people can continue living in their houses safely - that is our hope,” Mayor Richardson said.

“This initiative came about after representatives of the Main Arm Residents Association (MARA) informed Council about some houses on land subject to a disputed DA near Main Arm as being non-compliant, in danger from bushfire and unsafe.

“This information led to a Resolution of Council to ensure that staff didn’t only investigate the Main Arm illegal dwellings raised by MARA and promoted in the Echo in articles by Aslan Shand, but to develop a way to apply a fair, thorough and reasonable process to help resolve issues with illegal dwellings across the Shire.

“That’s how the moratorium initiative came about, underpinned by the need we now have to keep residents safe from the reality of bushfires reaching our hinterland areas.

“Those of us who packed Mullum Hall last year to learn more about the encroaching bushfires, got a greater understanding of why dwellings have to be known to our firies and why this is now a necessity to save people’s properties and potentially their lives,” Mayor Richardson said.

Main Arm was chosen as the first area to be investigated as it has high environmental values and is close to possible bush fire threats. Other communities along and down from the Caldera ridgelines, such as Goonengery, Huonbrook and Wanganui will be next to be investigated, for the same reasons.

“The method we used was firstly looking at aerial imagery, both recent and historic and then, identifying structures on land not authorised, previously assessed or documented,” Mayor Richardson said. 

“Due to age - not papers being destroyed in fire or flood as some have thought - some single dwellings on parcels of land in the Main Arm area are not on our files and Council may not have any records of planning approval.

“For those owners, staff will come out to you, ground-truth the building with you and only require a simple statutory declaration.  There are no charges to residents in this case,” he said.

“We acknowledge that the wording in our letter to residents was too dry and allowed for fear and concern to build as a result, and for that and for any unwanted worry we apologise.

“In addition to working with those with single dwellings without the paperwork, we will work with other residents with more buildings identified on their properties than they have approval for, with a request to come and meet with staff to ground-truth the buildings’ purposes and, hopefully, create a path forward for them to become safe and compliant,” Mayor Richardson said.

Council has spoken to around 25 landowners so far in relation to letters sent to some Main Arm residents and to landowners in other parts of the Shire with old or outstanding notices or orders.

“There has been a good response from residents who’ve received letters and we’re working with those keen to work with us on the process,” Mayor Richardson said.

Letters have been sent to some property owners in Main Arm and there will be subsequent mail outs to landowners at:

Detailed information about Council’s moratorium on unauthorised dwellings is available on Council’s website.

For media enquiries contact Annie Lewis, Media and Communications Coordinator, on 6626 7320.

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