By KATH GANNAWAY
CHUM Creek land-owner Mick Saul says he just wants to build a house on the block he has had for more than a decade.
His three year battle for a planning permit will come to a head at Yarra Ranges Council’s next meeting, Tuesday 27 August, when the sticking point, a bushfire management overlay (BMO), will be put to the test.
Mr Saul said it could well be a test case for hundreds of Yarra Ranges residents whose properties come under the overlays, which were brought in after the 2009 bushfires, and for thousands more in other bushfire-prone municipalities across Victoria.
Some residents, he said, may not even know they are affected by it until they apply for a permit to build, or in some cases to renovate.
“What people don’t realise is that the BMO is not just on bush blocks.
Councillor Fiona McAllister has also voiced her concern, saying new BMO maps were about to be approved by the State Government which could have even more dire consequences for land-owners in country areas.
“They’re not just talking rural blocks in Chum Creek and Don Valley, but entire towns like Healesville, she said.
“There are no provisions for people to try to comply by putting in a bunker, or other solutions – there should be a range of solutions,” she said.
Mr Saul’s cleared block is surrounded by houses, built before 2009, and many of them are surrounded by bush.
His application is for a two-storey house.
“I’ve had the slab down for 10 years and have already had two planning permits for two-storey houses passed,” he said.
He said those permits lapsed and the situation started to spiral when he applied in 2009 – about the same time as the Wildfire Management Overlay was overtaken by the BMO.
Mr Saul claims the council is putting unrealistic and unachievable conditions on building on blocks.
“Effectively they are saying that nobody can build next to a vacant block that is classified as having no assurance that it will be maintained for life,” he said.
“I have a vacant block next to me, but the owner wants to build on it himself and is in the same boat with my block.”
“Nobody, a neighbour, DSE or Parks Victoria, is going to write a letter guaranteeing that they will maintain a block for life, it’s an impossible expectation.”
Mr Saul said he will be arguing that Yarra Ranges Council’s interpretation of the BMO is unreasonable and he and others have mounted a campaign to make people aware of the potential impact.
“We want to bring this out into the open and are hoping we can get as many people to the meeting as possible to hear about what it means, to hear what the council’s interpretation is, and to put pressure on the council to get it changed,” he said.
Mr Saul has been told the matter will come up before councillors at the 27 August meeting at Lilydale starting at the new time of 7pm.
