By Renee Wood
Yarra Ranges Councillors have approved an alternate motion to provide a Certificate of Compliance for Existing Use Rights for a Motor Vehicle Repair Workshop, Vehicle Store and Trade Supplies for a business in Woori Yallock.
Council officers first recommended in the agenda that the certificate should be refused due to the site at 1490 Warburton Highway, Woori Yallock being in a green wedge zone.
Annabel Paul from AP Planning spoke on behalf of the applicant and urged councillors to not agree to the first recommendation of refusal.
Ms Paul stated that the site had been used vehicle related purposes since 1972 and the past 15 years it has been used for motor repair, store and trade supplies.
“Council has not requested that the use cease over all this time and if it didn’t have existing use rights, then the question would be why hasn’t it,” she said.
Two statutory declarations also accompanied the application to give evidence of the sites usage over the past decades however, the council officers noted in the agenda this was not enough evidence.
Ms Paul reiterated that statutory declarations hold a lot of legal weight and should be highly regarded in the application.
“Bill Presbury has made a statutory declaration that the site has been used for various vehicle related services including car repairs, petrol station and sales and parts since 1972 and it continues to be used albeit it has been on a fairly restricted basis recently and that’s primarily due to Covid.”
After Ms Paul spoke, Mayor Jim Child put forward an alternate motion to approve the certificate.
“I’m very familiar with it over the last 50 years,” he said.
“It has supported family proprieties, providing jobs and services to the community for 50 years. Coming out of Covid we need this type of land use to continue giving jobs service and prosperity to the community.”
Mayor Child also rejected the claim made by the officers regarding the statutory declarations being not enough evidence.
“They are very serious documents to make a false declaration is a $110,000 fine and five years in Jail.”
Councillor Tim Heenan seconded the alternate motion and it saw a unanimous vote for the approval of the certificate.
