Council issues

[Wurzell]

I am trying to apply for a carport/shed to the Brisbane Council and there is a bio diversity envelope on my land. Has anyone had experience of handling this issue.
Information from the BCC seems like gobbledegook and nothing is written in plain English Every application adds extra cost and complexity can someone help me through this, step by step or at least help explain the procedure
Wurzell

[tonzeyd]

Hi Wurzell,

Every council is different with their rulings and the best thing for you to do is give them a call if you haven't already. Explain what you're trying to do and they'll tell you which applications you'll need to fill out/pay for. Unfortunately with council approvals you generally have to follow the bouncing ball otherwise you risk some hefty penalties.

In regards to biodiversity are you planning on removing any established trees? this is generally what will stop you getting approval, if the spot youre planning on putting the shed in is clear and the shed/carport is not a small warehouse then chances are the application process is generally quite simple.

[cava]

Information from the BCC seems like gobbledegook and nothing is written in plain English Every application adds extra cost and complexity can someone help me through this, step by step or at least help explain the procedure
Wurzell

The procedure is very simple:

They are God and you are dirt.

You will bow down to 'their' rules (which are generally the opposite of the law) and pay for the privilege, or they will use their $450 million insurance fund to persecute (and also prosecute) you to the fullest - simple really. DAMHIK

[dazzler]

With councils the best thing is to go and meet the appropriate planner at council.

Show them what you want to do and ask can you do it. Most will help you and the process is generally faster.

There are so many different acts and regulations it is difficult to easily know what you need to do and sometimes the planners have to do a bit of research.

On another note....

I worked as a manager with a local council and the staff are representative of the community. Some you love, some you can take or leave and some you wouldn’t feed.

Treat them how you would like to be treated and generally it will be reciprocated.




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[damian]

What Dazzler said, with a couple of caveats.

Start by asking for a meeting. Go in with your property details and a clean plan of what you want to do. Assume the person you are talking to is a reasonable person and be prepared to consider changes they ask for. Approach them as you would want to be approached. Be well prepared.

If they start to look unreasonable then tell them as little as you can, pull out and go see a private town planner. Start thinking of a way to make it their problem. For example a friend (here in brissy) wanted to remove a tee. Nope, no way. Ok then you will be happy to put that denial in writing ? so when the termite infested tree falls on someone's head you will be responsible ? They backpedaled so fast they could have won gold! Tree gone, no problems. When I built my shed it was all fine until I ran the downpipes. They wanted them pointing over the edge of the dirt bast we'd just built to sit it on. Would have eroded terribly. I had them pointed toward the house, which is 15' away with a steep fall between. Nope. Ok, so I called my councilor and we had a 3 way meeting. Guess where my downpipes have been pointing for the last 20 years...

You only resort to this is they are being unreasonable. Make sure it's not you that's the unreasonable one As Dazzler says they are humans and variable. You have a decent chance of meeting someone good and sorting it.

Good luck. If you want to discuss details email me...

[truckjohn]

The truth here is that most of these local "biodiversity" initiatives are to stop General Contractors and shopping centers from scraping an entire section of land clear before they start a job. The stores are perfectly happy to pave all the paradise they can find... It's a lot more work to plan around leaving unneeded pieces of the property undisturbed. Often times - those contractors idea of "habitat" and "Diversity" was to use 2 different brands of cheap contractor grass seed to poorly seed waste sections at the end... If landscaping is required they would add a few tiny fast growing exotic invasive shrubs... Can anybody say Autumn Olive everywhere.

So... 1st off - go there in person and speak with whoever the planner is.. Explain what you want to do... It will really help if you have at minimim a good measured sketch listing "biodiversity" items such as trees, forest, swamps, and swales...

It also helps if you list staging areas and how large the area to be cleared and or backfilled will be.

If you aren't going to bother any of this stuff - just want to pour a slab and build your garage away from all this stuff it's probably not going to be too bad..

If you have to scrape 2 acres and cut down all sorts of endangered trees filled with the nests of endangered birds - it will probably be more difficult...

[Wurzell]

Thanks for all the replies

[Xanthorrhoeas]

What they all said - but with a caveat (paragraph below). Are you building the shed yourself? If so then talk to a BCC planner (they advertise they are open to that). If it is looking tricky then a private certifier will often do it for you - one of my neighbours on an industrial property here in Brisbane got a private certifier (in Darwin, didn't even travel down to see) to certify a totally structurally inadequate rock wall! One of the problems with BCC is that they tend to be desk jockeys - they changed the zoning on my parents' property to be "conservation" - without realising that when my parents bought it it was a vegetable farm and all the "original vegetation that had to be preserved" had been planted by my parents a long time ago, but as a garden (mixed natives and exotics) not as pure bushland.

The caveat:

If you are using a commercial firm to build the shed they usually have contacts that can smooth the way - let them do the work.