Shuttered out

Thanks Whale and Austman much appreciated the input … am still waiting on OC to respond to my DA request –

Austman – it’s interesting that a DA was accepted by the Council without the OC Seal ….It is the case in NSW as well that you have a distinction between a DA and a building permit however on approaching the duty Town Planner at this Council they indicated that a Seal was required before accepting submission of the DA I might revisit this based on your experience.

Whale to answer your question our individual OC has an overarching Community Management Executive (CME) and Plan that it must adhere to ..after ten years approx the CME have decided to change the procedures with respect to screen enclosures ( why no one knows ) and now require a DA to Council. 

In regards to the Architectural and Landscape Standards they are an annexure of the Community Management Plan as administered by the CME.The issue is they are not consistently applied throughout the estate – eg pot plants !

In frustration i have removed our bright coloured umbrella and replaced it with a white blind which is held up to our pergola by string ..as a temporary measure again I was emailed by the strata manager telling me I must remove this immediately as it requires permission from the OC.

My own research notes that Section 5 – Damage to Common Property that you cannot deface, mark, screw nail etc onto common property but this does not preclude an owner installing a screen to protect children from harm — it is my understanding that as the temporary shade fits with the colour scheme of the A & L standards, is not damaging common property and is required for UV protection then it is OK while i await further advice re our Shutters.

And yes Whale this is the type of nonsense that scares people away from Strata Schemes – for me our OC has lot all credibility and given the circumstances am under no allusion that this matter will have to be resolved by an adjudicator at some point , pity is that there actions has damaged irretrievably my previous strong sense of community.

Hi Whale 

You’re a quite right it is up to Council however in our case for reasons that no one can understand the CME made representations to Council basically requesting them to support their position which would require a DA for minor impact works such as screen enclosures.What will be interesting is how Council and the CME deal with the hundreds of lots who have pre existing shutters/blinds without Council approval.

Thanks for the well wishes Whale have very much appreciated your input 

Kind Regards 

Tony 

Thanks OverIT I actually did call planning and they indeed do have an exemption for screen enclosures but only for single or 2 level residential dwellings NOT multi storey apartments which is our situation.

Neeedless to say matters have reached an all time low of late !

Last Saturday whilst standing on our balcony ‘clapping away’ some pesky indian minors buzzing our cat we were confronted by our neighbour who started screaming and threatening at me from his balcony telling me that the temporary blind I erected was a provocation and that i should remove it immediately and that i should get rid of my cat etc etc etc and after a 20 min rant concluded by saying repeatedly that ” i should be careful provoking people as I would get what i asked for  ” – my response was that i didn’t have time to listen to his nonsense and walked away not wishing to engage in a verbal stoush across balconies.

Tonight the same fellow followed me and stopped his car beside me as i walked to my front door then reversed and drove into the basement car park .

I am now on edge even walking to my letterbox not knowing what might await me .

Is this a matter for the police or the OC ?

Gees Tony, why didn’t you take my earlier advice (post #34) and place this whole saga in the hands of an experienced Strata Lawyer, who I’m sure could issue a letter to your Executive Committee Secretary that would put those bureaucratic bullies and their mates in the Community Assoc. in their place, and see your plans consented to without any more of this nonsense!

In direct response to your latest queries, the Common Seal of the O/C can be placed on any document in any of three (3) ways (the most common first):

1. By, or in the presence of, the Secretary and any other Member of the E/C; OR
2. By, or in the presence of, any two owners to whom the the O/C has delegated that task at a General Meeting; OR
3. By the Strata Manager if that authority has been delegated to them in the Strata Management Agency Agreement that they hold with the O/C and provided they’d derive no benefit from the document upon which the Seal is placed.

Were I in your shoes, I’d step away from all this and brief the Lawyers and suitably delegate them before going away ….and I’ll bet that everything would be sorted by the time you return.