My how time flies when you’re having fun! Yep, 12 September 2020 will be here before you know it and this time around there may be something more to consider. By the time you read this, Council will have resolved whether or not to hold a referendum in conjunction with the upcoming Council elections. (more…)
The QPR Blog
…local government stuff you never even thought to ask about…
More on Rates
Following on from the previous post on rating categories, the definition of rural residential land that is provided in the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act), the explicit size requirement in particular, provides a bit of a problem in the present context. (more…)
Rating Categories
In my previous post, we took a look at a couple of specific, current issues relating to the rating system. For those less familiar with the system in general, I thought it might help to step back a little and provide some broader context. (more…)
Rating Season
Rarely are residents’ interests in council activities piqued as consistently as they are with the issue of the annual rates notices. This year has been no exception and with the recent release of the report from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) on their review of the NSW rating system it seemed like an entirely appropriate subject for discussion. (more…)
Flood Planning
This may seem a somewhat irrelevant subject for those of us living in the hills around the ACT, where there’s a far greater risk of bushfire than flood, but it’s been a relatively quiet month on the Council front and little else worthy of discussion has surfaced, if you’ll pardon the pun. Flood planning also involves a raft (there we go again) of acronyms that might benefit from some explanation. (more…)
Signage
Coincidently, I’ve had two calls recently from people who have ‘bumped up against’ council’s signage regulations. The two situations were quite different, but the problematic regulation was effectively the same. (more…)
Building Uses
Following in the general vein of my previous couple of posts, from time to time I am presented with situations that arise through misunderstandings in relation to what uses a structure may be put. I touched on this subject some years back when discussing ‘Change of Use’, and it relates to the whole issue of permissible and ancillary land uses. (more…)
Permissible Land Uses
Well, I did say that the subject of ancillary land uses could become confusing at times. Based on some of the feedback I received in relation to my last post, it was no exception, so let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture of permissible land uses.
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Ancillary Land Uses
I made a sideways reference to this subject in the previous post. While discussion on the subject can become confusing, the fact is that often it is not so much the nature of a particular land use but the relationship of that land use to other uses practiced on the same land that determines whether or not it might be an ancillary use. (more…)
Earthworks Revisited
While I touched on this subject some years ago (Earthworks and More on Earthworks), in going back to check what I’d written then, I was a little surprised to find that it was actually seven years ago. Nonetheless, the following are some more general comments than the specific examples I have discussed previously. (more…)