Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 20, 2018 12:54 am Hi and many thanks in advance for your help. Neighbour got approval for reno which was a complete rebuild except for side and rear walls. Side wall (our northern boundary) was only 900mm setback at 2nd storey (council DCP requires 1500mm setback for new build), so that’s the main reason the side wall was going to be kept. Then 2 weeks into the demo and boom - the whole house has been demolished. Only thing left is a garage at front of property (see photos). Owner says it’s because engineer told them footings weren’t sufficient for planned build. So my question - do they now have the right to just rebuild the 900mm setback, 2 storey wall in the same place as before, even after knocking down the whole house? Or should they now have to comply with the minimum 1500mm setbacks? Reason we ask is that they are planning a new 3rd storey as well (shouldn’t even be permitted in our area), and it’s on our northern side, so any increase in setbacks would help our solar access. Many thanks Natedawg Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 2Aug 20, 2018 2:09 am A) So you are saying they advertised as a 2 storey build and then are now building 3, And advertised a renovation, maintaining a couple of walls that would not meet new town planning requirements and now are doing a complete new build? I haven’t heard of this but may be some ‘clever’ way of getting through council town planning. Town planning and building teams at council tend to work separately and not communicate. This developer may also have a town planner who knows how to play the game or being cynical may have council contacts who made this suggestion. 2. Really depends on your council area and zoning what’s permitted re: number of storeys. Are all 3 storeys above ground or is one a basement carpark? If your area is not zoned for 3 above ground storeys did they go to VCAT for approval against council? Usually there is notice to neighbors from VCAT if this is the case. How has the council explained this to you? An extra storey causing additional overshadowing on my north would not be something I’d be happy with. 3. You might be best to call the council and ask to speak to or meet with the town planner that approved. Many things get approved as secondary consent and don’t get advertised. A 3rd storey if your area is not zoned for this and due to overshadowing changes is unlikely to be one of them. If they didn’t advertise a 3rd storey, I think you may be able to take to VCAT, but I would act very quickly since build has started. Do any of your other neighbors object to a 3rd storey as changes character of area etc? That can give your argument more weight with council and VCAT. -DELWP provides statutory and strategic guidance about planning in Victoria. Vic Planning general enquiries: 1300 366 356 Hopefully they can answer your question re: planning. Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 3Aug 20, 2018 7:18 am Thanks for advice - just to clarify, the 3rd storey is in the approved plans, I didn’t mean to confuse. They haven’t done anything wrong with that. The issue I’m looking for advice on is purely the fact they’ve knocked down the entire house when the approved plans have them retaining walls that have setbacks that exceed the council planning rules. I believe them re the reason they’ve knocked the walls down - My question is: given that they’ve had to knock these walls down, and the old house is completely gone - can they still rebuild walls where the old ones were, as these are far closer to our boundary than what the council rules normally allow? Thanks Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 4Aug 20, 2018 9:47 am I am doing a knockdown rebuild. The old house setback was further forward that allowed under existing guidelines. I was told the the location of the old house was irrelevant - I had to follow the current guidelines for the new house. i couldn't just build where the old house was. I put in a submission to get approval for reduced setback to build in the same place. But maybe it varies by council?? Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 5Aug 20, 2018 10:11 am Fück this mobile website sucks! Not for the first time the auto refresh had wiped my long-winded post. So I'll just say, that I've seen quite a few similar builds here. Where a small proportion of the existing structure is kept. So it is now classified as an "alteration & addition", not a new build. I assume it's so that current regulations don't have to be followed - one horrible mansion now overshadows an apartment block, & probably effects 6 families, bastards! So firstly, how badly will this effect you? Do you have north facing living areas which will now be overshadowed. If so, I'd definitely fight this, as it will greatly effect your comfort & will also increase your heating costs. You may have caught a break, now that the existing structure has been removed. Maybe now they have to follow current building regulations for setbacks, overshadowing etc. a 3 storey house, built 900mm from the boundary will be horrible, a 2 storey house 1500mm for the boundary, not quite so bad. So I'd be off to council ASAP! Maybe engage a private town planner etc, or whatever is the best process - apologies, I'm no expert. I'd definitely be rocking the boat if this will greatly effect your home. Your neighbour has shown you little regard, by trying to get around current regulations. If you do already have a relationship, it may be worth talking to them, as they may not have considered what effect building closer to the boundary will have on you . But if you home is poorly orientated, & your northern aspect is mainly wetrooms or bedrooms, you may not want to push quite so hard, as it will probably effect your relationship with your future neighbour. Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 6Aug 20, 2018 10:56 am Thanks guys - update following call with council: They say that this potentially invalidates the original approval and I should notify private certifier who will be obligated to issue a stop work order. They would then need to reapply to council for a new DA. This would obviously be a nightmare for neighbours so I won’t do this lightly - will bring to their attention first. Thanks for replies and agree with auto refresh issue I lost my original post as well! Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 7Aug 20, 2018 12:09 pm brokenstick I am doing a knockdown rebuild. The old house setback was further forward that allowed under existing guidelines. I was told the the location of the old house was irrelevant - I had to follow the current guidelines for the new house. i couldn't just build where the old house was. I put in a submission to get approval for reduced setback to build in the same place. But maybe it varies by council?? I was told similar - keep the old house front wall as knocking it down means we’d have to go with new regs. Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 8Aug 20, 2018 2:34 pm I tried the nice neighbour thing when they put in their initial DA! Explained the impact on us, asked them to consider amending - they just ignored us, so got us nowhere. Ok looks like there is consensus, many thanks guys for your help Re: Neighbour “reno” knocked down - now a Newbuild? 9Aug 20, 2018 9:38 pm Great you were able to get onto council quickly. Hope you can make time to act quickly before too much work progresses. Work can be halted by relevant authorities while reviews take place. Don’t prioritize being nice neighbor. Your neighbor was within planning regs with initial design. He’s played the game by ‘keeping walls’ on initial plans and now using engineering as ‘need’ to completely knock down. If he’s demolished the walls he has likely invalidated. You are just using the current planning regs to have plans reviewed. Overshadowing your yard will also have an impact on your property. You are doing nothing wrong. The planning rules exist for a reason. - aesthetics - impact on neighbors etc Your ‘neighbor’ may also be developing to sell. Good luck. 9 24789 This is one of the reasons I decided to go overseas for my double glazed windows. As the builder indicated, he's worked on many upmarket builds, these were the most well… 13 19233 2 15462 |