Page 5571 - Week 13 - Thursday, 17 November 2011
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there is a problem with the conduct of the building work. For example, a neighbour could contact a licensed builder if they feel that the building work is commencing too early in the morning or if there is an excessive amount of dust.
The sign in this circumstance will also permit emergency services staff to quickly find and identify the site when they are responding to an emergency call and make phone contact with the licensed builder or building certifier if necessary. These are benefits which address community concerns about lack of accessible information and lack of contact points that I referred to earlier. While of less significance, it is also worth noting that licensed builders will be able to include their company logo on the sign and so contribute to their public profile.
There are important exemptions to the requirement to display a sign. A sign need not be displayed if the building work must be carried out urgently to prevent a risk of death or injury to a person, serious harm to the environment or significant damage to property. This allows necessary building work to commence without delay. For certain specified types of development the sign must be put up before the building work starts. This requirement applies to building work that is a DA exempt single dwelling, a DA exempt large garage and a DA exempt demolition of a single dwelling or large garage.
New section 30C, in the Building (General) Regulation, provides that the sign must be displayed for seven consecutive days, in a two-month period, before commencing work. This sign will, in effect, provide advance notice to neighbours about the types of exempt developments proposed. Because this type of development is exempt from needing development approval, and as such no DA notification is required, the sign will be the first notice to a neighbour ahead of work actually commencing on the site.
The display of a sign will provide information that will allay some of the concerns that neighbours have when building work seems to commence “unexpectedly”. The building sign will therefore benefit the community by providing information about the type of development proposed and who to contact if they wish to discuss the development. An important part of this initiative will involve ensuring industry is aware of and has time to become familiar with the new regulatory requirements. The Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate will develop an industry information package for all licensed builders and peak organisations. As a result, these new requirements are not likely to be commencing until early 2012.
Another important part of this package of amendments relates to the pre-DA community consultation process. The pre-DA community consultation is consultation undertaken by the developer before an application for development approval is made. It is separate to, and not part of, the development application assessment process where a neighbour is notified about a proposal and can make a representation on the proposal. Pre-DA consultation provides an interactive opportunity for the developer to engage with the community during the concept phase of the project before the development application is lodged.
The amendments in PABLAB No 2 deliver on the government’s commitment to bring forward a model for community consultation that balances the rights of the lessee to undertake development that is consistent with the planning laws while maintaining the
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