By Brendan Rees
Councils across the state have backed a Casey Council push calling for better controls to deal with the “horrendous problem” of derelict and dilapidated buildings.
Casey Mayor Amanda Stapledon, who presented the motion to the Municipal Association of Victoria State Council meeting on Friday 17 May, said penalty notices issued to owners under community local law often did “little to enforce compliance.”
Doubling penalty notices, temporarily confiscating properties, and undertaking remedial work with all costs passed on to owners, are among the tighter controls council is seeking.
Penalties would continue to double on every occasion the re-offending occurs on the same property.
“It is a source of frustration for us when we have buildings that are dilapidated within our municipality that are being held for redevelopment,” Cr Stapledon said.
“By raising this motion, we are hoping to find a way of making it a disincentive for these circumstances to arise in the future.”
It comes after the old Hampton Park Food Market sat derelict for years and labelled “Melbourne worst” before being bulldozed recently.
Currently council’s only legal avenue to act against the owner of the commercial premises is issuing a $2,000 fine for unsightly premises.
Cr Stapledon said: “Our inability to force the owner to undertake works to resolve safety and amenity issues (as expected by our community) has since prompted council to seek these amendments to the current legislation.”
“We are suggesting that the penalties available under the Local Government Act, which range from a few hundred dollars up to a maximum of $2,000, warrant review.”
