Gerald Lynch
Hume council has made its decision on the approval of a controversial dwelling on 70 Sunset Boulevard, Jacana.
Concerned residents flocked to the council chamber to voice their opinions on April 29, causing council to delay the decision to its May 13 meeting, where it was decided the development plan would not be approved.
A resident of Sunset Boulevard, Carmine Cilia, said the seven bedroom, double-storey dwelling wouldn’t fit the area due to the streets already being overcrowded with cars.
“Parking is a nightmare … the units across from us have three cars parking in the street and there are multiple cars from Bannister street parking here as well,” she said.
She said it is already hard to get out of her own driveway, and adding a seven-bedroom property to an already crowded street would make life more difficult for all.
Further, she said adding a two-storey property would cause her to feel her privacy is being invaded.
“We already have units surrounding us that look in our backyard and windows when we have lights on, causing us to close the blinds … this is an invasion of our privacy.”
Owner of the land, Mohammad Farouf, attended the meeting on May 13, and said he’d be willing to make some amendments to his plan to satisfy neighbours.
However, most councillors agreed that the dwelling was unsuitable for the already densely populated street, with Cr Karen Sherry explaining that the proposed development is contrary to the orderly planning of the area.
“I believe a seven-bedroom home is not ideal here,” she said. “Eventually a seven-bedroom home is quite likely to be rented to a number of individuals and couples, it might initially be a family home, but it will probably require at least seven car spaces.”
Cr Sam Misho echoed the sentiment, and said personal transport is too integral to Hume residents, meaning the street would be overflowing with cars.
“I understand that this dwelling satisfies the criteria of the Hume planning scheme (with three car spaces allotted), but I respectfully feel that it doesn’t pass the common sense criteria,” he said.
“This property isn’t going to be attractive to a family of two or three or four … it’s going to be a big family.
“We live in a time of age where people require cars. This is not Prahran where we’re close to various people, and hardly people jump on the buses these days.
“We are not strategic in our location where people can just walk or catch public transport.”
