June 5, 2015
We’ve all had troublesome neighbours, but Skye Roberts’ “bad neighbours” at Memerambi could end up costing her and her family $64,000.
Skye, her husband Daniel and son Jake, 3, live in King Street, Memerambi. Their “neighbours” over the back fence are the vacant and half-finished houses of the Memerambi Estate.
Unfortunately for the family, also immediately over their back fence is “Prince Street”, one of the many gazetted but unformed roads in the historical sub-division that hadn’t been built when the original developer went broke.
At the moment Prince Street looks nothing like a road … it is merely overgrown grass, a fire hazard and a possible home for snakes.
However, after Wednesday’s meeting of the South Burnett Regional Council voted 4-3 to make the Memerambi Estate a “benefitted area”, and charge the owners of the blocks for the infrastructure development necessary to make the area habitable, the Roberts family suddenly look like they owe Council $64,000.
Skye told southburnett.com.au on Thursday that she and her husband bought their property in 2006.
At the time they were looking for a semi-rural block of at least an acre not too far out of Kingaroy.
When they spotted the house in King Street, Memerambi, it was perfect. The large garden was a bit overgrown, but there were well-established trees, a bore and windmill in the backyard, a three-bedroom house and plenty of room. There was also farmland surrounding them on two sides.
Skye said they weren’t aware the farmland was actually an historical sub-division until houses suddenly started appearing on the land.
And they had not realised that their property – which consisted of four quarter acre blocks and a house built sometime in the 1970s – was also technically a part of this sub-division.
When the Memerambi development failed, leaving the owners and Council with a big headache, the Roberts family were as annoyed as most other South Burnett residents about the eyesore over their back fence.
However, it wasn’t until they received a short letter in the mail from Council recently that they realised they had been caught up in the mess – and Council’s “benefitted area” solution.
The back two blocks of their property face the unformed Prince Street. And, according to the “benefitted area” expert hired by Council, these two blocks cannot be excluded from the rest of the Estate, because technically each could one day be sold and have a home built on it.
The “benefit” for each block in the Estate has been assessed as $32,000 plus interest. It would be paid off over a set period (possibly 10 years) by having an amount added to each quarter’s rates bill.
As the Roberts’ family have two blocks facing Prince Street, their bill would be $64,000.
Skye’s neighbours have a double block, with one block backing onto Prince Street – so their bill would be $32,000.
The Roberts family’s rates are now $307.34 (with the discount) per quarter. They receive one rates notice for their four blocks, one land valuation notice and are charged one road levy.
Skye said the benefitted area charge could triple their quarterly rates to more than $1000.
“We just don’t have the money to spare,” Skye said.
“It has never before been treated as having four separate blocks. Why is it being treated this way now?”
Skye said she was frustrated that the external expert on benefitted areas brought in by Council had not approached her family – and the next-door neighbours – to discuss their situation before making his recommendations to Council.
She was also frustrated that emails that she had sent to Council CEO Gary Wall and Mayor Wayne Kratzmann before Wednesday’s meeting had not been answered.
However, Cr Ros Heit had replied – which she appreciated – even though she had eventually voted for the benefitted area.
At Wednesday’s meeting, three Councillors voted against the proposal – Crs Damien Tessmann, Kathy Duff and Barry Green – at least partially because of the impact on the Roberts family and their neighbours.
Skye attended the Council meeting, and became frustrated when she heard Deputy Mayor Keith Campbell urge his fellow councillors to take “emotion” out of the debate.
“They are talking about my home!” she said. “Put yourselves in our shoes. Would you like it if your son got this bill?” she said.
She was also annoyed that some Council staff members in the Chambers seemed to be enjoying the lively debate between councillors as if it was a sporting match rather than a life-changing decision for her family.
If the Roberts family moves to amalgamate their four blocks into one, it could halve their liability to Council … but they would still owe $32,000, which Skye says is still not fair.
“Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s fair. Council have just created two more victims while trying to assist these people (the Estate owners),” she said.
She said she was “ever so grateful” to Crs Tessmann, Duff and Green for “just recognising” her family’s predicament.
“This is my home and my backyard that I love,” she said.
“Every inch of this acre is my home. I would be devastated if I lost any bit of it. I wouldn’t want to live here.”
Skye said she understood Council had to do something to fix the Estate, and she appreciated the arguments that had been put forward.
“But we have no option now but to fight.”
Footnote: Skye’s troubles don’t just end here. She works at the Collins Booksellers shop in Kingaroy Shoppingworld which is closing at the end of June.
Related articles:
- Memerambi: The Great Debate
- Memerambi Estate Fix Gets Green Light
- D-Day Looms For Memerambi
- Estate’s Fate Should Be Known Soon
- Councillors Query $3m Loan
- Memerambi Deadline Drawing Close
- Council Plugs Memerambi ‘Hole’
- Delays Anger Owners
- Memerambi Owners Offered A Way Out
- Memerambi Solution Inches Closer
- Council Puts An End To Historical Sub-Divisions
- Court Clears Way For Memerambi Solution
- TV Ambush ‘Un-Australian’
- Which Way Now For Memerambi?
- Drainage Problems ‘May Be Solved’
- Memerambi Homes ‘Not For Refugees’
This is just plain wrong, I truly understand the need to fix the mess in Memerambi but not at the expense of the existing residents. This is not their mess or their fault and it is heartless for council to make them pay the price.
Totally agree. Have some common sense Council – very poor decision
A bad story for Skye and Dan. The Council must be held responsible. I am very disappointed in the councillors who voted against Skye’s devastating predicament.
In my comment on Memerambi: The Great Debate last night I referred to the 53 lots that the developer Summit View Meritor P/L sought a Request for Negotiated Decision – Material Change of Use (Dwelling Houses) Memerambi and the said Negotiated Decision etc was approved by Council, voting 6-0. The original application for these 53 lots was approved by Council by the same vote on 19/1/2011. Also on that date, Council approved a further application by the same developer for 14 lots fronting the Bunya Highway Memerambi also by a 6-0 vote. In total 67 lots were approved by SBRC for development by Summit View Meritor P/L.
It would appear that the “Benefitted Area” as decided by the so called expert engaged by Council includes these 67 lots plus the 3 lots owned by the Roberts (2) and their neighbours (1). The SBRC is going to borrow $2.14 million which divided by 70 is approximately $30,000 per lot, the figure quoted as being repayable to the Council for the provision of the required infrastructure by each property owner.
The law is an ass if the Benefitted Area includes the 3 blocks that were not part of the original applications to and approved by Council in 2011. They were not bought by the developer from the previous owner of the farm that included the historical subdivision. The Title Deeds to these 3 lots would have already been in the names of the current owners well and truly before the sale of the other lots took place.
The Council should apply the Law of Common Sense in this situation and exclude these 3 lots from the Benefitted Area. No doubt if the properties are onsold in the future they will be sold as “1 block” and little if any benefit will be gained by the owners.
Therefore the $2.14 million loan should be for the 67 lots that were the subject of the approved development by Summit View Meritor P/L which will equate to $31,940 per lot. In my view the Council has made the correct decision to fix the “Memerambi Mess” and I urge Mayor Kratzmann and Councillors to bite the bullet and exclude these 3 lots from inclusion in the Benefitted Area as the owners of these lots are innocent victims and always have been in this catastrophe. To not exclude them will in my respectful opinion be the start of “Memerambi Mess version 2” and the SBRC can ill afford another round of possible legal proceedings.
I also pose the question as to what action, if any, the Council’s legal representative has taken to date to recover the Council’s legal costs from the 30 property owners for their failed legal challenge in the Planning and Environment Court. One has to wonder if the full amount will ever be recovered. The Council is liable for paying its legal costs for defending the actions ie by monies received from local ratepayers, and as it was successful the applicants are liable to pay the costs as ordered by the Court. This amount will be on top of the $30-32,000 each lot owner will have to pay for the provision of the infrastructure etc. I will not be holding my breath for payment in full of the legal costs. Any enforcement action to recover them will only incur more costs for the Council and in all likelihood it will be further out of pocket.
This is a most unfortunate decision for shire residence, these consequences will go well beyond the confines of this estate in the future.This decision sets a precedence that allows this council to charge any declared works undertaken by council as benefit specific with the full cost of that project charged directly to property owners.For rural residence in outlying areas the cost of road maintenance can now be charged directly to all properties serviced by that road.For towns and small villages,residence can now be charged directly for any works undertaken by council in their street under this now established benefit specific user pays system.This council now has the instruments to selectively assign any project benefit specific.
I imagine council would look at a caveat, or similar, on the ‘spare’ blocks and enforce payment if said blocks were subdivided and sold taking advantage of the infrastructure provided.