Footpaths fracas: Shire in ‘win’ on hearing

By Cherie Donnellan
COUNCIL and residents will resume their fight over proposed charges for Jan Juc footpaths at the state’s planning tribunal next week.
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will run a second hearing on the charge scheme after council successfully appealed the tribunal’s initial decision at Supreme Court of Victoria last year.
The tribunal had ruled against the “unreasonable” charge for providing “no special benefit” to residents.
Sixty-seven objectors have spent three years fighting council’s bid to charge them for the “unwanted” footpaths.
Supreme Court judge Emilios Kyrou referred the matter back to VCAT for October but objectors’ lawyer Glenys Dolphin said council had secretly appealed for an earlier hearing.
Ms Dolphin said VCAT and the shire failed to consult the objectors’ legal team on the new hearing date within a reasonable timeframe.
Ms Dolphin said she did not receive a letter about the change until late May.
Objector Sue O’Shanassy provided the Independent with a March 21-dated letter from Surf Coast Shire chief executive Mark Davies questioning VCAT on the “ongoing delay”.
Mr Davies’ letter told VCAT the three-year span of hearings was “a source of frustration for council and the community, (which) adds to the scheme project cost and delays much needed pathways”.
“The review hearing at VCAT is currently expected to be listed for October 2012, which is almost a year after the Supreme Court ruling,” the letter said.
Ms Dolphin said the opposing legal teams agreed to the new June 15 hearing date a few weeks ago.
Surf Coast Shire councillors controversially voted to change council’s special charges scheme policy at a council meeting on May 23.
Ms O’Shanassy said the change would make objecting to special charges easier but would not apply retrospectively to the Jan Juc project.
She asked councillors at the May 23 meeting to withdraw the Jan Juc charge “and afford the residents…the same considerations as those involved in future special charge schemes.”
Ms O’Shanassy said council could still “quash” the Jan Juc scheme regardless of the VCAT hearing.
The shire refuses to answer questions from the Independent.