Roof calls pitch residents against council

A LOCAL planning policy has become a stumbling block for some residential building projects in the western suburbs.

Local rulings based on older laws are often conflicting with national construction guidelines, causing confusion and delays for builders.

The Town of Cambridge has Local Law 43, a planning policy that covers houses in Floreat, City Beach and Mount Claremont, since 1920.

Deviations to the local law are to be considered by council at their meetings but the provisions over roof colours and pitch have become a topic of contention between the town and residents.

A City Beach resident escalated a planning matter to the State Administrative Tribunal after council refused his application to repair the roof of his Bendigo Way home in February.

According to council documents, the resident spent nearly $30,000 to replace the damaged terracotta roofing of his house with Surfmist Colorbond roofing.

Surfmist Colorbond metal sheeting has a solar reflectivity index of 82 per cent, exceeding the requirements of a 40 per cent limit for any roof with a pitch of more than five degrees, under the Local Law 43.

Housing Industry Association WA executive director Michael McGowan told Business News local schemes were meant to sit within the National Construction Code instead of having independent planning regulations across all the councils.

“Sometimes one of the challenges with that though is that we’re starting to see some local schemes that are starting to describe building elements, which technically they’re not supposed to,” he said.

“When different local councils are trying to implement some of these things, it just becomes harder and more confusing for the builders and their clients to get stuff through.”

In February, Cambridge mayor Keri Shannon said she was opposed to the application for Surfmist roofing at the Bendigo Way home.

Ms Shannon showed a list of properties inconsistent with Local Law 43, including a house with a 33-degree-pitched roof that she described as a “completely wicked problem.”

“You almost have to have sunglasses at 8am to deal with the amount of glare that’s coming off that house,” she said at the meeting.

Ms Shannon said she and most in the council believed they needed to consider amending Local Law 43 but they still had to enforce the regulation in the meantime.

“But we also have to be conscious that at the moment, we have a local law that we’re supposed to be implementing and we’re supposed to be obeying,” she said.

Fellow councillor Alaine Haddon-Casey echoed Ms Shannon’s sentiments concerning Local Law 43.

“I’m fed up with these things coming in front of us, we need to resolve it,” she said at the meeting.

“We need to not talk in general terms about light colours but actually get specific about what works and what doesn’t here, and make sure we can do some consistent decision making.”

In late June, council approved the new roofing for the Bendigo Way property on condition the applicant planted verge trees to reduce glare.

This was the latest application that had returned to council for reconsideration after SAT mediation.

In February, the SAT invited council to reconsider its refusal of a Surfmist roof application for a home on Orreal Avenue in Floreat.

The council approved the application on condition the applicant planted additional trees to minimise glare impact from the street.

In April 2022, council refused a resident’s application to put up Shale Grey Colorbond roofing on Peasholm Street, City Beach, because of the 57 per cent solar reflectivity index.

The council’s refusal came even after a SAT mediation hearing over the property in late 2021.

The town has been contacted for comment.

Red tape a barrier

Property Council WA executive director Sandra Brewer said governments at all levels bore the responsibility of providing and upholding an effective regulatory framework.

“In cases where a policy faces repeated challenges within the legal system, it becomes imperative to question whether this policy aligns with the evolving expectations of the community,” she said.

“The obligation to review policy relevance holds especially true where their impact can impede housing supply.

“It is essential all levels of government focus on efforts to streamline and fast track development approvals to meet Western Australia’s desperate demand for more housing supply.”

Ms Brewer did not specifically mention the town’s Local Law 43 but addressed planning policies in general.

“The proliferation of local planning policies adds complexity to the planning system and ultimately hinders the delivery of housing supply,” she said.

“Last month building approvals in WA fell by 11.1 per cent, a stark reminder of the well-publicised challenges the development industry is facing.”

To add more hurdles to the building industry, planning policies can differ across local governments in Western Australia.

The Town of Bassendean last year adopted a sustainability policy that included a presumption against dark roofs.

The policy was applicable for developments on residential zoned land lodged since July 1, 2022.

Business News has contacted the town for an update.

Mr McGowan said every council tinkering with the national code would cause more confusion.

“There’s a National Construction Code for a reason, so that we get the best outcomes for buildings in the most consistent manner,” he said.

“The other thing that was starting to see creeping in, particularly in many of the infill local councils, is that some of that delegated authority or autonomy is being taken away from the administration.

“It’s resulting that almost every decision is having to go to the local council to be made and that includes things like roof glare, fences, garages, boundary walls and things that local council administration is more than qualified to make an assessment on and approve without the necessary need for debate or delay.”

Master Builders Association of WA executive director John Gelavis said measures to continue removing red tape needed to be implemented as a priority.

“For most residential building projects, it is planning requirements and the planning regulatory framework that is the biggest issue and impact to obtaining approvals in an appropriate, timely manner,” he said.

“Generally, the lengthiest delays are within the statutory planning framework where it can take, in some cases, months to obtain an approval for a relatively straightforward project.

“The building approval process is different, statutory timeframes are far less and where there are no planning issues, in the majority of cases the applications are dealt with in the required timeframes.

“Sometimes, other formal approvals such as a verge permit can impact considerably on a project timeline.”

Mr Gelavis said a core focus must be on single dwelling and associated buildings to reduce lengthy delays in the planning system, including putting in place appropriate levels of accountability for the decision makers in local governments.

“In the current environment with industry still experiencing significant challenges, it is incumbent upon local authorities to look at implementing best practice for their planning practices and approvals processes,” he said.

Last month, the state government announced three new members were appointed to the SAT full time to help ease the tribunal’s case load.

The government said building disputes was one of the matters that substantially increased the tribunal’s work.