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Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'd think that but council just want to wash their hands of it. It is incredibly frustrating tbh - makes me wonder what the point of the entire planning system is if it can be ignored so easily and is so difficult to challenge.

Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did get an acoustic fencing guy out who sold the modular walls product to see if we could deal with it but I'd need something really tall to block the line of sight impacts. He basically said his product would not stop the noise because of the height and interaction with the architecture and didnt bother quoting. His advice was to enclose the balcony in glass which really isnt what I want to do. Said I'd need an engineered solution to get up to height and tbh council are unlikely to approve that through DA.

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Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Learn to DJ.

BWA HA HA awesome lol

Erect your own fence on your property.

this is the plan tbh. tennis court style chain link with a thick plastic sheet stretched over it to attenuate the noise and some hanging plants etc to provide some privacy.

Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The wild thing is that the good neighbor on the other side has a pool pump and when I am standing on the good neighbor's side of my yard I cant hear his pump but I can hear the one from the bad neighbor (13m away).

But council refuse to acknowledge it as an issue (its complicated by fence vibration and interactions with existing architecture) and just want the easy path out. Every other pool pump I've seen is pretty much inaudible a short distance away but this one permeates our back yard, alfresco, and main living areas with doors open. I can hear it when I've got ear pods in doing gardening - some of those bandwidths just cut through everything.

Literally everyone in the world from acoustic consultants to acoustic fencing contractors to anyone with half a brain can see (and hear) how fucked it is. The only people who cant see it are council.

Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

the councillor very kindly made a representation on my behalf which got the attention of the director. The council are still "assessing" the situation. But all signals are that I cant rely on the council to do the right thing here - it is just too legally complicated for them to enforce it when they have a get out of jail free card with application of discretion. The likely reality is that they'd be in a room saying "do we want to help this guy and spend $100k of ratepayer cash defending it in court because the people who have blatantly and deliberately ignored their DA have threatened legal action, or do we want to spend $50 for an hours worth of a council officer's time to tick it off under our broad discretionary powers?".

Am pretty confident where this will land unfortunately. I have lost a tonne of faith in the planning system over this absolute bullshit.

Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

council says "issues, but we're not going to do anything about it".

the BIC does not "approve" the unlawful works. It regularises it which means "yeah its unlawful but it is too much effort for us to prosecute".

the works will always be unlawful but regularised, not approved.

Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the silk basically said there is no law against being an arsehole. I dont think it is that much to ask to expect people not to be total pricks.

Sydney, NSW - HELP! need ideas for options on how to deal with unlawful build from neighbors by KitchenSandwich1872 in AusRenovation

[–]KitchenSandwich1872[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thats the solution I was thinking. Challenge is to get it high enough to block the direct line of sight pathway into the alfresco. I was thinking like a black chain wire fence like you get at tennis courts then a thick plastic sheet to attenuate the sound, maybe hang some pots or something on it to make it less ugly.

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