Tima Halloum
Wyndham residents could soon be required to keep grass on their nature strips below 20 centimeters or face a $200 fine, if changes to the Community Amenity Local Laws are adopted.
There is presently no local law which requires residents to ensure grass on nature strips is maintained, however penalties for damaging, interfering with or placing items on a nature strip without permission exist under current arrangements.
Councillor Josh Gilligan said the proposed law is about delivering a “better, more livable city”.
“People have an appreciation for wanting to know the neighbourhood that they live in, looks great [and] feels great,” he said.
“It’s about the visual difference in terms of the way we live. It’s a real basic fundamental about individual responsibility, doing the right thing and presenting your neighborhood in a better way.
“It’s not the responsibility of government to be involved in everyone’s lives, all the time. We have to take responsibility.”
According to council’s The Loop website staff resources needed to police compliance “can be accommodated within existing council resources“.
If there is a high level of non-compliance and additional resources are required council may need to allocate “up to two Local Laws Officers at an estimated cost of $172,000 per year. This cost could be partially offset by infringement revenue of approximately $40,000 (assuming that 5% of complaints result in infringements issued)“.
However, council officers expect compliance to be “straightforward” and “unlikely to impose a significant burden”.
“For those that are elderly, or disabled, or unable to mow their lawns, council is providing access to services as part of our local law proposal,” Cr Gilligan said.
Cr Gilligan said the issue is “quite big” with Wyndham council receiving 4083 complaints in 2021-22 about overgrown grass on nature strips, increasing from 931 in 2015-16.
“People are sick and tired of seeing unmaintained nature strips, when they’ve done the right thing and maintained theirs,” he said.
Other proposed local law changes cover abandoned shopping trolleys, short stay accommodation properties register with council, pruning or removing trees with a diameter greater than 35 centimetres and food trucks operating on private property.
Feedback is open until Sunday, September 25.
Details: theloop.wyndham.vic.gov.au/local-law-review
