Overview
Council endorsed the public exhibition of the Draft Building in the Vicinity of Underground Assets Policy (POL 066) at its Monday 21 July Ordinary Council meeting.
Public exhibition is for a period of 28 days from 22 July and Council invites public submissions until 31 August 2025.
About the Policy
Currently the Building near Sewer and Stormwater arrangements is included in both the Sewer Policy and the Stormwater Policy. This has meant that any changes to the arrangements required amendments to two (2) policies.
The amended Building in the Vicinity was reviewed against industry standard documents including the Water Directorate and comparative Councils.
The Aim of the revision is to better define the process for assessing buildings etc on private property that may impact on Council Infrastructure such as Sewer and Stormwater assets. This is done through:
- Remove double application and aligning with the Development Application process where possible - reduced charging, paperwork from applicant
- Aligning with Industry standard processes and application of the Policy
- Consideration for differing soil types which can have an affect on soil stability
Guidance for assessing officers is included in the Operating Standard – Building in the Vicinity of Underground Assets which contains:
- Examples for assessing officers
- Updated diagrams – in line with standardised documentation i.e. Water Directorate
