Report Background
You have been legally appointed as manager of Owners Corporation PS123456A by the OC Committee. In this role, you are continually confronted with a range of questions and difficult issues which you are required to address and report back to the OC Committee. The Model rules apply.Owners Corporation PS123456A is a mixed use “Heritage” development situated in Ballarat, Victoria. It occupies an entire block bounded by Steinman Street, Peel Street and Haymes Crescent (labelled as Hayman Crescent on the PS subdivision).Peel Street is one of the oldest streets in Ballarat, and the development site includes a number of old miners’ cottages as well as three former shops fronting Peel Street. The rear of the site was formerly occupied by a large Printworks. Planning permission was granted by the City of Ballarat on the condition that the miners’ cottages must be refurbished (but may be extended and modernised inside), that the former shops must be refurbished for use as commercial premises, and that the old Printworks was to be demolished and replaced with new constructions (See street views of the development).
The completed site consists of:• 9 Residential Lots and 3 Commercial Lots fronting Peel Street. (Note: the commercial lots are lots 10, 30 and 31 and ownership of all three lots has been retained by the developer).• 6 Residential Lots fronting Haymes Crescent.• 13 x Double story Residential Lots on the old Printworks site, entering from Eureka Way.• Apart from the three commercial lots owned by the developer, all residential lots are owned by owner/occupiers or investors (and therefore tenanted).
Car Parking:It is important to note the unusual car parking arrangements on the Plan of Subdivision (see the PDF subdivision plan that accompanies this assignment). These associated Lots are described as “PT1”, “PT2” etc:• Lots 1,2,3,4,5,9,10,16,20,21,25,28,29 have accessory carparks associated with their lots.• Lots 17,18,19,22,23,24,26,27 are double story residences with lock garages underneath.• Lots 11,12,13,14,15,16 have no allocated car parking and must park in Hayman Crescent.• Lots 6 and 7 have no allocated car parking and must park in Peel Street.• Lots 30 and 31 have no allocated car parking and must park in Steinman or Peel Streets. As these lots are on a corner, parking must by necessity be some distance from the properties (see parking street views)
Common Property No 1 is the central Driveway (known as Eureka Way), with access from both Steinman Street and Hayman Crescent. Also included in common property is all the infrastructure running beneath the common property, including water, power, sewerage, telecommunications and storm water.The Plan of Subdivision states that the median (ie middle) point of walls marks the boundary of the common property. This means that the Owners Corporation owns the outside walls and roofs and each owner owns the inside skin of walls and the airspace inside the unit.
Report Research
1. Identify and access a copy of the Model Rules for an Owners Corporation in Victoria.2. Section 23 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 states that an Owners Corporation may set annual fees to cover general administration, maintenance and repairs, insurance and other recurrent obligations of the Owners Corporation. The Act specifies that Owners Corporation Fees must be set in accordance with Lot Liability.(a) You are to research and identify Section 23 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006(b) You are to research and identify the definition of Lot Entitlement and Lot Liability within the Act.(c) The Act does not mandate any basis on which Lot Entitlement and Lot Liability are to be established, and this is left to the Developer and surveyor to determine, usually on an arbitrary basis. OC Fees are apportioned according to Lot Liability.
Issues to Solve
To complete these assessment tasks you will need to refer to the Owners Corporation Plan of Subdivision available within attachments.1. Prepare a Waste Management PlanYou are to prepare a Waste Management Plan for the next 12 months. The City of Ballarat has placed a s173 agreement on the property in relation to waste management. This requires a contract be taken with a private waste collection company for weekly collection and disposal of garbage and fortnightly collection of recycling waste.Section 173 Agreement explained:https://roselaw.com.au/resources/what-is-a-section-173-agreement
Quoted costs are as follows:Garbage 120lt bin $5.50 +gst per bin collected Recycling 240lt bin $5.00 +gst per bin collected
You are to prepare a Waste Management Plan providing a report that addresses the following points:
• Research s173 agreements and provide a definition within the Waste Management Plan for the purposes of educating unit owners.• Ensure that all lots are to be serviced, keeping in mind that three lots are commercial in nature (ie offices only).• Describe the type of collection vehicle and methods of access to the site.• Consider and discuss the impact of noise, odour and bin cleanliness, potential for disease and vermin control and develop a cost estimate for waste collection, bin cleaning and vermin control for 12 months.• There is some space allowance behind Lot 1 (PT1), but it is a problem working out where the 31 sets of bins (ie 62 bins) are going to go? Suggest alternatives which provides an improved plan for bin placement.• Formulate and include a Communication plan that instructs and informs owners and tenants in proper use of bins (eg bin identification, bin placement and the garbage management plan).• Include a Communication plan with Letting Agents to ensure that new tenants understand and adhere to the rules and guidelines.
2. Prepare a Car Parking PlanCar parking is out of control and resulting in much anguish by the owners and tenants.• The owners of the units in Haymes Crescent prefer to use their rear entrances, so park inside the property.• The commercial properties (Lots 10, 30 and 31) do not have any allocated parking and the developer who has retained ownership allows his clients to park behind the shops. He reckons he has the right as it is ‘his development’.• There is no visitor parking, yet tenants constantly invite their friends to park within the complex. Many of them stay overnight and block other owners who must leave for work early in the mornings.• Refer to the car parking arrangements on page 4 (above) for details of lot owners parking provisions and see street view pictures of parking).
You are to prepare a car parking plan which instructs residents and tenants of their rights and responsibilities in relation to suitable use of the car parking areas and the need to adhere to the Model rules and guidelines. If model rules are not sufficient, it may need a Special Resolution for parking to be approved and registered as a Special Rule.
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