DO YOU RELY ON STREET PARKING IN YARRA?
We are asking Council to stop issuing parking permits to vehicles that are visibly derelict, undrivable, or used as long-term street storage, and to enforce its existing local laws where these vehicles harm neighbourhood amenity.
The problem.
We all pay a premium to park on Yarra streets, and it's getting harder and harder to find a space.
Across our neighbourhood, some vehicles are being left on residential streets for months or years, despite being visibly broken down, damaged or undrivable.
These vehicles:
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Are sometimes being used for long-term storage of personal belongings
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Become targets for vandalism, break-ins and graffiti with visible neglect
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Degrade local amenity and the streetscape
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Take up valuable residential and visitor parking in an area where we all pay a premium without guarantee of finding a spot
This issue has repeatedly been raised with Council, as it breaches both the Yarra Parking Permit Policy which requires cars to be in a roadworthy state, and Local Laws which require cars to be parked in a way that does not impact neighbourhood amenity.
Council’s response has been to claim that because a car is registered, it must be roadworthy, even though annual roadworthiness checks are not a requirement in Victoria. This is even when Council has been shown cars with missing windows, flat tyres, broken headlights and severe vandalism, or where it has been proven a car cannot run and has not moved for years.
Despite powers available to Council to address this issue, they continue to collect parking permit fees and decline to act.
What the council can (but won't) do.
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The City of Yarra Parking Permit Policy (2014) says that Council has the ultimate discretion to issue permits. Council therefore also has discretion to cancel them.
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The same policy says that the City of Yarra will only issue permits to vehicles that are registered and are in a 'roadworthy state'.
Despite this wording in the policy and their powers, Council claims they have no way to assess roadworthiness, and appear not to refuse permits even to cars that are missing windows and taillights, and cannot be driven. Roadworthiness standards are publicly accessible via VicRoads and are designed to be understood by the average road user.
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Section 34 of the Council's General Local Law states that vehicles must not be parked on a roadway in a way that causes detriment to the amenity of a neighbourhood, but Council has declined to act on these laws, even where these cars attract graffiti and antisocial behaviour, which is spilling into neighbouring properties and public assets.
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Schedule 11 of the Local Government Act 1989 gives councils the power to move or impound any vehicle that it considers abandoned or otherwise causes an unlawful obstruction on its roads. Council appears to be unwilling to use these powers to remove vehicles that have sat in place for years, broken down.
What this means for you.
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Council will allow vehicles that do not run and are the target of vandalism to occupy public space indefinitely, even if it's out front of your house.
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Council appears to have failed to enforce temporary parking restrictions against these vehicles, such as those needed to make footpath repairs or perform street tree maintenance, meaning your street misses out on vital maintenance that you pay for.
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Local amenity is degraded, the streetscape and property values are impacted, and fairness is undermined while residents and their visitors lose access to scarce street parking spaces.
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Despite powers available to the Council under their own policies and the law, they refuse to fine or move vehicles that break these local laws, and continue to issue parking permits that appear to be in contravention with their own policies - all while collecting permit fees.
What you can do.
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Together we can demand Council act and use the powers it has to move these cars, and ask them to stop issuing derelict and broken-down cars with parking permits. Without a valid permit, Council has clearer enforcement options.
If you need some suggested wording, you can find some here.
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Councillors can pressure the council to amend the Parking Permit Policy to make it clear that Council will not issue permits to cars that are derelict, broken down, or are being used for long-term storage. You can send an email to your local councillor, or to any of the councillors below. If you need some suggested wording to send to your councillor, you can find some here.
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