Although UWRA has set up a Woodstock Development Framework and residents in the area want to preserve the Heritage of Woodstock and the residential character of the area, we are continuously struggling with Council to enforce the rules and regulations, when these are contravened. See the Excite story for an example of this.
Council has now compiled a policy document with the aim to ensure that zoning and building regulations are adhered to throughout the city in the same way. The policy sets out what must be done by council officials should zoning and building regulations be broken.
UWRA welcomes the policy and the attempts by council to sort this matter out. However, we have one big concern, which we have brought to the attention of councillors and council officials on many occasions: the success of a policy like this depends heavily on the ability to enforce it.
At the moment Council is lacking this ability in a BIG way, simply because there is not enough staff to deal with contraventions. If Council is not going to employ more enforcement staff, this policy will fail and it might as well be thrown in the bin straight away.
Therefore UWRA again strongly urges the Council to appoint the appropriate numbers of enforcement staff. UWRA has submitted this comment to City Council.
Zoning and Building Regulations Enforcement Policy
