A disabled Afghanistan war veteran, with diagnosed PTSD, faces the loss of his off-grid, tiny home in Wilsons Creek because it is deemed an ‘unauthorised development’.
Council have ordered the professionally-built dwelling to be demolished.
Mayor Michael Lyon replied to The Echo on the matter, with contested claims regarding the surrounding vegetation and the amount of clearing, (see below).
War vet Matt Bruce says he approached The Echo because he felt there were no options left to him, and wanted the issue of mental health to be more widely known.
Mr Bruce told The Echo, ‘I would hate to see another member of the community, or a homeless person, go through the level of neglect that I went through’, adding, ‘If I am forced to demolish my home, I would lose my small life savings’.
After being evicted from his last rental, Mr Bruce says he found land to rent, and craned in the tiny home onto blocks. Mr Bruce says he rents the rural land from landlord, Nick Scali.
According to realestate.com.au, the property is 140 acres with one other dwelling.
Both Mr Bruce and Mr Scali told The Echo they are wanting to navigate a way forward to be compliant, yet throughout the process, they say Council staff were unhelpful in establishing a pathway to gain approval.
$9,000 fine
A $9,000 fine was also recently issued by Council to Mr Scali, for ‘unauthorised development’. Mr Bruce says that a personal agreement between him and Mr Scali makes him responsible for the fine. The arrangement also incudes paying the hefty fees demanded by Council every time compliance officers attend onsite.
Mr Scali told The Echo he suspects that the neighbour who complained to Council is also a Council employee.
The issue puts into question Council’s often repeated claims that it is doing whatever it can to ease the housing crisis, and how compliance staff exercise their extensive powers, under delegation from general manager (GM), Mark Arnold.
Mental health
Two letters from his psychologist, asking Council staff to consider his mental state, were ignored, Mr Bruce says.
The letters from psychologist, Dr Debra Roberts, ask Council to be lenient on Mr Bruce: ‘The pressure being placed on Mr Bruce by this demolition order has triggered his PTSD, anxiety, and depression’, she wrote.
‘Matthew has found a place he feels safe in. I believe Matthew needs continuity, consistency, and stability in the foreseeable future to assist with his mental health and PTSD’.
One of the questions put to Council staff, which was not replied to, was: if there is a mental health policy in place when dealing with those with mental health issues.
Mr Bruce says he was very careful about his footprint when placing the dwelling, and only cleared a small number of camphor trees around the pad, which is a former banana farm, mostly populated by weeds.
It is also close to the property boundary and an established road. ‘No natives were touched’, he says. ‘My composting toilet, grey water system, gas and solar array are all up to building code’, he says.
Extremely professional staff: Shannon Burt
Council’s Director Sustainable Environment and Economy, Shannon Burt, refused to reply to questions around her department’s demands.
She instead said, ‘Council generally does not comment on individual cases. This matter was first raised as a complaint to Council regarding unauthorised land clearing and an unapproved dwelling on the land. This matter is ongoing. Our staff, especially those in the Enforcement team, are extremely professional, dealing with a number of issues with compassion and with a strong desire to find reasonable solutions and resolutions to often complex problems. This situation is no different’.
Procedural fairness?
Mr Bruce says procedural fairness was not followed in relation to 4.15, 4.16 and 4.29 of Council’s Enforcement Policy 2020.
Those policies have regard to the impact an unauthorised activity has on amenity, or harm to the environment.
It reads, ‘If action is required, Council will consider what is reasonable in the circumstances and ensure the action is not disproportionate to the level of harm or damage arising from the unauthorised activity’.
‘Making me homeless would seem to be disproportionate to the level of harm or damage this dwelling has on the surrounding environment’, says Mr Bruce.
While Mr Bruce says he was told by Council his tiny home is not a ‘moveable dwelling’, Council’s head of compliance, Sarah Nagel, told Mr Bruce in email correspondence on May 11, 2023 that, ‘Council offered up solutions, such as relocating the structure closer to the main dwelling which would permit its continued existence on the property’.
Relocating is not possible, says Mr Bruce, as there is no suitable land near the main dwelling.
‘And besides, the road that delivered the tiny home was severely damaged by the 2020 floods. I can’t remove it unless the road is repaired’, he said. Mr Bruce added, ‘This has dragged on for years in part because of the 2020 floods decimating the region, and because Council staff have not provided a clear approval pathway’.
Mayor replies
The following is in part what Mayor Michael Lyon told The Echo on the matter:
‘A healthy situation exists where staff and councillors work together on behalf of the community’.
‘This issue has been going on for over two years. The dwelling is not moveable for the purposes of the regulations, and has been built in littoral rainforest, after substantial clearing, in a zone that does not permit it. The landowner is responsible and needs to deal with this, including paying the fines.
‘The landowner has been given ample opportunity and options on his own land where the dwelling could be sited, but has refused to do so. There is no Council employee involved as complainant.
‘We have provided the landowner with multiple options to resolve this, provided a long break in action due to the floods period, and he has not availed himself of those options.
‘I am aware of how much latitude has already been given to Matt in order for this to be resolved over an extended period of time’.
No assistance from mayor
Mr Bruce told The Echo he contacted the mayor for assistance, yet according to Mr Bruce, the mayor did not reply.
The mayor did not reply to why he did not assist, when asked by The Echo, and instead launched a personal attack on the author of this story.
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