Brisbane City Council SHAME FILE #51

BLUE CARE SUX

Azure Blue

Richmond Road Carina

Blue Care's development at Richmond Road Carina Queensland is non-compliant with the conditions imposed by the Planning and Environment Court of Queensland and their own Management Plan.

JUST WHO is WHO in this developmental mess

Azure Blue, A Blue Care Community :  OWNER

Cockram Constructions Ltd :   BUILDER

Merrin & Cranston :   Project Manager/Architect

Video of work site    Check out the dust !!!

EMail Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 10:24 AM Subject: Neighbours' meeting Thursday

LetterTo BlueCare, Cockram, Council

We met with the BCC Environment Officers yesterday and they are understanding of our situation. We expect information from them very soon.You are responsible for our distress, culminating and exacerbating over a period of 6 months since you commenced clearing the land at 455 Richmond Rd Carina and this needs to be recognised, compensated and a solution found because we will not give up! This distress we have been forced to live with day and night 24/7 has resulted from the following:

Poor planning, preparation and final agreement by Architects, Project Managers, BCC, Environmental Planning Court

A Development Approval with Guidelines and Advice Only that the Council Legal department and development Assessment Team cannot tell us where it says they can or cannot be enforced. Why did Council write it like this???

An inadequately equipped Council that cannot enforce the Environmental Protection Act, an Act that is so pro developer and so difficult to administer for threat of legal action by the perpetrator

No dust suppression measures whilst clearing bushland, inadequate wildlife measures taken, non-compliant with DA

Bulk earthworks digging and removing 100,000 cubic meters of soil and rock over 4 hectares with no dust suppression except for the occasional watering truck that sprinkled water on the dirt road, totally inadequate as the majority of the site was dirt exposed and never treated

Work starting onsite prior to 6:30am and finishing after 6:30pm against the DA

Generator left on all night creating noise, light shone all night from site into neighbouring houses

Dangerous driving by trucks entering and exiting the site, only the occasional supervision and managing of traffic

Dirt and dust all over Richmond Rd due to totally inadequate measures taken to keep the roads clean from vehicles exiting the site &minimal adherence to the washing of truck tyres, non-compliant as laid out in their Management Plan.

Queuing up of trucks creating noise outside homes from 5:30am, Management Plan said they would avoid this.

Workman making noises outside homes as early as 5am, parking across driveways, leaving rubbish on footpaths

All neighbours complaints starting in April to Blue Care, Cockram & Council, ignored and an occasional Sorry ( are you all sorry you keep making our life hell? are you sorry that you are not doing anything about it?), all hiding behind and protected by the Development Approval that gives the neighbours no protection.

BCC more concerned with process rather than a result. they had no idea where to send or action complaints relating to the site and sent insulting spin letters form BCC and then the Lord Mayor, a waste of time and cost. Why did it take till late August for something to be done, our complaints started in April?

Why are the fines so ridiculously low?? Why with so many breaches have only 3 fines been issued. Certainly could have been a big money earner for BCC! What were the Dev. Assess Team doing not fining the many breaches ?

Why was a parking attendant sent to investigate dust nuisance in the rapid response team? Thank goodness we finally got Scott on the 18th August albeit several months too late!

The health and emotional stress and additional cost of living closed up inside our homes with dust everywhere and unable to go outside due to the dust affecting our eyes, and respiratory systems, skin allergies etc everything feels dirty eventhough we clean, it just keeps coming and causing us additional use of power and water for cleaning, washing, drying, pools, solar panels, cars, furniture and of course our time away from enjoyment of property and life.

Yesterday I photographed one of your workers scrambling underneath an operating digger, clearly against safety practice.

This morning I photographed a vehicle bogged on that same stretch of road down from the machine digging and clearly this road is unsafe, I shall forward these events on to the CMFEU and work place health and safety so they can investigate. This morning I witnessed the use of a hand held hose to spray a dirt pile on the South western side of the site, with no wind it seemed a bit pointless. We are not unreasonable people, we really want to see effective targeted dust suppression measures implemented, not just when I start taking photos or the BCC come on site. We also want compensation for the additional costs you have forced upon us due to excessive unlawful dust nuisance from the site coming onto our properties destroying our quality and enjoyment of our property and life over the past 6 months and as it continues to affect us.

As I said before, the battles continue, we will not give up..... of course it could be different if Blue Care come to the table. Remember Blue Care, we don't want the dangerous access into Rembrandt Street!I look forward to your response.

Sincerely

Amanda Van de Hoef
3399 3029
0438 745 315
avan@bigpond.net.au
21 September 2012

To Neighbours:

Join our protest group!! Send me an email or phone me. We need to complain to be heard and make a difference and shame Blue Care for compensation!

South East Advertiser Wednesday 19 September 2012 Front Page & Page 3

Please don't speed through our BLUE CARE work site.

Obey the 40 kph sign.

if you can see it !!

Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices

On kerbed roads in built-up areas where signs are mounted on posts adjacent to a footpath, or where

vehicle parking may occur, they should be erected a minimum of 2.2 m above the level of the kerb or

footpath to the underside of the sign, to reduce interference from parked vehicles. Where neither

pedestrians nor parked vehicles have to be considered, e.g. on a traffic island or median, a mounting

height of 1.5 m may be more appropriate.

photos taken 11 September 2012 12.22 pm

Yes, the end of 40 kph sign down the road further is also obscured by tradies vehicles.

Where is the 'Duty Of Care' and 'compliance' not that the developers appear to understand the concept.

"Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices

Part 3

2.5.2 Positioning of devices

Signs and devices should be positioned and erected so that-

(a) they are properly displayed and securely mounted (see Clause 3.3);

(b) they are within the line of sight of the intended road user;

(c) they cannot be obscured from view (e.g. by vegetation or parked cars);

(d) they do not obscure other devices from the line of sight of the intended road user;

(e) they do not become a possible hazard to workers, pedestrians or vehicles; and

(f) they do not deflect traffic into an undesirable path.

(g) they do not restrict sight distance for drivers entering from side roads or streets, or private

driveways; and

(h) they are not installed using supports that could be a hazard if struck by a vehicle.

Delineating devices (e.g. traffic cones, bollards, post mounted delineators) should generally be placed

1 m clear of the travelled path.

In open road areas and on unkerbed roads in built-up areas where signs are to be mounted on posts,

they should normally be placed clear of the outer edge of shoulder and at least 2 m clear of the

travelled path, whichever is the greater clearance. They should be erected 1 to 1.5 m above the level of

the nearest edge of the travelled path to the underside of the sign.

On kerbed roads in built-up areas where signs are mounted on posts adjacent to a footpath, or where

vehicle parking may occur, they should be erected a minimum of 2.2 m above the level of the kerb or

footpath to the underside of the sign, to reduce interference from parked vehicles. Where neither

pedestrians nor parked vehicles have to be considered, e.g. on a traffic island or median, a mounting

height of 1.5 m may be more appropriate.

Signs mounted on portable supports used for short-term operation (see Clause 3.3) should generally

be located and erected as follows:

(i) In open road areas

On the road shoulder a minimum of 1 m clear of the travelled path.

(ii) In built-up areas

Behind the kerb if visible to oncoming traffic and not obstructing pedestrians, otherwise on the

pavement as near as practicable to the kerb without the sign becoming obscured and without

obstructing moving traffic.

Where an instruction sign (e.g. see Clauses 3.5 and 3.6) and a road condition sign (see Clause 3.7)

would normally be required at the same location, the former shall take precedence and the latter

should be positioned at the best alternative location.

Where practicable, signs shall be erected on both sides of the roadway on multilane divided or oneway

roads were the volume is 10 000 vpd or greater. This treatment should also be considered for all

other roads, especially those with curved alignments.

The visibility of a sign can be affected by deep shade, the direction of the sunlight, background

conditions (including lighting) and oncoming headlights. These factors should be considered when

signs and devices are erected to ensure that they can be clearly seen at all times."

The Brisbane City Council appears extremely reluctant to enforce any conditions of Development.

Click on text —.  NEW Shame photo file September 2012

Dust What DUST

The Brisbane City Council staff and administration find it impossible to enforce Conditions of Development and Nuisance Regulations on the Blue Care Development at Carina.

This large pile of material is responsible for clouds of dust entering and covering nearby homes.

ROME could BURN DOWN whilst the Lord Mayor and staff procrastinates.

Blue Care management do not appear to be interested in the manner in which this development progresses.

PART OF RESIDENTS PROTEST

8.00 AM SATURDAY 18 AUGUST 2012

Welcome and thank you for supporting our battle against Blue Care's current plan for Azure Blue Carina North on Richmond Road.

Carina North is a family-oriented, low density community. The character of the area will be severely affected if the development proceeds in its current form.
We are appalled that our phone calls, emails and letters of concern have been largely ignored. Blue Care's limited responses to date have been for the sole purpose of re-stating its intractable position.

Our concerns

1. The duplexes 6 metres and the 3 and 4 storey buildings 12 metres from our back fences, will have a serious, adverse impact on our privacy and quality of life.

2. The impact of the access road off Rembrandt Street into the site will be catastrophic. This street is narrow, hilly with tight corners, blind spots and 50 driveways from Todman Street to Constant Street. Any increase in traffic will endanger residents living in and around this street as well as Azure Blue occupants and their visitors.

Our proposed solutions

1. A significant ecological barrier should be established along the southern border between new buildings and existing properties.

2. There should be no road access to or from Rembrandt Street into Azure Blue. Richmond Road is the logical alternative to support 2 access roads.

Our response if our requests are ignored

We will have no alternative but to make the development and operation of this site as difficult as we lawfully can. Actions we will take include:

1. Discouraging the sale of units by protesting at Blue Care's Richmond Road Sales Office.

2. Placing prominent signs on our properties alerting prospective buyers to our concerns and that they are not welcome at such close proximity.

3. Utilising every avenue for complaint during and after construction.

This is not our preferred course of action. We believe and sincerely hope the issues raised are resolved amicably to everyone's satisfaction.

The owners of Blue Care, the Uniting Church, on its web site states:

"We are committed to justice and have a vision of a world where people live together with care and respect".

In the spirit of these Christian values, we ask that Blue Care prove that it does care and address our concerns so that we may live together with mutual respect.

Photos IN THIS SECTION taken Monday 13 August 2012

Richmond Road Carina.

The BCC officer I spoke to on Monday 13 August apparently believes that the dust complaints from residents is only the dust blown off the work site.

Apparently material deposited on the public road is sediment and not dust that may end up in your home.

Different departments, different definitions, different actions, same stupid decisions, and NO REMEDIAL ACTIONS taken.

This is the sign out front of the development site.

Below is what is occurring out side of the site.

Whatever this is, it is used to "sweep" Blue Care driveways and adjacent roadway.

Results of this action is graphically shown in three photos below.

Please note the dust cloud being raised.

Again the dust being disturbed to blow in the breeze.

Notice the height the dust cloud has risen to in this photo.

This truck after leaving the BLUE CARE site trails a dust cloud with it.

This is the same truck as the one in the photo above and it is still raising a dust cloud.

Photo taken on Richmond Road opposite Muir Street looking east showing the tyre tracks of deposited material from the Blue Care site.

Photo taken from Richmond Road adjacent to Stanton Street approx. 600 metres west from Blue Care's driveway.

These visible tyre tracks on the southern (right hand) side road are evident even further west and material from the Blue Care site is evident on the road and in and along the gutter and side of the road towards Molloy Road and further.

SO MUCH FOR BCC ENFORCEMENT AND BLUE CARE ROAD CLEANING EFFORTS.

Brisbane City Council either has poorly trained or instructed staff, or vision impaired and illiterate staff.

These photo were taken on Sunday morning 12 August 2012 around 9.00 am on Richmond Road, Carina.

The Planning and Environment Court approved this development with the condition (No 35):

(COPY FURTHER DOWN THE PAGE)

"THAT ALL VEHICLES EXITING THE SITE WILL BE CLEANED AND TREATED SO AS TO PREVENT THE MATERIAL BEING TRACKED OR DEPOSITED ON PUBLIC ROADS"

Looking west along Richmond Road just past development gates.

Looking West towards the second of three entrances

Sediment Control device. Certainly not maintained .

Sediment Control device and sediment build-up has not been removed.

Unsealed driveway in use which is allowing material to be tracked onto the a public road, Richmond Road, Carina.

Material being tracked out across a concrete driveway. Richmond Road.

Just inside the gate shown in the photo just above.

Obviously this (second) driveway is undersized.

Photo of material deposited on roadway by development vehicles.

These two photos of the dust settled on a stovetop in ONE day!

This is in a house with windows and doors closed.

At 5am 9th July this is what was observed with my companion along Richmond Rd.

5am 5 cars parked between Balmerino Drive and Creek Rd along the northern side of the road.
One of the vehicles was a site workman's car.

By 5:25am 3 more workers' cars arrived parking opposite the site close to the entrance

Glen arrives 5:25 in company vehicle parking opposite site and walks into site office at 5:30am

5:45am another 2 workers cars arrive opposite site, others were arriving along Balmerino Dr and Favril St and walking into the site.

Entrance to site gates were opened at 6am

6.10 first vehicle arrives on site at front entrance and drives into the site

6.30am Water truck, a heavy vehicle, called mini tanker (38081221) went into the site, under instructions from the site management as explained by the driver

Trucks Engines idle and air- brakes release pressure
6.35am first truck and trailer arrives on Richmond Rd
6:40 next 2 arrive and queue on Richmond Rd,
By 6:48am 9 huge trucks were in queue outside the site
They started to move just after 6:55am into the site and within 10-15 minutes returned to drive out turning right across the traffic.

Cars Parked illegally around in close proximity to site , photos attached
207 RDJ Cochrams parked on footpath 6:00 am to 6:20
CSP.77 parked over yellow line Favril St
931 GWQ whit hilux parked on footpath in Rembrandt St outside 20 Rembrandt St, has been parking here over the week close to the access point to site at Rembrandt St

illegally parked this afternoon

9 July 2012

Heavy Vehicle going on site at 6:30 am Monday 9 July 2012