PlanningAlerts

8 Comments

Create an account or sign in to have your say by adding your own comment.

1. This business seems to have a disregard for rules and processes and restrictions put in place by council.
   The site was used by this business as a taxi based for way too long during which time the actions of the business caused significant safety and environmental concerns.
   My fear is, if this DA is approved they will again have a total disregard for any restrictions or rules placed on them by council and again work outside any approved DA.
   I request that council please review this application carefully for the safety of all the residents and particularly local school kids in this area every day.

2. This business has no regard for the welfare of residents least of all the number of school children who use Union Street as a thoroughfare to get to school (Tempe Public School and Tempe High School). They have continually been in breach of the existing DA, operating outside of designated hours. Unregistered taxis are frequently dumped/parked in surrounding residential streets causing issues for many residents who don’t have off street parking. Taxis are often parked on footpaths causing pedestrians to have to walk on the road. Taxis are often seen driving down the wrong way down Union Street which is one way. They’re trying to access the highway which then causes issues for cars entering union street fromthe Princes Hwy and Smith Street. The staff have been overwhelmingly rude to concerned residents rather than approach them in a consultative way to reach compromise. I believe there are industrial areas more suited for this type of business which will impact the local community less. If this DA is approved, I also believe there will be no regulatory body “policing” this business to ensure DA guidelines are being adhered to. This has been the case with the past DAs for this business. I have never seen a ranger anywhere near this business despite a multitude of complaints made by myself and many other residents.

3. Firstly I would like to attend to previous applications that have been totally ignored by this business/businesses that operate out of the above site.A Total disregard for council and of residents with seemingly endless breaches of almost every aspect of the daily running of the business..Parking issues ,dangerous driving issues,taxi drivers urinating on local streets in full view of children,taxi base labelled rubbish being thrown in gutters ,semi trailers full of cars being unloaded in narrow local streets and the list goes on.
   Currently the business seems on the surface to be behaving itself but still it's operating out of hours and still operating as a changeover base and storing changeover cars in local streets and in Pretty Girl .
   The residents are very concerned about the current plans as they will pave the way for this business to flout the Da conditions ie to increase operating hrs and 7 days a week as they have done in the past and is well documented by council and return the location into yet again a changeover base under the guise of a Repair Shop.
   The entire area surrounding this business has had to endure more than enough pain and inconvenience at the hands of Zevra/The Taxi Base/Taxi Solutions and would explore the council to seriously consider the previous constant breaching of conditions and almost arrogant behaviour of this business to locals and to you the council .
   This business cannot be trusted to do the correct thing by either council or the residents

4. The applicant unfortunately has shown a continual blatant regard for adhering to any regulations regarding its taxi base with its hours recently curtailed after council action. This show of character from the applicant including disregard of the safety of two schools nearby is cause enough to reject this application. Also the operation of the site and conducting vehicle repairs from 7am to 11pm 7 days in a residential area is clearly at odds with common practice and should be rejected.

5. As a local resident, I have significant concerns about this DA. I have reviewed the Traffic Report provided and note that many of the issues listed in the report are the very same rules that staff of this business disregard.
   - “one way westerly traffic flow in Union Street” – taxi drivers disregard this road rule and drive dangerously the wrong way down Union St in order to access the site,
   - “traffic signals at the Princes Highway and Union Street and Smith Street 
intersection” – taxi drivers exit the site and turn out of Union St and onto the Princes Highway the wrong way creating a major safety risk for oncoming traffic
   - “CLEARWAY restrictions supplemented by sections of NO STOPPING 
restrictions along the Highway” – taxis are regularly parked on the footpath along the Princes Highway creating blockages for foot traffic, including children and parents with prams who need to access Tempe Public School.
   - “It is apparent that the parking provision on the site is adequate for the uses which are the subject of the application” – taxi drivers routinely park their private vehicles in the nearby residential streets and the Pretty Girl site across the road is overflowing with taxi and private vehicles from this business. The parking provisions are inadequate and adversely impact on residents and community members who need to access the local school.
   - In assessing the vehicle access to the site, the attached report states “the peak site generation does not coincide with the on-street commuter peak periods.” However, the afternoon hours of 14.45-15.45 actually coincide with the on-street commuter peak periods, as the local school pick up period occurs at around 15.00.
   Whilst the site is zoned for a business of this sort to operate, the size of this particular business, and the number of taxis associated, are significantly larger than the numbers that are outlined in the attached reports. This business should be advised to find a more suitably sized site to operate out of, where the burden of its operation will not be borne by the local community.
   In addition, some of the staff associated with this business have been witnessed by local residents urinating in public places (an offence under the Summary Offences Act 1998), and engaging in abusive and intimidating behaviour. The local residents have spent a significant amount of time and effort monitoring this business and have provided council with evidence of the concerns outlined above. In response, Council have utilised significant time and resources investigating these concerns, issuing warnings and fining the business for failure to comply.
   Whilst the business may meet the criteria under the B6 zone of the MLEP2011, this application should be rejected due to the way in which this business operates, it’s disregard for abiding by conditions previously imposed by council, and its negative impact on the local community.

6. I’m writing to express my strong objections to DA201800274 because the business that operates at this premises repeatedly demonstrates a complete lack of respect and regard for the health, safety and amenity of local residents.
   Since at least September of 2017 a host of neighbours—myself included—have regularly seen vehicles associated with this business driving the wrong way down the one-way Union Street and making illegal turns onto the Princes Highway. The business has regularly been observed breaching the conditions of its DA by operating outside the allowable hours, unloading enormous transport carriers in residential areas, exiting the premises the wrong way, and operating as a taxi depot when it didn’t have consent to do so. Staff have also been caught washing chemicals into the street and urinating on local footpaths. They have also behaved in an aggressive and intimidating manner when challenged by neighbours expressing concerns about these actions.
   Residents have lodged countless complaints about this behaviour, informed by photo and video evidence. We have also met with Councillors and senior Council staff to express our frustration at this unacceptable situation. In response, I understand that Council has corroborated many of these complaints and has undertaken some enforcement action. In spite of this, some unsafe and anti-social behaviour continues.
   The prospect of Council approving a DA from a business with such disrespect for both the local community and Council itself is inconceivable.
   I urge Council to take the only appropriate course of action available and reject DA201800274.

7. Why are there 150 unregistered taxis in the car park near the canal / Cooks River at Tempe?

8. Simultaneously with this business shutting down, over 100 unregistered taxis filled the car park in Tempe Reserve. Are those taxis owned by the same people, and why is Council allowing them to take up so much public space on a seemingly indefinite basis?

Have your say on this application

You're too late! The period for officially commenting on this application finished over 5 years ago. If you chose to comment now, your comment will still be displayed here and be sent to the planning authority but it will not be officially considered by the planning authority.

Your comment and details will be sent to Inner West Council (Marrickville). Your name and comment will be posted publicly above.

Create an account or sign in to make a comment