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13 Comments

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1. I find this a very strange DA, since the work has already been completed.
   How can this be?
   How can a landlord and a tenant do major building work without a DA? A complete disregard for Council requirements and lack of respect for the local community.
   We had to put up with the building works which impacted the local community by:
   The noise
   The traffic disruption on the street with trucks and tradesman taking over the street, without traffic controls
   The footpath blocked
   Tradesman parking over our driveway, and thinking it was Ok because they were working on the said project
   
   Secondly requesting opening hours until midnight.
   I have no objection of a cafe on the corner, however
   this is mainly a residential area with a village centre.
   These hours are not required or necessary. We got an insight into what can happen on the 26th January 2021 with Tables, chairs and patrons blocking the footpath, loud music. It was not possible to walk through the footpath.
   My understanding is the police and council came and closed them down early in the evening.
   Another example where the café owners have no knowledge of or respect of the local community.

2. I object to this venue having a licence until midnight. North Bondi hub is a family area and there is not a need to have a venue open that late. Other restaurants in the local area operate until 10pm on week nights and 11pm on weekends. There is no reason for a midnight closing time. The owners behaviour on boxing day was disrespectful to the locals and total disregard to waverley council in that they were operating without consent.

3. These kinds of DA s are killing the local community. Will lCouncil please do something pro active to protect us residents.

4. Considering the fact that the operators of Cafe Bondi are a large well known hospitality group whom are well aware of the DA process and obligations when it comes to opening a new venue. I find it appalling and somewhat questanable that council would entertain such a DA request and allow this cafe to trade without a DA.

   You would think building work that was intentionally completed by the new operator illegally and knowingly without a DA, pre-approvals, consent or consideration from the north bondi locals community would warrant a fine and automatic DA decline.

   I object to serving coffee and food to the street! This will create serisous congestion at an already busy and dangerous crossing.
   This would essentially force locals and mothers with prams onto the upper footpath and closer to unpredictable busses and cars having to turn a blind corner into a crossing and possibly into unnessesarry harms way.

   I object to the midnight opening ours, this is a family friendly community and a liquor free zone. A midnight licence is asking for trouble, the tenants actions on Australia day were disrespectful to the local community, council and irresponsible during covid.
   Such operators have no right operating with a liquor licence nor given special treatment from council with this DA.

   I'm just one of many locals whom will be keeping a close eye on how this moves forward. I'm hoping council will listen to, and protect our north bondi community.

5. This DA request does not reflect the North Bondi community family and neighbourhood values. We live in this area for the safety, relative quiet and strong community culture.
   This venue has already shown its disregard for our community in the way they have gone about the fit out and the constant 'doof' music. This total disregard and lack of public awareness by this operator culminated in the events of Australia Day which were genuinely distressing for our residents. A request for a resident DJ and midnight closing hours will create noise, overcrowding and safety issues for the residents and should be rejected.

6. The developer has breach so many councils DCP and Goverment guidelines acts .
   On Australian day the police and council closed them down for not have any approvals for outdoor dinning and selling liquor without approval on the footpath .
   The DA documents lodged a flawed as the architect plans are dated 20 July 2020 are
   On plans the council building department, rangers and the General manager have on file.
   The Architect ,the owner and tenant all knew the requirements that have not been followed but did building works without approval and seeking post approval for illegal works preformed.

7. The applicant (Cafe Bondi) has performed works illegally and is operating without consent. Waverley Council has failed at all levels to deal with this matter.

   The applicant has no intention of compiling with DA approvals, this is evident with Cafe Bondi’s behaviour on Australia Day and the over use of the footpath, disregard for the community, pedestrian traffic and public health orders.

   The applicant has publicly boasted about having a “Resident DJ” the current approval and outside dining consent clearly states (No amplified music) yet they continue to play amplified music.

   The operator of Cafe Bondi is completely disconnected from the North Bondi community.

   I would ask the assessor to take into consideration the number and nature of the merits on file regarding the operation of Cafe Bondi and their inability to comply with the community requests and councils controls.

   Regardless of any of the issues raised Waverley Councils DCP clearly states new premises must operate for a minimum of 6 months before an application for extended trading hours can be lodged.

   Cafe Bondi has not been operating with consent for the minimum 6 months requirement.

   Existing use rights should not be permitted due to the changes made rendering DA-299/2015 and others void and the need for a new subsequent application.

   The proposed increase from 18 to 36 internal capacity and 16 to 28 people for footpath dining is excessive and has been refused in the past to other operators.

   Toilets?
   Considering the toilet facilities are communal with 3 other commercial tenants staff and customers, I imagine they would have to upgrade the toilets to accomodate such an increase in capacity, this in not outlined in the Statement of Environmental effects. It’s not even provided on the plan. As the toilets are not internal, issues with patrons having to exit the building to the rear to use the facilities would cause disruption to the adjoining residential properties.

   The proposed increase of 16 to 28 people for footpath dining is a clear overuse of the site and would become the primary / dominant dining area. The operator has already proven this on multiple occasions (Check Councils rangers files)

   Service to the street requires people to order on one side and wait on the other, that does not leave much room for pedestrian traffic. My wife and I have on occasions be forced to walk our pram on the road to get around the “service area” and people congregated waiting for orders or waiting to order. The cover photo on the statement of environmental effects shows people blocking the foot path and this is taken during a quiet time.

   I could be wrong but the application did not show any application for signage. Is this DA going to address the new over sized signage on the corner door pillars, it is out of caricature and inappropriate.

   There is no disabled access.

   The Statement of Environmental Effects inadequately addresses any of the major issues related to the site, its operation and the actual effects to the community / environment. I would encourage council to follow proper protocol and investigate the appropriateness of this application at this site.

8. I am a resident of North Bondi and have been for 10 years. I felt compelled to respond to this DA after reading on Broadsheet Sydney that “Cafe Bondi” plans to introduce a resident DJ and Sunday sessions. They were also quoted in the article as saying;
   “The finishing touch is the music. Clearly they like it loud in Miami (and Bondi)”.
   (link below)

   This was reflected on Australia Day. When I walked past there was a DJ playing music and patrons drinking outside on the street. The owners have publicly stated to Broadsheet Sydney that they plan to make this a percent fixture of their operation.
   However in the documentation provided for this DA, they state “no amplified music will be played”.

   I have been a resident of North Bondi for the last 10 years. I know the area to be a very safe, quiet, family centred area. There are tenants in the building parallel "Cafe Bondi" with young children, as well as a number of elderly residents that live on Brighton Boulevard.

   A request to extend trading hours till 12pm on weekends seems very extreme for the area. North Bondi already struggles with parking availability and people noisily walking up and down Brighton Blvd and Hastings Pde back to their cars late at night.

   The council should consider if this type of operation is right for the area and in the spirit of the local community.

   Broadsheet Sydney - link
   https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/pastel-hued-north-bondi-art-deco-building-cafe-bondi-serving-tequila-spiked-bloody-marys-and-knockout-bacon-and-egg-rolls

9. This previously, well patronised by local residents, friendly cafe, has recently been turned into another "venue in Bondi "capitalising on the name of the area. North Bondi is a family suburb with parents pushing prams, juggling toddlers and negotiating traffic, including buses on a very narrow strip. Other North Bondi dwellers include a seniors population who may use walking sticks or frames to get around. It is already difficult enough to get past milling customers of the new venue
   To increase seating in the outside area will be fraught with problems. Council should consider restricting outdoor seating to enable easy public passage. This should have been addressed in the original DA but now I read there has never been a DA!
   How can this business apply for a variation, including more seating and DJ music, which will need to be heard by the outside patrons when there was never a DA to vary?
   I urge council, as a grandmother of small grandchildren who has to negotiate the footpath from O'Donnell Street not to allow further seating outdoors. Seated patrons also means standing patrons, some waiting to be seated, which will increase the number of people in the area.
   I have been in the area for over 10 years, I know the old cafe called The Depot only had two toilets which were accessed outside the building, down the street and up an alley. I am not sure where new toilets are situated for a very much increased patronage.

   In summary, more tables, loud music, alcohol and late night opening is okay and fun in Hall street precinct but definitely NOT in the quiet suburban neighbourhood of North Bondi
   All of the above without a DA????
   Kerry Freeman

10. Shocked they so blatantly circumvented community consultation and planning controls.

    Takeaway service would perhaps be more suited to face Brighton Boulevard rather than Campbell parade. The cafe is right at the North bondi cross walk making it a high traffic area. Pram and disability access is particularly difficult when people and dogs are congregating in front of the cafe.

    The site is far too small for amplified music which is basically on the street with all the patrons. A bigger site with more useable/private indoor space should have been procured for this purpose.

11. I object to this development. Almost all the cafe owners in North Bondi live and raise their families in the neighbourhood. They contribute a wonderful sense of community, great service and respect to the local area.
    The owners of Cafe Bondi are new to the area. They seem clearly intent on capitalising on the Bondi name and reputation.
    North Bondi is a strong stable diverse community of all ages and stages of life from young couples, young families, long time elderly residents and empty nesters. It is not a destination for the drinking/drug culture.
    The owners of Cafe Bondi should move into Bondi Central where the pub scene is accepted. I witnessed disrespectful behaviour by Cafe Bondi on Boxing Day. Their total disregard for Waverley Council operating regulations was appalling.
    As residents living within 100 metres of Cafe Bondi I feel distressed by the thought if this sort of application.
    Thank you for your consideration

12. To have a restaurant open till midnight, will completely ruin the vibe of the North Bondi shopping strip.
    The restaurant has already had a refit over the last few months, which caused disruptions to the local community. Was this approved by council?

    If council grants these extended opening hours, will that not open up the possibility of other restaurants in the area also asking for extended hours?

    It is neither necessary or wanted in the North Bondi precinct.

13. I have read the Plan of management and there are objections to be raised, the least of which is that they have already broken many items in their own proposed Plan.

    To start with, the hours of operation are far too long. Friday and Saturday night till midnight will be hugely disruptive to the local residents. Brighton Blvd is a very quiet residential street and we have not had dining on that corner for the last 15 years, and before that, closing times went no later than 10pm. Late night dining and drinking carries with it all sorts of noises and I note that there has been no noise assessment done to measure the ambient noise in the evening and at night.

    Their Noise Impact plan states that patrons will be encouraged by staff to keep noise to a minimum. This reads as almost childlike. They need to do a proper assessment with baseline noise levels at hourly intervals during their proposed hours of operation so that Council can properly assess whether their application will have a material impact on sleeping residents.

    They state that “no amplified music will be played by the café”. And yet, they have installed external speakers and have advertised a resident DJ for the weekend. Their Australia Day music reverberated down Brighton Blvd where the closeness of the buildings creates an amplification effect. The sound of course, that we hear in our homes, is just the bass which is both unsettling and impossible to block out. It was disrespectful of them to play the music in violation of their own plan and with no community consultation or even a courtesy note dropped in our letter boxes.
    
    Seating capacity requested is at the extreme end and appears to be a grab at more spaces with the expectation that it will be watered down. A DA with unrealistic inside and outside seating capacity should be rejected and a request for a more reasonable number be required before it can be re-lodged. Alcohol should absolutely not be served that late at night, there’s no way that anyone could expect patrons, who are drinking till 11.30pm at night, to be quiet and mindful of sleeping residents.

    Their Waste Management plan states that collection will happen between 7 am and 10am. However, collection on Monday and Friday is already happening at 5.30am in breach of their own submitted plan and this wakes all the residents living along the street.

    Their Complaint Management Plan sates that they will hold a register in which complaints will be recorded and acted upon within 24 hours. I have made a complaint directly with Mr Daniel Dracopoulos, the proprietor, about him leaving stacked crates, 3 or 4 high, filled with empty milk cartons, on the footpath. No record of my complaint was entered in any register, which I believe does not exist.

    I told Mr Dracopoulos that they are not only an eyesore and he needs to manage his waste responsibly, but that the crates can blow across the street in high winds causing a traffic hazard, which is exactly what happened two weeks later. His response was, “I don’t care, it’s inconvenient to me and I’ll leave them where I want to.”

    In addition, we have had to call the rangers on more than half a dozen occasions to address the umbrella poles being left out as a trip hazard, the bread crates and the milk crates which to date, still remain deposited on the footpath each evening.

    As a 25 year resident of Bondi, I welcome new businesses to the area. But likewise, we like to be part of the consultation process, which is the role of the DA, and allows residents to have their input. Council is usually fastidious in the application of the DA process but for some reason, this has not been adhered to in this instance.

    No DA was advertised before the café started operation, denying residents their right to have an input, the building works were substantial and it was farcical to call them anything else, the external painting work is somewhat of an eyesore and I would be surprised if Council’s heritage impact people really had a chance to assess it, direct street service should never have been approved and it has forced many of us, on multiple occasions, onto the roadway, the building showed substantial cracking during the building works and the dangerous and dilapidated state of the awning and the building itself should have rung alarm bells at the council.

    There have been so many significant breaches of standard council protocols, so little community consultation, the works have been rushed through in such an expedited manner and Mr Tony Quill, the council planning officer responsible has shown no inclination to communicate or address the issues when contacted, that it leaves one wondering whether an ICAC inquiry is required to reveal the causes behind the apparent breaches of process.