03. Not knowing what your planning overlays are or what they mean
This one is super hard. We feel you need about three degrees to accurately navigate most Council town planning guides! Sorry for all you readers outside of the Brisvegas catchment, but here’s a short guide on the two most common ones we see that impact our clients and what they can build:
Traditional Building Character:
Basically, Council wants to see building forms & materials that are sympathetic to the area and in keeping with the predominant streetscape. This applies even if your property was built after 1946 and limits what you can build and how much you can demolish. As a rule of thumb, you can lift and build under a TBC house so long as you set the lower level in from the footprint of the original building above. You can also build behind or beside the dwelling as long as you are behind the highest point of the home as viewed from the street.
Overland Flow:
We see lots of these come through our door, and the process for understanding the requirements for your particular site can only be uncovered by speaking with an engineer who specialises in this. Council will not give you a minimum habitable floor level for this overlay, and it has significant impacts on what you can build. If you have a site with overland flow, let us know and we can put you in the right direction for some early advice.
Whether you are working with us or another design professional, we think your investment into design is the single most important aspect of your projects success.