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June 25, 2011 at 1:48 pm #1055976Up::0
Well the afternoon tea was attended by 3 residents. One popped in earlier to say they couldn’t attend but were supportive. It turns out that there is a fair amount of conflict in the units, being caused by the person who appealed.
So the residents decided they wanted us to stay and started their own petition saying they have no concerns about traffic, parking, or noise and wanted us to stay! They have 10 signatures out of 16. It is so heartwarming!
One lady visited yesterday with a bit of gossip, “one resident used to be the busy body but isn’t now and went up to the person who appealed and asked her what her problem was, and that if she was so unhappy she could leave!” lol the person who appealed replied saying she listened to kids all day working at her daughters business and didn’t want to listen to it all night when she came home” This is interested in two fronts, one she is on Newstart, I know as she applied to VCAT for her fee to be waivered and two, we are servicing primary school aged children, no one is going to party all night!
It is heartwarming to see them supporting us though.
We also sent some sandwich platters and gorgeous whit mudcake cupcakes to the two businesses next door, as much as it killed me inside!
…… onto to the landlords next door who appealed. I spoke to our owner who was furious about their appeal. He was going to contact them to discuss the issues and put some pressure. Apparently they want some work done to the buildings and he now wont agree to anything, if they are going to be so difficult. So hopefully that has some weight.
Then we received a letter from VCAT advising the matter is going to mediation on the 15th July. The landlords had said no to medication in their appeal documentation, but the planner said the VCAT member rang them to discuss it.
Now I am in a dilemma, if mediation is successful, we wont need the traffic and sound assessment, but if it isn’t the hearing may be too soon to get them done in time. The planner says to get them started, but I don’t even know if I can afford them to be honest. So do I take a chance?
Cheers
Jazzah
ps I met with the major, manager of planning and local MP. Not sure if any of it will do any good, but they heard me.June 29, 2011 at 6:58 am #1055977Up::0the person who appealed replied saying she listened to kids all day working at her daughters business and didn’t want to listen to it all night when she came home” This is interested in two fronts, one she is on Newstart, I know as she applied to VCAT for her fee to be waivered
Be very careful if you’re going to use this as an ace card. You can still work and be on Newstart and this includes entitlements to Health Care Cards and fee waivers.
In terms of letting them know you intend to apply for costs, I would. Puts the fear of God into a vexatious litigant, knowing that the person they picked on is going to go the nuck on them.
In terms of getting the assessment prior to mediation, I wouldn’t. Mediation, on the whole, is successful (people fighting face to face tends to dampen an argument whereas via paper or courts tends to fuel it) and in your position it would be a shame to spend all that money and not have anything to show for it. I’d wait and see, especially when you can ask the mediator to allow you time to get that assessment done should mediation not be successful.
Another question comes to mind. Is there a journalist sympathetic to your plight that would write about you? Or perhaps you could approach a publication with a view to writing about you?
Good luck.
July 1, 2011 at 3:22 am #1055978Up::0Beautician has some good advice.
I have heard that getting an appeal date at VCAT can be up to 8 months. While I would hope that if mediation doesn’t work it will be sooner than this, it still might be awhile. Also my thought is that you could get advice from the VCAT member on the day if mediation doesn’t work on what expert reports are needed, given you already did traffic for the application.
Good luck with mediation,
July 5, 2011 at 11:54 am #1055979Up::0We are 8 days away from our mediation session at VCAT. I am really really nervous and have pressure all around me, whether it is accounts payable, stock needed, upset customers, family (my 82 year old grandfather is moving out of the family home this week into a unit, kids are on holidays etc etc) I just want to crawl in a hole and hide til this is all over. (and its my birthday tomorrow!)
INSTEAD
I am setting up balloons each day at a shopping centre, trying to get as many flyers out as I can.
everything just feels so hard though….I don’t know what I will do if mediation ends up a disaster. Pack everything up and retreat back to the garage?
Jazzah
July 5, 2011 at 12:49 pm #1055980Anonymous
Guest- Total posts: 11,464
July 5, 2011 at 12:50 pm #1055981Up::0Jazzah, post: 82411 wrote:…and its my birthday tomorrow!Now that’s freaky…it’s mine too
Happy birthday !!I am setting up balloons each day at a shopping centre, trying to get as many flyers out as I can.
Keep going…you’ve got hundreds of people here on FS on your side. Stay strong.
Wendy xo
July 5, 2011 at 12:57 pm #1055982Guest- Total posts: 11,464
Up::0Whoa! That is very freaky! I love it
Happy birthday to you too Wendy.
Hope both you girls are spoilt rotten.
Jayne
July 6, 2011 at 10:15 am #1055983Up::0Couple It, post: 82417 wrote:Now that’s freaky…it’s mine too Happy birthday !!
Wendy xoHappy birthday to you too!
July 6, 2011 at 11:43 am #1055984Up::0I wouldn’t mind painted floor, and I’m sure it could look great. It sounds like you’re overloaded with work at the moment, so perhaps you could hire a friend to answer the phone and do some of the other daily time consuming tasks, and therefore free up a significant portion of your time. Perhaps this would even allow you to start the hard concrete work yourself.
July 11, 2011 at 8:02 am #1055985July 12, 2011 at 12:34 pm #1055986Up::0Well we have 3 sleeps to go. Mediation is on Friday, late afternoon. I am really really nervous. We are at breaking point for the business, for the family, for my marriage. I was getting a folder prepared for the hearing, just to make sure I have all the documents on me and realized my hands were shaking.
So unusual for me, my past life involved lots of court work as a child protection officer. So court is not unfamiliar, but I guess we have a lot at stake. I find I have to remind myself to take some deep breaths throughout the day.
I met with the planner, we went through some options on where we can compromise. So now we wait…..
Jazzah
July 12, 2011 at 12:49 pm #1055987Up::0I just know it’s going to go well for you
Follow Dory’s advice…just keep swimming, just keep swimming…
Wendy
July 16, 2011 at 12:14 am #1055988Up::0Hi Jazzah,
I’m hoping it all went well for you yesterday. You probably fell over with all the good thoughts sent your way.
Suzie
July 16, 2011 at 1:10 am #1055989Up::0Was thinking about you yesterday…can’t wait for your post to tell us that it all went well.
Wendy
July 16, 2011 at 11:54 am #1055990Up::0Well I don’t know where to start, other than the mediation was exhausting and difficult. It started at 2.25 and ended at 5.20pm! We started by everyone stating their perspective issues and then they separated us, with the mediator going in between us.
The main issues ended up being hours operation and parking. As it appears that Dulux threatened not to renew their lease if we were to obtain a permit. Dulux are paying a lot for their lease, which the landlord would not get, not even 50% off in the current climate. So they wanted to protected that at all costs.
The mediator went to all parties, with an offer for us to reduce our no of children from 30 – 25 during their business hours, but then increase to 35 after their hours. They rejected it. We then offered to same down to 20 children, they rejected that as well! The mediator then indicated that he didn’t think it could be resolved! Straight to a VCAT hearing.
Then the other party cam back with an offer that we could hold parties monday to friday 4.30-7pm, saturday 11.30-7pm sunday 10-7pm. But not school holidays!
We said no and offered school holidays 11.30-4.30, they said no and asked for 4 parking spaces to be allocated to us.
We then said we needed some mornings and school holidays. We also asked for 5 parking spaces based on teh size and proportion of our building being the largest. They cam back agreeing to the 5 car spaces and 2 mornings.
We said no we needed 2 days 11.20-1.20 and 2 – 4pm. during school holidays. They ended up agreeing to this but wanted a condition that we would police our car parking during school holidays, whatever that means!
It was just really really hard making decisions like that on your feet, trying to figure out if you can meet your bottom line.
So we had an option to accept those conditions or to go to a VCAT hearing and risk a VCAT members making a decision and the cost being over $10,000 for experts.
SO we agreed. We can apply change the conditions at a later date, maybe when Dulux has resigned their lease, which ends in about 12 months. I don’t think they will stay there anyway and this was just an excuse.
How do I feel? exhausted from the process emotionally and financially. I am, I cant even describe what i am, that someone can control our business and income to such an extent. Really, we are barely operating when the other businesses are open. (half an hour a day!!) How can that be fair and reasonable, how can they have that much power? They had 2 couples there, a planner and a barrister. It was intimidating. What sort of a world do we live in that some can have that much of an impact upon someone else? 5t is not fair and I knew that I could not afford to fight this at VCAT, so what other choice did i have?
Now I have to make sure we are up and running, we have to build walls, install a kitchen, get a food permit (that should not be this hard!!) and party bookings! So a lot to do, while at the back of my mind, there is still some dwelling on the injustice.
Thankyou so much for your support along the way. We are not out of the woods yet and I don’t think this will be the last time we end up in VCAT with these neighbors, but we can operate on a smaller scale, lets hope that is enough to float with!
Jazzah
ps 3 of the over 55 neighbors popped in and saw my husband today and yesterday to see how it went, one brought me some lovely lilies. It is nice to see that kindness out of all this nastiness, as for the objector from their unit complex, she never showed up!
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