Local Law has been adopted - thank you for your feedback.

Thank you to everyone that participated in the community consultation process for this Local Law. In response to the feedback we received, the proposed Open Air Burning Local Law has been amended and adopted by Council. The amendments to the Local Law include:

1. Prohibitions on burning off in August, and on public holidays – many submitters indicated that preventing residents from burning off in July, August and public holidays was too restrictive, and would reduce the opportunities to burn off. As a result of feedback, the local law no longer prohibits burning off in August and public holidays.

2. “25 metre” distance requirements – many submitters pointed out that the proposed local law (that required 25 metre clearance to structures) prevented many land owners from burning off, even though that wasn’t the intention of the law. These requirements have been changed, to require 12 metre distance from structures (but not from fences).

3. The zoning of some properties was changed, as a result of submitter feedback. Some property owners who requested that their property be re-zoned will be directly contacted by us to work with them to ensure appropriate permits are available to them, and inform future zone reviews.

4. Burn pile size increases - Maximum burn pile sizes have been increased for properties from 2m to 3m in any dimension. This was in response to feedback from residents that the current pile sizes were too small to allow efficient burning off to occur, especially for larger rural lifestyle properties.

5. Increased planning for community education and training about how to burn off safely, and to reduce impact on your neighbours.

The final Local Law can be found in the document library on the right hand side of this screen and further information can be found at http://www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/OABfactsheets

Further consultation

At a recent Council Meeting, Council resolved to undertake further community engagement with a number of properties, prior to making a final decision about the proposed Law. We will contact these property owners directly during March and April. Once this engagement has been completed, Council will review all feedback before deciding whether to make the local law.

The Local Law 20 – Open Air Fires is expected to be put forward for formal adoption at the June Council Meeting.

The current laws relating to open air fires will remain in place until the revised law comes into effect.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on Proposed Local Law 20 – Open Air Fires.

The feedback period is now closed.

• A revised Local Law has been prepared taking your feedback into consideration.
• The revised Local Law will be considered by Council at its next meeting on March 21, 2022.
• The current laws about open air fires will remain in place until the revised law comes into effect.
• To receive future updates about this project, click the yellow ‘follow’ button at the top of the page.

• Following extensive consultation with the community and stakeholders during 2019 and 2020, Proposed Local Law 20 – Open Air Fires has been drafted and is ready for you to review and provide comments on if you wish.
• It will replace the existing Local Law 17 – Part 5A
• The proposed new law aims to make it easier and safer for residents who need to burn off to reduce fire fuel hazards on their properties to do this, while managing impacts including smoke and health hazards.

3 new zones are proposed to replace the existing ‘bushfire-prone area’.

The proposed zones are shown in the online map below, and are colour-coded as follows:

• Urban and Township – RED
• Bushland and Peri-Urban – YELLOW
• Rural – NEUTRAL

All properties from across the 3 zones may apply for a permit to burn off.

Properties in the ‘Bushland and Peri-Urban’ and ‘Rural’ zones may not need a permit to burn off if other criteria are met. For more information, refer to the proposed new local law.

The proposed zones have been developed based on:

• urban growth boundaries
• property sizes
• planning zones (commercial, low-density residential, urban growth, and green wedge)
• the existing Bushfire Prone Area.

More info: Proposed new local law 20

1. Enter your property address into the search bar below and select it when it appears in the drop-down menu.
2. The interactive map will then zoom in to your property location.
3. Check the colour of the map where your property is to see which zone it falls in.

If you prefer, you can also check which proposed zone your property is in using the maps in the document library on this page.

If you're having trouble working out which zone your property is in, you can call us on 1300 787 624 to check.

Council is now seeking feedback on Proposed Local Law 20 – Open Air Fires.

All submissions must be made in writing by post or email.

Post

Open air fires consultation
Cardinia Shire Council
PO Box 7
Pakenham VIC 3810

Email

mail@cardinia.vic.gov.au

Your submission must include:

• your name and address
• the reasons for the submission
• advice as to whether you wish to support your submission at a meeting of Council or a committee appointed for the purpose of hearing submissions on this proposed local law.

All submissions must be received at Council by Friday 17 September 2021, 5pm.