Compost falls foul of vote

A report on the March 1 council meeting agenda recommended the council approve the application for a stockpile of treated chicken manure at 288 Carabooda Road.

City staff had refused the original application in June 2015, but the applicant appealed to the State Administrative Tribunal and following mediation hearings, revised its application.

At last month’s council briefing session, City planning implementation manager Pas Bracone said the application followed complaints about odour, flies and rodents in 2013.

“It was raw chicken manure,” he said.

Mr Bracone said the applicant had modified the proposal, relocating the pile away from the property boundaries, and would store treated compost instead of raw manure.

He said it came from chicken farms and would be processed at a composting facility, and stored at that property when supply exceeded the demand for compost from nearby farms.

“We consider this a use that’s compatible with the zone here, the rural resource zone,” he said. “It’s coming from a chicken farm or farms.

“This is excess product that they are producing; they are simply storing it on this site.”

Councillor Linda Aitken asked about the risk of allowing a 3000sq m stockpile that might never go away like the peat pile in Gnangara.

“They are deliberately composting it with the intention of selling it,” Mr Bracone said. “It’s a commercial venture; they will want to move the product on.”

At last week’s meeting, the recommendation lapsed for want of a mover and Cr Frank Cvitan moved an alternative to refuse the application because it was an unlisted use, therefore not permitted in the rural resource zone.

“This particular stockpile is considered to be raw foul manure, hence poses a problem there of stable fly breeding, rodents, etc,” he said.

Cr Dianne Guise said it did not fit in with the amenity of the area.

Councillors unanimously voted to refuse the application, and advise the applicant and SAT of their decision.