Updated July 2010
Intentional communities, Eco-villages, Communes and Community Schemes are some of the names used by people who wish to live on rural land with similar ideas to themselves. They may have a common interest in permaculture, organic or biodynamic agriculture, environmental building, belong to a church group or lodge or are interested in a sport or other activity. By living in a community with people of similar interests it is easier to share expertise and learn from each other. Some items of equipment can be owned by the group.
I gave soil and water conservation advice to owners of small properties surrounding Canberra in Australia for 30 years and had previously owned a small rural residential block. I believe many people would be better off buying into a community scheme instead of buying a rural residential block that may be beyond their management capabilities.
The requirements for New South Wales are being covered with specific requirements of Palerang Council to give an example of some of the special requirements councils may require. People from other states or overseas should be able to use this eBook as a format for their own investigation.
Community title subdivisions in NSW have rapidly increased in number since legislation was passed in 1989. Like any legal identity the development of a community scheme is complicated and many people will use professionals to help with the legal structure and land development. Knowledge of the requirements for the “Community Management Statement” is useful to ensure the desired outcomes for the community are achieved.
Many people may not wish to join with others to create a community scheme but want to buy into an existing scheme. Once more people decide they want to live in a community scheme, developers will provide more community schemes. If land developers know there is an interest in environmental factors they may be more willing to include these factors in the Community Management Statement. For example people may not want herbicide sprayed near their house and no herbicide use could be included in the Community Management Statement. Before deciding on prohibiting herbicides people need to know there are no noxious weeds that could be hard to control without herbicides such as areas where cultivation is impossible. If individuals or a group have an interest in the environment it may be easier to incorporate these factors prior to any blocks being sold as to change the Community Management Statement requires all lot owners to agree.
INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES, MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY BLOCKS AND COMMUNES
Advantages
In the past it was usually cheap to join and other dwellings were of cheap environmental construction.
Disadvantages
In the past were on cheap land a distance from major towns. Because it was usually difficult to borrow money, many houses were of cheap construction. Some councils did not have any land zoned for multiple occupancy so many communities had unapproved houses. In the past some councils have threatened to demolish unapproved dwellings. Some communities sold shares in the whole community and resale could be strongly influenced by the wishes of the existing community.
Experiences and comments
Ian C submitted – About the mid1970’s a company was formed with 15 shares by a group of people. The Company bought a run down farm of a bit over 100 hectares in Southern Queensland about 30 minutes drive from a modest sized town offering employment opportunities. People who bought the shares had the right to occupy a block of one hectare. There is a community centre and camping ground and an area where stock can be grazed. Water is reticulated to the houses from a permanent pool in the creek. The company has a tractor and some equipment. After some initial misunderstandings the community developed bylaws such as no firearms, dogs must be on leads in common areas and the company had to approve any sub-leasing even when no money was involved. Each share holder pays less than $500 a quarter to pay council rates and to run the company including money for new facilities or equipment. Approval from the company must be obtained for any proposed share transfer.
RURAL RESIDENTAL
Advantages
People can fence and have management of all their land. As there is a separate land title people can buy, mortgage to obtain finance and easily sell.
Disadvantages
Owners are responsible for their entire infrastructure such as internal roads and dams plus land management to control noxious weeds. Often they are forced to buy more land than they can manage and especially if they have horses they may graze the land beyond its capability with overgrazing and subsequent erosion. Many blocks had the only dam site prevented by being used as it straddled two properties and often there wasn't even a bore site on the block. Individual dams and bores are usually more expensive than joint schemes on a community title subdivision.
Experiences and comments
John D submitted - Problems with a neighbour can occur and you do not have the assistance of a community to broker a solution.
John G submitted – Apart from around each house there was very little additional fencing in the rural subdivision to dissect this bush area of 27 lots. Most of the lots were part of a community water supply scheme and after our annual meeting we each paid an annual rate into a fund to cover maintenance. Once when major maintenance was required we decided to pay a one off special rate. Each block has a water meter and when the electricity bill arrives it is divided by what proportion of water each lot used. Attending Community Fire Guard meetings to discuss bush fire prevention was probably the most effective means for generation a feeling that we belonged to a community and this encouraged us to share our skills and ideas. We even raised money to purchase an old fire tanker.
COMMUNITY SCHEMES
Advantages
Comments from people of advantages of this type of community include - rural setting, low cost often owner built houses, environmentally friendly, a legal title that can be bought and sold providing the buyer agrees to the bylaws, good community spirit with people of a diverse range of ages, skills and interests.
Disadvantages
Comments from people of disadvantages of this type of community include - isolation from major town, association fees are about half council rates but receive limited council benefits, all improvements funded by association fees, need to attend meetings and do share of community work and not leave all the work up to a small group of members, domination of meetings by some people.
Experiences and comments
Cheyne Unwin at http://www.biodynamiceducation.com/ submitted - My mother, the late Lynette West started the Biodynamic Education Centre and presented Biodynamic Agriculture courses both in Australia and overseas including a couple of courses on one of the properties owned by Prince Charles. She developed a certificate course that is being completed by remote learning by over 40 people throughout the world. One of Lynettes desires was that “Biodynamic Agriculture by 2050 produces 50% of the world’s food production”. To help achieve her aim Lynette wanted well run biodynamic farms with lecture and accommodation established though out the world that would act as teaching centers. Just before her death, Lynette and a group of her friends were investigating the possibility of buying a property on the east coast of Australia to establish a community.
John D submitted - In 1990 I bought a house in a community about 30 km from Lismore in northern NSW. There were over 100 unit holders owning about 2 acres (0.8 hectares) on the bit over 300 hectare property that was originally bare farming land but now regenerated. Three to twelve units are grouped in hamlets with a hamlet common for their use plus they have use of the remainder of the community land. The property was initially bought in the early 1980's and later subdivided as a horizontal strata title subdivision with bylaws. Bylaws specific to this community include no chemicals and poisons, the phasing out of dogs and cats, no guns and no smoking in public places. There are about 10 km of well maintained internal gravel roads, a gravel pit, an independently run General Store, an Arts & Crafts Centre with rooms to rent for workshops, own fire truck, backhoe and a few community dams. The community decided not to run their own school and have school buses to local government schools and the Steiner School. I sold my house and share in the community in 1997 but have visited about annually.
Advantages of this type of community
- rural setting, low cost often owner built houses, environmentally friendly, a legal title that can be bought and sold providing the buyer agrees to the bylaws, good community spirit with people of a diverse range of ages, skills and interests, no fixed religious or political affiliations, an eclectic group from many fields of life. Close to the Arts & Craft Centre there is main electricity but about 85% of the houses are solar with generator back up.
Disadvantages for some people
- isolation from major town, association fees are about half council rates but receive limited council benefits, all improvements funded by association fees, need to attend meetings and do share of community work, domination of meetings by some people.
Member of a community near Canberra submitted - Dispute resolution and dealing with the various people that like to think and act in a committee is very important because in all honesty every good thing that comes from pooled resources is flushed down the dunny as soon as one of these injects themselves in the lives of everyone else.
MANAGEMENT STATEMENT REQUIREMENTS
(a) the location, control, management, use and maintenance of any part of the neighbourhood property that is an open access way or a private access way, and
(b) the control, management, use and maintenance of any other part of the neighbourhood property, including any special facilities provided on the neighbourhood property, and
(c) the provision of, and payment for, internal fencing on the neighbourhood parcel, and
(d) the storage and collection of garbage on and from the neighbourhood parcel, and
(e) the maintenance of water, sewerage, drainage, gas, electricity, telephone and other services, and
(f) insurance of the neighbourhood property, and
(g) the executive committee of the neighbourhood association, the office-bearers of the committee and the functions of the office-bearers, and
(h) meetings of the executive committee, and
(i) voting on a motion submitted to the executive committee otherwise than at a meeting of the committee, and
(j) the keeping of records of proceedings of the executive committee.
Optional matters for management statement
(1) A neighbourhood management statement may include by-laws and other particulars relating to any of the following:
(a) the hanging of washing within the parcel,
(b) safety and security measures,
(c) details of any restricted property,
(d) the keeping of pets,
(e) the obligation of the proprietor of a lot within the scheme not to interfere with the quiet enjoyment of another lot or the neighbourhood property,
(f) the control of unacceptable noise levels,
(g) details of any business or trading activity to be carried on by the association and the method of distributing and sharing any profit or loss,
(h) the control or preservation of the essence or theme of the development under the scheme,
(i) architectural and landscaping guidelines to be observed by lot owners,
(j) a diagram for the purpose of statutory easements under section 36,
(k) any agreements entered into for the provision of services or recreational facilities,
(l) a plan for the purposes of Part 5 (which relates to access ways within the scheme).
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT STATEMENT EXAMPLE
RURAL SUBDIVISIONS IN NSW LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS
It would be an advantage if NSW Planning issued a “Direction to Councils” to encourage councils to strongly promote, for the environment and the economy, Community Title Schemes and include the equivalent to Palerang Council’s Rural 1(g) (Rural Small Holdings) zoning in their next LEP even if they do not identify any areas. The location of say a 2000 m2 building envelop with a separation between envelops on different lots of say 50 metres is probably more important than the minimum size of lots. These lots could adjoin or have association land between the lots. Because access to water, soil permeability for effluent and grey water disposal plus the maintenance of a rural landscape the average size of blocks is probably more important than the minimum block size.
If an application for a development has sufficient merit, a council could apply to NSW Planning to rezone a parcel of land provided it is not prevented by a NSW Planning Regional Strategic Plan. Having a description in the LEP of the requirements of the required zone may make it easier for the applicant and the council to obtain the rezoning.
PALERANG COUNCIL
Palerang Council adjoins the Australian Capital Territory and the far majority of its rate payers live on blocks in Zone Rural 1(d) (Rural Residential), especially in the former Yarrowlulma Council area. For detailed information go to http://www.palerang.nsw.gov.au/ to download the Yarrowlumla LEP 2002 and the Yarrowlumla Development Control Plan Rural Zones or obtain copies from Council. Some of the restrictions of Rural 1(d) land are: some blocks can be 2 hectares but the average area of all the blocks must not be less than 6 hectares and no more than 15% of the blocks to be less than 4 hectares.
A more suitable zoning for Community Schemes is Rural 1(g) (Rural Small Holdings) in that: Land within 1(g) zone may be subdivided to a minimum area of 1 hectare if the lots have access to reticulated water and sewage systems.
It is important to read the two above document and discuss with staff at the early planning stage as Council has many restrictions that may prevent or the costs may be prohibitive for the scheme on that site. Some of the requirements are: bushfire zones and need for fire truck access, bitumen sealing of steep roads or adjacent to dwellings and a maximum of 1000 metres or 2000 metres of certain access roads, high tension electricity to the boundary of individual blocks and a time limit on temporary occupation while building the approved dwelling.
WATER SUPPLY, EFFULENT DISPOSAL AND GREY WATER USE
WATER SUPPLY
The Water Management Act 2000 and the Water Act 1912 administered by NSW Office of Water within the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water will need to be considered when designing a scheme. Harvestable Right Dam Capacity, the volume of water that can be stored on a farm without a license, is determined by the size of the whole subdivision as is access to ground water (bores). Dwellings is many areas need access to about 0.75 megalitres of water so most community schemes will be on the coast or tableland unless in an irrigation area or on a river and the original property has a high security irrigation license. The license for a bore owned by the community associated would have conditions on it stating which lots it could supply water to. A reticulated water scheme for a subdivision utilising dams could require a Joint Water Supply License.
EFFLUENT DISPOSAL AND GREY WATER USE
Effluent disposal systems if purchased must be approved by NSW Department of Health with information available on www.health.nsw.gov.au. Although septic systems are still allowed, in certain water catchments areas, some councils are insisting on aerated schemes that cost a lot more to install and maintain than septic systems plus use chlorine and may not be as effective as claimed. With community title subdivisions, some councils insist on package sewage plants. On the Inventors TV program a few years ago they featured a reverse osmosis system and this and other systems may either be available now or in the future.
Septic systems and many grey water systems use absorption areas to dispose of the waste water. Water infiltration with these absorption areas often decreases if high sodium detergents are used or stock walk on the area.
With grey water I understand it can not be stored but requires an expensive treatment system so you can send enough water to the end of a dripper system, after filtering otherwise only the first few plants get watered by the daily water available or the alternative is sub surface slotted pipe in gravel but again only the first plants get water. I understand you need large droplets for any form of micro sprays to prevent the spread of disease. Water from aerated systems can also be used for irrigating plants and into toilets. People on tank water should consider having two pipes to toilets so dam, bore or waste water can be used. After treatment it may be possible to use reed beds to utilise excess nutrients before storing for later reuse.
CENTRELINK PENSION REQUIREMENTS
Aged pensions and most senior’s related allowances are currently adjusted on 20th March and 20th September. From 20th March 2010:
Single Pension Basic Rate (maximum) per fortnight $644.20
Plus Supplement in lieu of utilities, telephone, pharmaceutical allowance $56.90
Total Single Pension Basic Rate plus Supplement $701.10
Partnered Pension Basic Rate (maximum each) per fortnight $485.60
Plus Supplement in lieu of utilities, telephone, pharmaceutical allowance $42.90
Total Partnered Pension Basic Rate plus Supplement $528.50
Total Combined Pension Basic Rate plus Supplement $1,057.00
Income free: Single (for maximum pension) per fortnight $142.00
Couple (combined for maximum pension) $248.00
Disqualifying Income: Single per fortnight $1,544.20
Couple (combined) per fortnight $2,362.00
Assets: Single (for maximum pension) per fortnight $178,000.00
Couple (combined for maximum pension) $ 645,000.00
Asset Disqualifying Limit: Single Homeowners $645,500.00
Partnered Homeowners (combined) $957,500.00
Although applicants for a pension do not have to include as assets their principal dwelling and up to 2 hectares of land, they need to estimate the value of the remaining land and include it to determine the total value of their assets. Because the land owner may not be able to obtain a building permit to build on the land in excess of 2 hectares from their local government council, the value of this land will probably be pro-rata much less than the 2 hectares of land the dwelling is on.
With Community Title Schemes most house lots are less than 2 hectares but as the lot holder has the use of the association land and assets such as dams, buildings, sewerage works, etc the value of the association property divided by the number of lot holders needs to be included when determining the pension applicant’s assets. In some cases Centrelink will obtain an independent valuation from the Australian Valuation Office.
OBTAINING FINANCE FOR SCHEMES OR INDIVDUAL DWELLINGS
The bank for residential properties up to 50 hectares will lend for:
A block of land or an existing house and land will lend up to 80%.
A house once a building contract is available will lend up to 80%.
The Commonwealth Bank does not make loans to owner builders and for residential loans with less than 20% deposit, people need to take out mortgage insurance. The mortgage insurance company usually lends an additional 10% but in rare circumstances lends an additional 15%. If a loan is initially taken out to buy the land there are a number of methods available to cover the building of the house once plans have been approved by the local government council and a building contract with a registered builder is available.
If a person wishes to buy a rural property of more than 50 hectares or a group of people wish to develop their own community title subdivision, such as ten families combine together to buy 30 hectares so that after development of the roads, water supply, sewage etc they will each own a one hectare lot and they will own a tenth of the association’s managed 20 hectares, they will need to contact a Business Banking Officer at the bank. Loans through Business Banking Officers are on commercial terms that are about 2% more than residential loans and usually need to be repaid in 15 years. Loans for the purchase of land can be up to 70%. Mortgage insurance loans are not available for non residential properties.
To develop the subdivision once plans have been approved and a quantity surveyor has determined development cost, the bank would obtain a valuation of the developed subdivision and lend between 50 and 70% of the valuation and make progress payments on the value of works as they are completed. Unless a firm has contracted to complete all the work the bank would expect the group to employ a supervisor such as a clerk of works or a quantity survey to oversea the sub-contractors. If the people in the group have agreed to buy all, or most of the developed lots, the bank may agree to 2 year interest only loans to cover the purchase and development of the land until each person has obtained finance for their individual lot.
The subdivision and development of land is complicated and to cover unexpected increases in costs or surprises it is important to ensure there are adequate funds to cover any problems that occur as personal loans requiring a maximum of 5 years to repay attract higher interest rates.
GENERAL RURAL LIVING
Landcare Groups and Catchment Management Associations are another good source of information. The Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment Coordinating Committee http://www.umccc.org.au/ then to Publications then “Look after your natural Asset” allows you to down load and excellent book.
Some councils have booklets available to help land owners such as Goulburn Mulwaree Council which has produced “The Rural Living Handbook 2007-2009.
NOXIOUS WEEDS
Noxious weeds are plants that landholders have a legal responsibility to control on their property to limit there impact on the economic (generally agricultural production), social (human and animal health) and environmental systems in N.S.W. The N.S.W. government has instituted the Noxious Weeds Act 1993 to implement penalties and legal requirements for landholders to take reasonable actions to control, eradicate or stop the spread of noxious weeds in N.S.W.
The N.S.W. Department of Industry & Investment, which was previously known as the Department of Primary Industries, is the regulatory administrative organisation that oversees the implementation of the Noxious Weeds Act. The Department of Industry & Investment produces educational programs, guidelines and regulations for noxious weed control, and also supplies limited regional funding for control of noxious weeds. The Department of Industry & Investment has also created a classification system for all noxious weeds in N.S.W. This weed class system defines what actions (for all geographical regions in N.S.W.) landholders must take to control weeds that are in one of the five classes. Landholders should access http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/weeds/definition for more information.
The Department of Industry & Investment has a very limited role in the on-ground enforcement of the Noxious Weed Act. This regulatory authority has been transferred to Local Control Authorities (LCA‘s) namely Local Government or Council’s through the Local Government Act. LCA’s while having the same responsibilities for noxious weed control on their properties, must also enforce the Noxious Weed Act. LCA’s have the power to enter all private properties to inspect for noxious weeds, commence legal action against landholder for failure to control noxious weeds, produce weed management plans that must be adhered to and issue Penalty Infringement Notices (PIN’S) to landholders who have noxious weeds on their property.
LCA’s have these powers under Sections 12, 18 and 20 of the Noxious Weed Act, however generally LCA’s prefer to undertake a cooperative/educational role with landholders instead of a strictly regulatory role. Most LCA’s actively support landholders to control noxious weed and are a very valuable source of resources and knowledge. Landholders should contact their LCA’s or Council to establish what support services are available, the noxious weeds that are declared in that area and also the “Best Practice” methods for controlling noxious and also their environmental weeds. LCA’s will help with recommendations and guidelines for undertaking weed control. Additional information can also be obtained from the Department of Industry & Investment website and the Local Catchment Management Authority in the area. Weed control plans or Vegetation Management Strategies generally contain one or all of the following techniques:
- Vegetation Landscape Manipulation: Using replacement plant species to out-compete/crowd-out weed species (cover/agricultural crops or returning an area to native vegetation).
- Animal Landscape Manipulation: Using grazing animals to eliminate weed species.
- Physical Landscape Manipulation: Using changes to landform to disadvantage weed species (changing water flows, mulching and barriers or ripping areas)
- Mechanical weed control: Using manual weeding (chipping, hand-weeding), slashing and ripping etc to stop weed germination or spread.
- Biological weed control: Using naturally occurring animals (insects etc) and plant pathogens to control weeds.
- Herbicide weed control: Using herbicides to target weeds at specific growth periods. Generally herbicide use should be limited to plant growth periods where there is an botanic advantage (the plant is more susceptible to herbicide) or if the weed is close to setting seed or immediate action is required (economically effecting crop species). Any herbicide that is used should specifically target the weed species to limit off target damage and reduce the costs of application. There are large penalties in place for landholders who do not use herbicides as per their directions (labels, Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicine Authority Guidelines or Permits, state/national legislation) if they case damage to any person, animal or the environment. The use of large amounts of herbicide can affect human and animal health, economic viability and also shows poor overall planning and knowledge of natural ecosystems.
BUSHFIRE PROTECTION
Any development on bushfire-prone land in NSW is subject to the provisions of Section 79BA of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. This legislation requires that developments meet the requirements of a document called “Planning for Bushfire Protection 2006” (PBP). This in turn calls up the Australian Standard for building in bushfire-prone areas, AS3959-2009. Community Title developments are classified as subdivision and therefore are subject to the provisions of Section 100B of the Rural Fires Act 1997. This does much the same thing as 79BA of the EP & A Act, but is specific to subdivisions, tourist accommodation, schools and the like, on bushfire-prone land.
Bushfire-prone land is defined, broadly speaking, as bush or unmanaged grassland greater than 1 hectare in area, and smaller areas that are within 100 metres of bush greater than 1 hectare. Pine plantations and other areas of exotic plantings are included in bushfire-prone land maps. The mapping data is held by Councils and is produced by them in consultation with the NSW Rural Fire Service.
PBP and the Standard between them detail the requirements for the setting out of subdivisions and other developments as well as the construction requirements to create a safer environment for residents in bushfire-prone areas as well as fire-fighters. They cover the requirements for water supplies, access and egress, siting of buildings, and the actual materials for dwelling exteriors. The latter is calculated from tables in PBP, and is based on distance to vegetation, type of vegetation (or hazard), and slope. There are on-line tools to assist with these calculations that can be found on the NSW Rural Fire Service website (www.rfs.nsw.gov.au).
100B applications, the subdivisions and so on, are often planned in conjunction with a bushfire consultant as some sites can have trouble meeting the requirements and there are quite a few things to take into consideration. These are passed on to RFS Head Office by Councils for consideration and there is a charge for this. 79BA applications, that are those for single dwellings, can be done by the applicant in most cases, and there’s a booklet on the RFS website that steps you through it. Councils refer most of these to the local district office of the RFS for their comment. It’s important to note that the RFS’ role is to provide Councils with advice on bushfire aspects of the application, but Councils as the consent authority can impose conditions over and above RFS recommendations.
More information can be found on the RFS website. Go to “For the community” on the left-hand side of the homepage and then “Building in bushfire-prone areas”.
GREG'S PERSONAL DREAM
My personal dream is to be part of a community surrounded by an organic or preferably biodynamic farm with a view of the sea. My preference is near Nowra so it is close to Canberra and Sydney to contact my grandchildren but also because it is on the Sydney City Railway system were senior citizens can for $2.50 get a return ticket to travel within the area bounded by Newcastle, Lithgow, Goulburn and Bomaderry (Nowra). Apart from people living in the community I would like other connections with the wider community such as having on site a medical/therapy centre or a Steiner preschool/kindergarten/school.
There may be other clusters of buildings on the property and hopefully the property would be close to a town or village so people could ride bikes to shops, library etc. Hopefully the community and the nearby village/town would have a Local Energy Trading Scheme (LETS Trading Club) where people can trade produce and services with LETS currency units or LETS hours. The community would be eco friendly with water tanks, solar HWS, solar electricity feed back into the grid and cheaper environmental building construction with some connection in style between the buildings.
The focal point of the community could be an octagonal room (chapel/meeting room) with four radiating wings that are aligned NE/SE/SW/NW so that each wing can still get a view of the sea. The wings closest to the sea might be a school. Other stand alone buildings would be aligned to the NW and SW wings of the main building to get sea views. There might be garages/workshop/storages along the back of the site along with rain water tanks.
Hopefully the meeting room would be regularly used for people just to socialise but also to hold meetings and courses say in health issues, biodynamic farming, church services and youth groups. I would like the community to be of varying age groups and not just retired people. If there are enough people in the community a reverse osmosis or microfilter sewage scheme may be possible instead of the old septic tanks or the expensive to install and operate aerated treatment systems such as Environcycle, Biocycle etc systems that I understand, that even with regular inspections, do not produce the safe discharge that is claimed.
It would be good if the property had a large dam or adjoined a lagoon for water sports such as canoeing. I would also like a bush covered hill nearby so I could go for walks complete with plenty of my favorite birds, Kookaburras.
