Council can confirm that five Councillors have now been served with criminal charges and have been automatically stood down.
We always aim for compliance with planning schemes and related permits. However, if we discover a breach and we think you're unlikely to voluntarily fix things in the required time, we will take action.
The action we take next depends on the type of problem we discover, and how serious it is.
If your breach is less serious and has limited amenity impacts on other properties, we may negotiate for you to submit an application to amend a planning permit or endorsed plans.
If your breach impacts on others but you have committed to undertaking viable options for resolving it by way of application for planning permissions (where possible) or removing the breach, we may accept this as an outcome.
If your breach is more serious and you haven't shown intent to resolve it, we may issue a PIN. We may also take this action if you've committed previous offences and we feel a warning is unlikely to resolve the matter.
If you've seriously breached the Hepburn Planning Scheme or committed ongoing breaches, we may apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for an enforcement order to rectify the problem.
If you've seriously breached the Hepburn Planning Scheme, we may refer you to the magistrate's court seeking prosecution for the offence.