Source : Perth Now news
Seven units originally built as specialist disability accommodation will now be turned into short-term accommodation.
The City of Bayswater approved the conversion plans from property management agency Innogreen at Lot 800, 1 Manini Street, Morley, despite opposition from residents and the neighbouring school community.
The units are part of nine built on the site to provide housing for people with disabilities. Two units have already been leased to SDA tenants and were excluded from the application.
The proposal to turn the remainder into short-term accommodation sparked community concern due to the site’s location directly adjacent to Morley Primary School.
Morley Primary School Parents and Citizens Association president Matthew Stokes told the council the issue extended beyond a standard planning application.
“To many people this might look like a simple accommodation application but to the people who live here . . . it feels like something much bigger,” he said.
Mr Stokes asked if short-term accommodation guests would provide the same level of community accountability as permanent residents.
“A keypad and an online booking system cannot replace the accountability and sense of community that comes from neighbours knowing who one another is,” he said.
Morley resident Tamina Stokes said neighbouring properties had been given greater privacy protections than the school.
“The other adjoining neighbours have been given privacy. The school has not,” she told the council.
Ms Stokes argued children were particularly vulnerable because council complaint processes relied on adults reporting issues.
“The children do not have access to that,” she said.
“Everything that involves a school, a childcare centre has additional protections because of the vulnerability of children.”
She called for more safeguards, including glazing or screening devices on windows facing the school oval.
“They could put those 45 (degree) slats so that they can look forward onto the street but not look to the children,” she said.
Ms Stokes said there would be multiple risks with unhosted short-stay accommodation.
“This is a very short-term, very fast, high turnover with no accountability for who actually stays on the property, no on-site management, directly adjacent and overlooking a school,” she said.
Morley resident Emma Zollo said with the current housing crisis, the council would be “incredibly irresponsible” to approve the proposal.
“So many people and families being unable to find a home to rent, or not having the capacity to buy in this market, using these units for STRA in such a community-focused area,” she said.
Residents also raised concerns about child safety and privacy, arguing some apartments would have direct views over areas where children play.
Katherine Kissack, a parent of a student at Morley PS, claimed that according to the Airbnb website the owners had begun offering the units as short-stay rentals before the council had given its approval.
She said her child, who has autism, and other students would be using the school’s oval for sporting activities.
“The allocated oval is located adjacent to the apartment complex. By law children are required to participate in sporting activities on this oval, including a sandpit which is merely metres from the complex and in recent weeks syringe needles were found in this sandpit,” she said in her deputation.
Innogreen director Arian Gorjy said the company was seeking temporary approval while waiting for SDA tenants to occupy the units and argued the short-stay model included stronger behavioural controls than many long-term tenancies.
The management plan included guest limits, ID verification, 24-hour complaint contact details, CCTV in common areas and noise monitoring technology within apartments.
House rules prohibit parties and antisocial behaviour, with breaches resulting in immediate action.
“I write them a message on the Airbnb app and I say ‘You’ve breached the house rules, your booking’s now been cancelled’. If they don’t leave within 15 minutes I call the police,” Mr Gorjy said.
The council approved the application unanimously, but Cr Nat Latter amended the approval period for the units from 12 months to six months.
“The reason why I changed the approval to six months is because we have a draft policy that is on short-term rental accommodation in the city that is out for public comment and is coming back to the policy committee soon,” they said.
“I would like this to be reassessed once we have that new policy in place.”
The applicant also has to revise its management plan to include specific procedures for responding to antisocial behaviour complaints.
The city has also encouraged the owner to consider installing obscure glazing on windows overlooking the school oval to improve privacy, and will work with Morley Primary School to ensure staff have access to complaint procedures and management contacts if issues arise.
A proposal to ban all visitors from the property was rejected after some councillors said it would impact guests, including those with disabilities receiving support from family members or carers.
