Community Living & By Laws

Brunswick Community Living

& By Laws

 

Community living at The Brunswick

This page outlines a number of the community living guidelines that should be read in conjunction with the accompanying revised By-laws (as at the AGM 2017). These apply to both owners and tenants equally.

SP 72924 – By laws 2017_amended 10.5.17

Successful community living is achieved through common sense and courtesy. This is particularly true in a complex as large as ours, which has 59 individual properties and many residents.

The By-laws apply unconditionally to all properties and form part of every Residential Tenancy Agreement.

It was a requirement of the new Strata Act that we review our By-laws. The Strata Committee has completed this exercise and the revised By-laws were put to the AGM in June 2017 and the documentation is now available on this site.

The following letter, sent to all owners prior to the AGM offers a rationale for the changes made to the By-laws.

Dear Brunswick Owners,

A November 2016 change in the Strata Act has made it compulsory for every strata community to formally review its by-laws by November 30, 2017 in accordance with Clause 4 of Schedule 3 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW).

Such changes to by-laws require a Special Resolution, that is a resolution passed at a General Meeting with no more than 25% of the votes cast against it.

For some months now the Strata Committee has been aware of some anomalies in the Brunswick Strata Plan. Furthermore, approvals for additions and renovations determined by the Strata Committee have never met the requirements of the Act.

The legislative requirement to review our by-laws and the discovery of these anomalies led us to seek legal opinion on how best to update and maintain both long standing practice and the intent of our existing by-laws

Accordingly, at the AGM on June the Strata Committee will be proposing an updated set of by-laws to be contained in two proposals:

  1. There is a stand-alone proposal to allow owners to install solar panels.
  2. There is a comprehensive set of Consolidated by-laws which puts forward a significant number of changes to the existing by-laws. These changes are presented as one parcel to be voted on as such. We will not be voting on each separate by-law.

On the first proposal the Strata Committee believes the time is right for our community to consider this issue. That said, the Strata Committee recognises such a resolution would have the potential to change the existing appearance of our complex and could well not receive the required number of votes to get it over the line. Rather than risk all the remaining by-laws being rejected we have set this one as a special, stand-alone motion. This represents an innovation in Brunswick living.

The second proposal either

  • maintains exactly the force of existing by-laws but with updated, clarified and legally reviewed language, or
  • reinforces long established conventions and practices at the Brunswick that the Strata Committee has established actually aren’t underwritten by our by-laws or Strata Plan and need that by-law reinforcement if we are to continue following these long established precedents.

You will note that the result is a much more detailed and complex document than the existing by-laws. That’s an inevitable result of expert legal drafting. The purpose of most of these amendments is for the by-laws to carry the same intent as before but with much tighter definitions.

There are two new by-laws proposed that will provide the legal foundation for the Strata Committee to continue to follow long established precedents in terms of providing approvals to renovations and also to continue to apply long established interpretations of what is common property and what is private property (and thus individual owner’s responsibility and expense).

These are special by-laws 10 (Air-conditioning and Hot Water Supply) and 11 (Awnings).

 Without the new special by law 10 we run the risk of requiring owners to contribute very significant extra strata fees to start covering air conditioning replacement and repair and, in the case of hot water systems, treating residents on the Brunswick Rd side differently to those on the Terrigal side.

In particular and for a great many years, the Strata Committee has been approving requests to erect awnings over decks that don’t interfere with the existing colour schemes or breach council regulations. There are now a great many of these structures.

Previous approvals have been based on an interpretation of By-law 5, Damage to Property. We have now received legal advice that this interpretation is not sound and that any renovation which changes the appearance of the complex, as these awnings certainly do, can only be approved by a Special Resolution at an AGM.

This renders all these additions unapproved.

To resolve this we are proposing special by-law 11 that entitles owners to erect such awnings and which will retrospectively cover all that have done so to date.

The Strata Committee

 

For the record, and for your interest, here is a link to previous  Brunswick By-laws: As at October 2016 (as amended following the 2014 AGM and the 2016 EGM).

Annotated By Laws 2014 (1)

NOTES TO ACCOMPANY BY-LAWS

COMMON AREAS/ROADS/VEHICLE AND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS

Vehicle and pedestrian gates

  • Gate codes – In order to maintain the security and safety of all residents it is strongly suggested that you refrain from giving out the entry gate code to delivery people, tradespeople and any person unknown to yourself. Visitors should use the intercom system to contact residents and gain entry

Pedestrian gate – Each individual unit’s front door key will open the pedestrian gate.  In order to minimise wear and tear on the vehicle gates, and keep noise to a minimum for nearby residents, the pedestrian gate should be used as an entry & exit point when on foot.

For security reasons the Owners’ Corporation requests that all gates must not be propped open or left ‘unlocked’. Please ensure when you use the gates, they are locked properly behind you each time.

Internal roads

  • All internal roads are shared spaces for both vehicle and pedestrian access. For the safety of all residents please adhere to the current speed limit within the complex of 10km p/h.

Parking 

  • All units have allocated garage parking; no cars are to be parked on common property that includes the front of garages and visitors parking areas.
  • Visitors’ parking is not to be used by residents at any time.

CHILDREN 

  • Children are NOT permitted to play unsupervised in common areas. This is any area outside your garage and front door, including the bush/creek area, electricity meter box enclosures and the swimming pool. This particularly applies to internal roads for safety and noise concerns.
  • Unsupervised riding of bikes, skateboards, ballgames etc. by young children is not permitted. Children are not to climb on any common property or fences etc. of homes, and should be discouraged from running on internal roads to avoid collision with vehicles etc.

PETS 

  • All residents must clean up after their pets should they mess on common property or outside the complex on the nature strip. Residents are encouraged to keep their animals quiet wherever possible (i.e. barking) to reduce noise.

SWIMMING POOL

  • Access to the swimming pool is between 7am and 9pm. These hours have been put in place in consideration of nearby residents.  It would be greatly appreciated if these times were strictly adhered to.
  • An adult must supervise all children under the age of 12 at all times.
  • No smoking please.  Scooters, bikes and skateboards should not be ridden in the pool area.
  • To avoid embarrassment to non-residential visitors, it is recommended that a resident accompany visitors to the pool area.
  • Please remove all personal items on departure. No pool toys, furniture etc. are to be stored in the pool area.
  • As with any community pool, please do not bring glass into the pool area and abide by notices on the pool gate and within the pool area. All rubbish is to be removed on departure. Bins are not provided in the pool area to avoid attracting unwanted wildlife and/or vermin.
  • Please help keep out uninvited visitors to the pool by ensuring you keep the gates to the complex locked at all times. Occasionally you may be asked to confirm your residency status whilst using the pool, as a precautionary measure. Please do not take offence if this should occur. If you believe there are people using the pool that do not live in the complex, please notify a committee member.

RUBBISH REMOVAL/BULKY GOODS CLEAN UP 

  • For safety purposes, children are not to access the bin area alone and no rubbish is to be left on the ground for others to clean up. If bins are full, please take rubbish back home until rubbish removal day – there are two garbage collection days per week.
  • Recycling bins (yellow lids) are for recyclable products only. Items that are NOT recyclable include food, nappies, bagged and boxed items i.e. paper in plastic bags, cardboard with packaging tape attached, timber, sheets of plastic etc. Please flatten all boxes. If in doubt, put items in the red bins. Please ensure any glass that may spill from recycle bins is cleaned up appropriately to avoid injury to others.
  • The green bins are for foliage only NOT soil.
  • Bulky rubbish such as old/broken furniture, fridges, bbq’s, etc. should not be placed in the waste or recycle bins or left in the garbage areas. If you have large items to dispose of, please book a FREE Council pick-up. All residents are entitled to up to six rubbish pick-ups per year. When booking a pick-up, please ensure you specify Terrigal Drive or Brunswick Road as the collection point. Council rules state rubbish cannot be placed on the kerb for pick-up any earlier than 24 hours before the booked date of pick-up. The Strata Committee books kerbside collections 3-4 times a year and will notify residents when a collection is booked.
  • Please dispose of rubbish/recyclables (particularly bottles) quietly if outside normal hours.

APPROVALS FOR HOME AMENDMENTS/ADDITIONS 

  • Any improvements or amendments to the outside of homes must be approved by the Owners’ Corporation via Strata Management prior to work commencing.

DECKS

  • Maintenance of all decks/verandas attached to homes in the Brunswick is the responsibility of owners. Decks should be kept in good repair and maintained regularly to ensure longevity. It is recommended owners stain and/or oil decks and verandas at least once a year to maintain the look and durability of the timber. Repairs to decks are at the owner’s expense. Tenants should contact their agency if decks require maintenance.

LAUNDRY 

  • Under no circumstances are residents to hang washing in any way that is visible from outside the front of each building. This includes beach towels on front decks etc. No washing/drying racks are to be placed on balconies or left in doorways/windows where it can be easily seen from the front of a home. Only clotheslines at the back of properties are to be used.

GARDEN WATERING SYSTEMS

  • Every home in the complex has a system for watering its front and surrounding gardens. It is each resident’s responsibility to ensure this system is activated as often as possible to ensure all gardens receive adequate watering. Water tanks are installed under each property for this purpose, with a button/self timer located inside each garage. Please press this button at least four times a week (ideally daily in the warmer months) to water the common gardens around your home.
  • Tanks and drip systems should be inspected and cleaned at regular intervals to ensure the highest working order.