By Casey Neill
Greater Dandenong Council plans to sell two roads to residents who fenced them off and used them as part of their properties.
One could sell for 80 per cent less than market value after councillors approved starting the legal process to make the sales at their Monday 29 January meeting.
The roads in question were at the rear of 98-102 Kirkham Road, Dandenong, and between 49-51 Callander Road and 26 Jenkins Street, Noble Park.
Corporate services director Mick Jaensch said the landowners could acquire the property under adverse possession laws, because they had used and maintained it for more than 15 years.
The council is permitted to sell the sites for 25 per cent under market value to deter them from taking that path.
Mr Jaensch said the owners’ use of the land was not legal, but it had been to the council’s advantage as it had saved money on maintenance.
He said the council typically received one or two applications like this each year, but the law was changing.
“I think we’ll see less and less of these adverse possession claims going forward,” he said.
In the Noble Park case, the adjoining property owner applied to buy the 283 square metres.
The council report said the land had never been used as a road, and its market value was $60,000.
A 25 per cent discount would bring that down to $45,000, but the landowner has offered $12,000 on the basis the sale would benefit the community.
The block is to be developed for residential housing for adults with disabilities, and the road portion would provide open space.
The council report found it had no need for the road, and no one else was likely to buy the land if the proposed sale did not go ahead.
If approved, the sale would include a clause that the owner would pay the full $45,000 purchase price, indexed with CPI, if they developed the land for standard housing.
In the case of Kirkham Road, the council report said the site was no longer used as a road.
The abutting property owner submitted an application to the council to buy the road at market value.
“As the road is not constructed in this location and there is no strategic need for a road in this area, it is considered that this portion of land is excess to the council’s requirements,” the report said.
“It is therefore proposed that officers give public notice in order to determine if there are any objections to the discontinuance of the road and then consider the subsequent sale of the land.”
