By Mitchell Clarke
At least two neighbouring properties of a Mormon church development claim they weren’t notified about the controversial proposal, but Cardinia Shire Council maintain every neighbour was contacted.
Pakenham resident Julie, who lives on a property adjacent to the site, claims she only found out about the church development through the Gazette’s recent article.
“Both myself and my son live next to each other on two separate properties adjacent to the site and neither of us received any form of notification,” she explained.
“Council are saying it was a computer error which is why we didn’t receive the notification.
“I was just disappointed that the council haven’t done the right thing by letting people know what’s going on.”
But a Cardinia Shire Council spokesperson said: “Council maintains that residents were notified of the planning application in accordance with the Planning and Environment Act.”
Julie, who recently moved to Pakenham from Queensland, said she held concerns about the size of the development and the hours it’d be used.
According to the planning application, each congregation at the site would host about 170 people on site, with regular scheduled activity occurring between 6 and 8am and 6 and 9pm on weekdays.
The site will also be used between 8am and 5pm on Saturdays and between 9am and 4pm on Sundays.
“I was a bit surprised by the size of it and the hours they want to be using it,” Julie said.
“I just think the hours are obscene. To have people going there at 6am is just ridiculous, but to also have people there until midnight on some weekends, I just think it’s not the right place for this development.”
Julie is now planning a letterbox drop to ensure all neighbouring residents of the site were informed.
“I knew the land was vacant, so anything could go there, but people need the opportunity to object,” she said.
“My property backs on to the site, so even if there was application signs at the site, I wouldn’t have necessarily seen them because under normal circumstances I wouldn’t drive that way.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spokesman Chris Stuart said Sundays would be the busiest day of the week but reassured the community that traffic or noise wouldn’t be an issue.
“The Church is very focused on being good neighbours and in being a positive influence in the communities in which they reside,” he said.
“We don’t anticipate significant traffic issues, as Sundays generally see far fewer people on the roads.”
It’s understood early morning weekday youth classes would generally consist of 10 to 15 people while weekly youth activity meetings could see up to 20 to 30 people at the site.
The occasional Friday and Saturday night events – which include service projects, youth dances, community events and talent shows – might see 50 to 100 people, but Mr Stuart said weekend events were “comparatively subdued” considering alcohol was not permitted on site.
The Church has seen significant growth over the past decade, particularly in the south east, where current meetinghouses are located in Pakenham and Narre Warren.
Mr Stuart said the Church’s meetinghouses were “somewhat different” to those used by other religions.
“For Latter-day Saints, the church meetinghouse is a hub of religious and social life … They include classrooms, offices, a font for baptisms, a kitchen and in many cases a cultural hall with an indoor basketball court,” he explained.
Cardinia Shire Council have since clarified submissions to the project are still open, despite the application stating they would close on Friday 25 September.
Once the advertising period is completed, the council must consider all submissions received, given more than four are lodged, before a decision is made.
