Wood burning smell in my home 24th Dec 2012

Hello everyone,

 It is Christmas eve and there is smoke smell in my home from wood burning at 6 The Strand Penshurst 2222.

Although not as strong a smell and volume as on the 22nd December 2012 when I updated council. There is still smoke smell in my bathroom, kitchen and lounge area on an intermittent basis. I have walled off my two bedrooms so I can live in a part of the house without smoke.

This form of pollution continues to be a nuisance and I am of the opinion it breaches the DA requirement's outlined in Section D below

Development Application 240/2011 Section D – Construction and operational conditions 
(6) Health and Public Nuisance 
(13) General Amenity

 

To get a copy of the DA

 There is a search page for development applications
http://www2.kogarah.nsw.gov.au/datrackingui/modules/applicationmaster/default.aspx?page=search

click the "I agree" button to continue

If you type in the application number first

• 240

and then type in the year

• 2011

Thanks everyone and have a great Christmas.

Best Regards
Mark

Wood burning restarted Dec 2012

Hello all,

Artichoke wood fired pizza 6 The Strand Penshurst NSW 2222 ceased operation a few months ago and residents in close proximity to the premises were blessed with the clean air we used to enjoy.

There is a new business that has started up making use of the open wood burning oven, again this is causing issues with our day to day amenity and enjoyment of our homes.

I contacted council on the 22nd Dec 2012 see below

Hello council staff,

I plan on updating you each time the smoke smell in my home is particularly offensive. This morning is one such time, it is about 9:50AM in the morning and the wood burning activity from 6 The Strand Penshurst is pushing smoke smell into all my living areas.

This is very unpleasant to live with, sometimes when the wind blows towards the station and away from the units it's ok but when smoke blows towards residential premises that are very close to the chimney it is really noticeable and unpleasant.

Please assist as this does breach the DA conditions of:

Development Application 240/2011 Section D – Construction and operational conditions

(6) Health and Public Nuisance

The use of the premises shall not give rise to an environmental health nuisance to the adjoining or nearby premises and environment.

There are to be no emissions or discharges from the premises, which will give rise to a public nuisance or result in an offence under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and Regulations.

(13) General Amenity

The implementation of this development shall not adversely affect the amenity of the neighbourhood or interfere unreasonably with the comfort or repose of a person who is outside the premises by reason of the emission or discharge of noise, fumes, vapour, odour, steam, soot, ash, dust, waste water, waste products, grit, oil or other harmful products.

Other possible issues:

- I also believe that the chimney flue is too low as it is below the roof line of adjacent units that are not 10 meters away.

- There appears to be no grease trap.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

Best Regards

Mark

I contacted council on the 20th Dec 2012 see below

Hello council staff,

Please help return our clean air. 

Smoke smell is everywhere in my unit this morning, direct result of resumption of wood burning activity at 6 The Strand penshurst.

Not a pleasant way to live.

Thank you

Best Regards

Mark

Protection of the environment operations act

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/poteoa1997455/s135c.html

135C Contravention of smoke abatement notices

(1) A person to whom a smoke abatement notice has been given must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with the notice while the notice remains in force.

Maximum penalty: 30 penalty units.

(2) A smoke abatement notice does not prevent the emission of smoke that is not excessive smoke.

(3) In any proceedings for an offence under this section, a document signed by the authorised officer of an appropriate regulatory authority who issued a smoke abatement notice certifying that the officer had, at a specified time and place:

(a) observed a plume of smoke being emitted from a chimney on or in premises specified in the certificate for a continuous period of not less than 10 minutes, and

(b) observed during that period a plume of smoke extending at least 10 metres from the point at which the smoke was emitted from the chimney for a period of not less than 30 seconds,

is evidence of the matters so certified, unless the contrary is proved.

Compounding effects of smoke exposure?

I was speaking with a resident and she mentioned that she could smell and feel smoke particles in her throat and chest as a result of wood burning activity at Artichoke woodfire pizza, 6 The Strand Penshurst.

This got me thinking where current TV ads run by the government re-enforce a message that every cigarette is doing you damage and combined with the information I found online that shows wood burning smoke discharge contains over 100 chemicals found in cigarette smoke.

http://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/site/Publications/Strategies/PolicyReg/LivePolicyDocs%5C2088.pdf

I will quote again from this document.

Many of these compounds are common with those seen in tobacco smoke or car
exhausts. In fact, over 100 chemicals found in cigarette smoke have also been
identified in woodsmoke.

 This is quite disconcerting as when you tie in another thread of passive smoking. Which is one reason why many premises no longer allow smoking indoors.

So clearly what is alarming are the compounding negative health affects after years and years of being exposed to the discharge of smoke from six days of commercial wood burning activity. This is not just a one of infrequent event such as a once per month BBQ.

If this is activity and level of waste discharge is ongoing I believe we need to have records of how much wood is being burnt, we need to record the particulates being emitted, we need to understand if there is a safe limit of six days per week of passive wood fire smoke inhalation. And what is the responsibility of the emitter of pollutants to affected parties.

A cigarette tobacco weight is approx 1 gram. We are well aware that the smoke from this one gram of tobacco being burned can travel a significant distance. The hundreds of kilos of wood being burned six days per week is a daunting statistic to consider. Especially as I am in the position of being a home buyer and plan to be here for the long term. We have residents in my building who have lived here happily for over 20 years some in excess of 25 years.


Best Regards
Mark Koscak

Contacting Kogarah council

Hello everyone,

To contact Kogarah council (our clean air is worth fighting for)

email: mail@kogarah.nsw.gov.au

Ph: 02 9330 9400

Location: 84 Railway Parade, Kogarah. (just down the road from Kogarah station)

Best Regards
Mark Koscak

The great people at Kogarah council

Hello everyone,

I took a half day off work and have been down to council premises at 84 Railway Pde Kogarah. They are very helpful people who are interested in helping affected residents and the proprietor of Artichoke Pizza.

I have been told (verbally not in writing) that council has powers to ensure the activities of 6 The Strand Penshurst or Artichoke Pizza do not impact residents negatively. There are clauses in the Development Application that must be adhered to pertaining the impacts of business activity on external parties namely local residents in the smoke discharge zone.

We MUST voice our concerns to council on an ongoing basis especially when smoke events occur. I have spoken with many of you and there appears to be eight of us that are significantly impacted.

One suggestion has been to draft a template letter or a few different templates noting the various negative impacts of the effluent from wood burning activity  and when these events occur, we must write in to council to make them aware and they can follow up regards firstly compliance and secondly alternative arrangements that would bring long term relief to affected residents.

Thank you all.

Best Regards
Mark Koscak

Legal eagles and costs

Hello everyone,

I have spoken with a solicitor he says the best option is to work closely with council and ensure that the discharge from the flue is compliant and that the development meets council regulations.

The decision to take the owner to the Land of environment court is likely to cost 20-30K and if the case is lost paying the other parties court costs. Taking this route would mean that we would have to build an ironclad case otherwise it could be very expensive or $60,000 or more on the losing side the other extreme could be that we paid $0 in costs.

Best Regards
Mark Koscak

Development application documents

Hello everyone,

There may be legal requirements prohibiting wholesale replication of development application on this blog. I will reference this material so that we may discuss it.

There is a search page for development applications
http://www2.kogarah.nsw.gov.au/datrackingui/modules/applicationmaster/default.aspx?page=search

If you type in the application number first

• 240

and then type in the year

• 2011

Click on search it will display the relevant documents.

In the DA there is a statement of environmental effects, I believe that it contains information that is not factually accurate.

Point 2. What (if any) waste products, odours or noise will be produced by the proposed development?

A. Normal general waste. There will be some smoke produced when starting the woodfire oven. The odour will be of pizza which is a pleasant smell.

Point 6. How will the proposed development affect local air quality or water quality.
A. No effect.

Some building regulations

Hello everyone,

I am concerned with the negative effects of the pollution being emitted from the solid fuel burning activity of commercial premises at 6 The Strand Penshurst. I am searching for building regulations as it seems unreasonable to locate the emission of exhaust gasses at almost the same level as residents windows.

To this end I have found
http://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/site/Publications/Strategies/PolicyReg/LivePolicyDocs%5C2088.pdf

It is interesting to note below the white smoke that all of us can attest to is a result of unburnt particles also consider point (f) of section 5 External Requirements - General

Solid fuel burning in the home provides an effective economical and attractive method
of heating. However the installation of solid fuel heating devices has the potential to
create significant problems with respect to fire hazard, environmental pollution and
nuisance to adjoining properties.

Pollutants in woodsmoke include:
1. gases such as carbon monoxide
2. organic compounds, including air toxins
3. fine particles, formed when unburnt gases cool as they go up the chimney; in the
air, these can be seen as white smoke.

Many of these compounds are common with those seen in tobacco smoke or car
exhausts. In fact, over 100 chemicals found in cigarette smoke have also been
identified in woodsmoke.

 5. External Requirements – General
The products of combustion shall discharge as not to create a public nuisance. This condition may be satisfied
by installing flues in accordance with Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. The flue exit and the end of the flue-pipe
casing shall both be fitted with means to prevent significant ingress of water and debris, and such means shall beconstructed and fitted so as not to significantly obstruct flue discharge and convection ventilation of the fluepipecasing, where required.

The flue exit shall be located outside the building (see Figure 2) in which the appliance is installed so that:

(a) the flue pipe shall extend not less than 4.6m above the top of the floor protector;

(b) the minimum height of the flue system within 3m distance from the highest point of the roof shall be
600mm above that point;

(c) the minimum height of a flue system further than 3m from the highest point of the roof shall be 1000mm
above roof penetration;

(d) no part of any building lies in or above a circular area described by a horizontal radius of 3m about the
flue system exit;

(e) termination of the flue system does not constitute a risk of fire to heat sensitive materials; and

(f) there is no forseen risk of penetration of flue gases through nearby windows or other openings including
neighbours windows, fresh air inlets, mechanical ventilation inlets or exhausts, or the like.

The road ahead

I would like to remind Penshurst residents surrounding Artichoke pizza (6 The Strand) who are  affected by smoke that the change we seek may be many months away, many letters and many phone calls away.

We should always keep the focus of clean air and a clean environment for us and our children as our motivation for making a phone call and or writing some correspondence to council.

If the council does not know the frequency and how many people the pollution affects then they quite literally believe that everything is perfect even though a poor planning decision may have been made.

Email contacts list

Hello everyone,

I want to get a conversation going so please reply to this post with your email address and I can keep you in the loop as to what is going on.

Thank you

Best Regards
Mark

First contact with council regards smoke

Hello everyone,


Below is my first correspondence with council albeit I incorrectly sent this through to Rockdale council. I subsequently read the council websites and they stated that the best way to resolve problems is speaking with your neighbors directly.

This has worked up to a point but the proprietor of Artichoke now has stated to me that he is free to pollute as he has council approval, and that I should not bother him and to speak direct with council if I have any problems.

I aim now to keep chipping away build a network of contacts with fellow residents, Councillors,  perhaps even legal council and see what we can do to get our clean air back.

Thank you for your consideration

Best Regards
Mark

//***** First letter to council *********//

Hello Council staff,

Recently there has opened a new wood fired Pizza shop opposite Penshurst station.

The negative impact is that smoke does not disperse well from this location and ends up in residents back yards.

This summer evening 7th Jan 2012 at 7PM smoke is wafting into my living areas and bedroom.

I have approached the owner and he is a lovely gentleman and has said he will do something about this, I understand that he has already extended the flue, I am not sure what additional measures he can take? Can this smoke be filtered or a much larger flue be built so that the smoke does not end up in our back yards.

It is just really terrible to sit in your home and be exposed to smoke while eating a meal and watching tv.

This is my first contact on the matter and I will be making additional approaches. I find this an instance of exceptionally poor planning on councils behalf.

Please advise what next steps we can take to have this problem reviewed and hopefully a good resolution to all involved. Should I canvas other residents and see if I am being hyper sensitive on this issue?

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Best Regards

Mark

Early June 2012 and we have Clean air Artichoke pizza is on holidays...

Hello Penshurst residents,

Artichoke pizza has been closed for a few weeks while the owner has been on holidays. The improvement in air quality inside my unit is really noticeable!

This has really made me focus on having the effluent from the burning be cleaned up once and for all. To this end I have phoned council on the 22nd May and obtained the original DA's which I will upload in the next few days. I have also phoned Kogarah council today to see what is happening regards inspections.

Below is a copy of an email I sent to council on  Wednesday 6th June 2012

Hello council staff,

I am a resident of The Strand Penshurst.

I have lived in this residence for over four years without incident, I am writing today because the proprietor of Artichoke wood fired pizza Richard has been on holidays for the past two weeks and my quality of life is noticeably improved in that time. This is due elimination of smoke from his regular wood burning activity.

Since the start of this year 2012 I have been working with the proprietor of Artichoke pizza (6 The Strand) to eliminate the impact of commercial quantities wood burning impacting myself and other residents. The burning of wood creates intrusive amounts of smoke that permeates all living areas of my flat. This includes bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, lounge areas. 

This is of major concern to myself and other residents due to the ongoing and permanent nature of wood burning operations.

I raised a complaint with council a few weeks ago after speaking with Richard who after numerous complaints of mine and other residents told me he doesn't care that it is not his problem, he has the approval and talk to council.

I would like to start a process with the objective of clean air free from smoke in the local area.

I think we have some options to achieve this

• council and residents allow the permit to lapse after a period of time e.g. 3 years
• council and residents agree to some form of compensation for Richard and prohibit the burning of wood or other combustibles. That is revoke the right to burn wood for the purpose of baking pizza.
• Richard agrees that an electric oven is a suitable alternative.

I believe that the proximity or residents homes to the chimney or flue and volume of effluent discharged is inappropriate. The flue is below the level of the units and on many occasion discharges smoke waste into a kind of trap around the back of residential units, where laundry lines and windows are present.

I also believe there are many other significantly better alternatives for commercial activity than one that discharges so much waste and is highly unpleasant onto third parties, the bicycle shop and cafe are good examples of this.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best Regards

Mark

Commercial wood chimney pollution in our backyards

Hello Penshurst residents,

Recently around early to mid January 2012 council has approved a commercial wood fired pizza restaurant at 6 The Strand Penshurst NSW 2222.

I did not oppose this development initially as I was unaware of the quite significant impact that the proposed construction would have in my day to day living.

The pollution internally in my unit from the said commercial wood fired oven is intrusive in my day to day living and I am seeking to 1. have the design of the chimney changed so that it disperses pollutant higher in the atmosphere 2. change to alternate and less pollutive method of baking e.g. gas or electricity.

Richard who is the proprietor of the Pizzeria is very approachable and making efforts to limit the impacts of the effluent that invades our premises. This includes particles of soot and smoke and a lingering burning smell that pervades all living areas.

I would encourage all impacted residents to regularly call Richard (9570-2583) and in a calm manner let him know when his activities are negatively impacting you. I have spoken with Richard numerous times and phoned him direct at least 3-4 times.

Please note that this is something we may have to highlight and agitate for change over an extended period of time prior to any successful remedial action being performed as the DA was approved and implemented.

Best Regards
Mark

Purpose - sharing, connecting and collaborating

Hello all,

The purpose of this blog is a place where concerned and affected residents can collaborate, share impacts of planning decisions and together work toward improving the ability to conduct business and commerce without negatively impacting existing residents.

Best Regards
Mark