Hundreds of homeowners panicked after a letter from their council informed them that their homes could be bought for new parks.
Brisbane City Council has apologized after more than 800 residents in dozens of suburbs received the alarming letter.
Stress and confusion quickly set in with homeowners receiving the correspondence, wondering where they stood.
The council has since clarified that the “ambiguous” letter it sent on August 3 was not intended to alarm anyone.
Affected homes are simply placed on a list of properties the city wants to buy if they ever go on sale. according to the ABC.
A letter sent to hundreds of residents in dozens of Brisbane suburbs caused a stir after it appeared their homes could be bought
In the letter, the council said additional parks would make Brisbane a ‘great place to live’.
“Proposed amendments to Brisbane City Plan 2014 Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP)…in relation to your property,” the letter began.
The proposed changes were specific to ‘LGIP ID: Park Acquisition and Beautification – Specific Location’.
“The final location and design of the future infrastructure item(s) in the proposed LGIP change, including any impact on your property, is subject to detailed design and further communication by the Council.”
Catherine Lindsay, from Kedron in North Brisbane, was “stunned and confused” after opening the letter on Tuesday morning.
“It blindsided us – you get a letter in the post, don’t even tell them what they’re doing, you have to go find it yourself,” Ms Lindsay told the ABC.
“There was nothing in the letter to explain what it meant, so we could only go by the information we had, which was very limited.”
Don Lindsay, also from Kedron, said he couldn’t afford another home in the area because of skyrocketing house prices.
He currently lives nearby with his wife, two children and their dog.
“If that happened we wouldn’t be able to stay in Kedron, we would have to move elsewhere,” said Mr Lindsay. the courier post.
“The council says the draft is and the filing could change and they’re looking at 2031 to 2036 but you always have that cloud over your head if you want to do something with your property and sell it is that impact big ? transfer to you?’
Mr. Lindsay’s neighboring property, which hasn’t even been built yet, also received the letter.
The final touches are being made to the house, the owners of which will move into the building in September.
Brisbane City Council had selected the houses for future consideration as new parks but is now assuring residents that they have nothing to worry about and it is not required
Brisbane is struggling to keep up with its growing population, and clusters of densely populated urban areas don’t have enough outdoor recreation areas to accommodate it
In response to the mass hysteria, a council spokesman said the letter was intended as a request for interest should the owner wish to sell their property in the future.
They clarified that it was not a mandatory takeover.
“Unfortunately, the letter to residents was ambiguous and city officials will be writing to reassure them there are no plans to resume their home for new parks,” the spokesperson told the ABC.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Brisbane City Council for comment.
In the draft plan, which residents had to search online for, the city notes that there are currently not enough parks to serve the burgeoning population.
‘Large gaps’ had been identified between outdoor recreation areas in suburbs such as Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane, Sunnybank, Kenmore and Fig Tree Pocket.
“Expected population growth has increased significantly since the last major LGIP change and park infrastructure in some areas is not up to existing desired standards,” the report said.
The plan proposes new “urban neighborhood parks” that are smaller than existing parks but would contain more amenities in the spaces they occupy.
Any housing purchases to accommodate these parks would not begin during a housing crisis, another spokesperson told the Courier Mail.
“The city officials will be writing to reassure them that there are no plans to resume their home for new parks,” the spokesman said.
“When purchasing land for parks, the normal process of the council is to acquire properties with the consent of the owners, but this will not happen during a housing crisis.”