A spiritual and religious group in Perth’s north who have been praying for a permanent home for nearly a decade have been granted their wishes.
The City of Wanneroo agreed unanimously at its July meeting to approve Drukpa Australia’s plan to start worshipping at its newly acquired 1626sqm property at Mangano Place.
Under the approval, the religious group must operate only with a maximum of 10 people on weekdays and no more than 68 people on site on a weekend — the latter down from 76 as first proposed.
Local ward councillor Frank Cvitan said the city’s administrative report had been clear about what was allowed in the area.
“The conditions that are imposed on this particular item are quite strict and I certainly am in support (of that),” Cr Cvitan said.
“I do see one of the neighbours is here in the gallery this evening . . . administration has addressed the carparking requirements for this particular area.
“But the point I want to make is that sometime ago there was the application for a funeral parlour just down the road — the community certainly objected to that and not much has happened since then.
“That business is operating smoothly even though there is an exodus of motor vehicles through the estate; it’s managed well.”
It had received several complaints about the site being used as a place of worship prior to the application being approved.
The owners said the complaints were about a celebration held for the purchase of the site and not for worship.
No complaints were received after the city told the religious group not to use the site for any unauthorised activities.
Deputy mayor Brett Treby asked if a breach of the total number of persons at the site or its operating hours would require action from the city if it was notified.
Planning and sustainability director Mark Dickson said the city would conduct an investigation if the conditions were breached.
A total of 158 submissions were received by the city during a 14-day consultation period in March — 130 were in support, 16 objected, 11 provided neutral comments and one was in a form of a petition with 29 signatures.
An increase in traffic, noise impacts and insufficient parking were the three major issues raised.
As a result of the objections, Drukpa Australia modified its plans including moving the vehicle access point on Villanova Street, reducing the number of people allowed to worship on site and the number of parking bays.
Drukpa Australia general secretary Sonam Pelden told PerthNow in March it was aware of past controversies with religious groups moving in and it hoped to portray its community as “more of a practical group”.
The religious charity had raised $600,000 to acquire the Mangano Place property.
Drukpa Australia was incorporated in 2016 and is recognised by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
The religion known as Vajrayana Buddhism practices chanting, the importance of meditation and relying on a genuine Guru or Vajra teacher to allow one to see innate goodness in oneself.
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