SWAN View resident and whitegoods technician Siegfried Maier says he has accepted the fines issued against him but is now without a way to provide for himself.

Mr Maier, known as Siggy, has lived at his Swan View property for about 21 years, repairing and selling appliances from there.

He spoke to Echo News about the dispute with the council and said he did not want to create further conflict.

“I just don’t want any more problems with the council,” he said.

“When I first bought this property, it had a service station operating and a store called Hobbsy’s Store.

“The service station was being closed down when I bought the property at the time, and I called up the shire because from my understanding it was appropriate to continue using the shop for retail.

“I bought the property with that understanding but I couldn’t get any confirmation for that until later on.”

Mr Maier said it wasn’t until about eight years of residing in the property before concerns were raised with storing goods on the property.

“So, I put in a request to build a shed here to put my appliances in but that was declined because it might be used for retail sales,” he said.

“(The Shire of Mundaring) didn’t deem this property to be suitable for business at that time and I was turned down – it’s been a longstanding issue.

A Shire of Mundaring spokesperson said the shire investigated the property following concerns raised by neighbours and identified the accumulation of a substantial quantity of materials and equipment.

“The scale of the storage and associated activities extended beyond what would ordinarily be considered a residential or domestic use and was not consistent with the planning provisions applying to the site,” they said.

“Contrary to some reports, this matter did not specifically involve the issuing of a fine, rather, the landowner was advised that if materials were not removed within the required timeframe, the shire could undertake the works and recover the associated costs through the legislative processes available to local government.”

The matter continued for several years.

Mr Maier said he received a fine of about $8000 before receiving another penalty of about $25,000.

He said he was still making ongoing payments and had also been told he could receive a bill for the clean-up.

Mr Maier said the appliances had now been cleared from the property after contractors attended.

“They’re just doing their job,” he said.

He said the appliances had occupied about a third of the yard and had been stored on plastic and solid surfaces.

“During inspections, the shire also identified matters requiring attention under relevant public health legislation and issued directions requiring compliance works to be undertaken as part of its responsibility to protect public health, safety and local amenity,” the shire spokesperson said.

Mr Maier disputed claims that the appliances caused a rat problem.

He said he regularly put out rat bait and that evidence of rats had been found in an old chicken coop, rather than among the appliances.

He also believed bandicoots visiting the property may have been mistaken for rats by workers on nearby developments, which he suspected was why a report of rats had been linked to his property

“It is important to note that while the term ‘home business’ is often used broadly, planning legislation defines this type of activity quite specifically,” the shire spokesperson said.

“In this case, the scale and nature of the storage and operational activities exceeded what is generally contemplated as a home business under the shire’s local planning scheme and was instead considered a ‘storage yard’ land use.

“The shire encourages residents who are considering operating a business or undertaking activities on residentially zoned land to contact planning services before commencing operations.

“Staff can provide advice on whether a proposal meets planning requirements, whether approvals are required, and whether it satisfies the definition of a home business under the local planning scheme.

“Early engagement can help ensure activities are compliant, minimise impacts on neighbours, and avoid the need for enforcement action in the future.”

Mr Maier said he could not understand the opposition to his work as he did not work at night, create excessive noise or cause toxic waste.

However, the enforcement action has left Mr Maier with little ability to continue that work.

Mr Maier said being 67 years old and living with chronic fatigue has prevented him from working reliably for someone else.

Mr Maier said he had taken on another Bellevue property to move the business but had not been well enough to establish it properly.

According to Mr Maier, the property was costing him close to $1000 a week.

The appliances stored in Swan View were intended to be processed and sold through that business, but Mr Maier said he had now lost the opportunity to do so.

“I’ve been doing my best to serve this community here for 20 years and they’re fully behind me because they know I may be the only place where they can get reliable things and to get their washers repaired,” he said.

“Some of these parts are extraordinarily expensive, and I would sell them at a very low cost because it makes me happy to serve the community.

“As long as I can pay my bills, I’m happy, and that’s the way it’s been here all these years.”

Mr Maier said he understood the council had to respond to complaints and that he did not want the matter blown out of proportion, but the removal of the appliances has left him needing a practical path forward.

A GoFundMe has been started to help Mr Maier ease financial distress and may be accessed here.