A Harrisdale church has said it will fight a zoning change to its property after it found it had a major impact on the value and usability of the land.
The zoning change to the Aboriginal Evangelical Fellowship Bible College property on Skeet Road meant more than three acres of its 13-acres cannot be developed.
The change of classification to one corner of the property into a wetland was made because of a dam built by the land’s previous owner.
The dam was originally used to water a vegetable garden but became overgrown because of disuse.
The wetland classification also includes a two-acre buffer zone next to the dam.
The area’s classification was changed in 2015 but College administrator David Williams said he recently found out about the change after neighbours told him.
Properties along Skeet Road had been offered compensation for land, which would be lost for road widening and Mr Williams said the church had been offered $10,000 less than neighbouring properties because of the wetland classification.
He said the church wanted to maintain a good relationship with the City of Armadale but it wanted its wishes to be respected.
“What we don’t want is we don’t want to be trodden on, we want to be recognised,” he said.
“We want to be equal with every other land owner in this area.”
Mr Williams said the land had been purchased without any government funding and the church was right to demand an equal compensation rate.
He said the devaluation and loss of land was akin to historical instances of Aboriginal people having their land taken from them.
Armadale mayor Henry Zelones said the council had no control over zoning and could not influence the compensation offer.
“The proposed values are considered to be reasonable and consistent,” he said.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife said people who found parts of their properties had been classified as a wetland could request for the classification to be modified.
A Department spokesperson said residents wishing to dispute a classification of their land could receive assistance from the department by completing an application.
Vegetation in the area, soil quality and wetland condition would be considered in a reclassification application according to the document.
The Protocol for Proposing Modifications to the Geomorphic Wetlands Swan Costal Plain Dataset Application was publicly available and can be found at dpaw.wa.gov.au.
