The deadline is looming for the owner of the former Saint John's orphanage to demolish the main building.
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The council set April 25 as the date by which John Ferrara had to bulldoze the fire-damaged Mundy Street structure.
Mr Ferrara concedes he won't meet the deadline.
"I've had no time to do it," he said.
"If I had a spare $1 million I could get someone to do it quickly. It would only take about three days."
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Late last year the council issued a demolition order for the main building, which carried a January 31 deadline. If not complied with, legal action was to commence in the Local Court.
However, environment and planning director Scott Martin said Mr Ferrara had until March 31 to make representations, which he did. He was then given until April 25 to bulldoze the building.
Mr Martin explained that under the process, the council had to extend "procedural fairness."
"When you have a building as complex as this there are a number of services to be disconnected and there's asbestos," he told councillors in early March.
"...When representations were put back to us we had to consider them."
Some minor removal has taken place on the main building. However the bulk of the fire-damaged structure remains. The services have also been since disconnected.
A council spokesman said last week that the owner was still within the compliance period.
"Regarding the original development control order which concerned three (outer) buildings and public safety, the council has noted that some work is underway in accordance with order, however the compliance period for these works has now passed," he said.
"We expect another report regarding this matter to go to the council within the coming month."
A report to Tuesday night's meeting states that "council staff will determine a way forward in relation to a brief for legal representation" regarding these buildings.
Mr Martin told The Post in mid March that no documentation had been lodged with the court but the mechanism remained under a statute of limitations.
As to why no legal action had occurred to date, he said the matter had coincided with the Wakefield Park Land and Environment Court case and action over a May Street subdivision.
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Mr Martin told councillors last month that site management issues, such as loose security fencing and "a lack of (warning) signage" had also taken up staff attention.
"When I went up there, I could enter when I wanted...We had to manage it in the safest possible way," he said.
"As we know, it has become a haven for behaviour the community doesn't necessarily want to tolerate, so that's where we put our focus in the short-term. It unfortunately means that legal action is behind where we wanted it to be."
Last year, councillors gave Mr Ferrara until October 31, 2021 to knock down the three outer buildings, which included a rear caretakers cottage and former gym.
He was also issued a $3000 Penalty Infringement Notice for non-compliance with an earlier public safety order, which required him to secure loose iron, fencing and the outer buildings.
On Monday, Mr Ferrara said people continued to trespass and pull down fencing soon after its re-installation.
He told The Post he intended to demolish the main building but could not give a timeframe.
Mr Ferrara also intended to press ahead with plans to develop a unit block on the property. Last year he said this would include 150 units but on Monday he revised this to a 294-unit complex.
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Louise Thrower
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
