The State Administrative Tribunal will be tasked with deciding if a fried chicken restaurant’s case passes the smell test.
7Grams Chicken Cafe & Restaurant moved to Lake Street from North Perth last year and has been met with a series of odour complaints ever since.
The City of Vincent even took the unprecedented step of hiring a professional sniffer to assess the issue after a petition with 26 signatures over the smell was presented to it in June.
The petition claimed the odour had been an issue since mid-November last year because it was “offensive and permeates outdoor areas and dwellings and has a detrimental impact on residents’ quality of life”.
Odour consultant Phillipe Najean held six patrols and found when there was no wind, no smell could be detected within a 160m radius of the store.
But Mr Najean discovered on a windy day an “obvious” fried and oily smell could be detected 100m from the stacks and a subtle smell could be detected 140m away.
The City hit the restaurant with a Health Act Notice “to stop emitting odours from the exhaust stack” by November 23.
But the restaurant owner, who did not wish to reveal her name, said the complaints were unfair.
The owner said she replaced the fans and put a lot of money into upgrades after the initial complaints.
“It’s deep fried chicken, so obviously there is a smell, so we put a lot of effort and money into the upgrades so there wouldn’t be a smell,” she said.
“We changed all of the oils that we used. Most restaurants that deep fry food replace filters on top of the fans every month, but we change it weekly.
“Other restaurants usually clean their stacks every six to eight months but we clean ours every three months.”
The owner said they even spent $15,000 putting their ducts up higher, but the complaints only increased.
“About a month ago we met the City and they asked us to solve the problem in 60 days but they didn’t tell us what the solution was,” the owner said.
The owner pointed out the smell occurred only on windy days and that they “can’t control the wind.”
City of Vincent CEO David MacLennan said they had been advised of an appeal by 7 Grams Chicken to the State Administrative Tribunal.
“We will participate in the SAT process next month before providing further comment,” he said.
The SAT will hear the case on November 5.