It started with a complaint to the council over music and
chatter from relatives staying in a former caretaker's residence
on a neighbour's Park Orchards property.  But Jessica Paterson
says she was unprepared for the rift that developed after
Manningham City Council then refused to let her neighbours use
the building as a second dwelling.  ''Our kids used to play
together, but now we just get dirty looks,'' Ms Paterson said of
the council decision last year upheld by the Victorian Civil and
Administrative Tribunal. ''It's a shame because my young kids
really liked their older sons.''  Some say neighbours' disputes
heard by Victoria's planning appeals tribunal could have been
resolved over a cup of tea. Dr Beau Beza, of RMIT University,
said appeals to VCAT over neighbourhood planning disputes were
not uncommon.  ''Much of this can be avoided, in my opinion,''
said Dr Beza, who directs the university's international urban
and environmental management program.  ''For example, one way is
proposing the owners in