C126 is go

Great news to hear that the Minister for Planning has approved Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme Amendment C126 without changing the wording submitted by council.

The journey to get to this point has been a long one and started back in May 2008 with the development of Vision2020 by Design.

Amendment C126 is an articulation of Vision2020 by Design, a document which provides guidance on desired built form outcomes across the Yarra Ranges.  C126 is a translation of Vision2020 by Design into Planning Scheme controls known as Design and Development Overlays (DDOs).

The newly approved overlays will provide design guidelines for new developments across town centres in Yarra Ranges. They are all about the built form component of new developments. The design guidelines will make it easier for potential applicants and other interested parties to understand Council’s design objectives for the future development of town centre areas.

Amendment C126 received a high level of media interest due to the inclusion of a provision that “Buildings and works that comprise drive through sales facilities are discouraged”, with this provision covering the townships of Belgrave, Kallista, Mt Dandenong, Olinda, Sassafras and Tecoma.

As part of the public exhibition process council received 73 submissions, the majority of those from community members in the Dandenong Ranges concerned about the prospect of more convenience restaurants in the hills. McDonalds also submitted to the public exhibition process, citing concerns with the DDOs around the ‘step down’ approach to building heights, the retention of buildings that contribute to the character of the town centre, the need for verandas to be designed based on established veranda design and lastly the provision to *discourage drive throughs associated with convenience restaurants (*note the final wording of this provision was changed to: buildings and works that comprise drive through sales facilities are discouraged).

It should be noted that the DDO’s give greater weight to built form outcomes and will be useful planning policy into the future, sadly we didn’t have the weight of planning scheme policy when considering the McDonalds application and could only rely on Vision2020 by Design which does not have the same status as a Design and Development Overlay.

I congratulate the Minister for approving the amendment as presented, certainly has made a lot of locals very happy and the new DDOs will be part of the many tools available when assessing built form elements in new developments across Yarra Ranges into the future. 

The next step in affording greater planning protections to the Dandenongs is the development of a Localised Planning Statement, Yarra Ranges is one of 4 councils in Victoria to have this additional policy control granted by the Minister for Planning. I’m currently in discussions with the Minister for Planning to ensure it includes the Dandenongs.

samantha in the media

Feeding ban voted down, ruffling a few feathers
by David Schout
Yarra Ranges Weekly
4 Jun 2013

Yarra Shire's memo to Abbott
Yarra Ranges Weekly
4 Jun 2013

3MDR Judy Ann and Company
Interview with Judy-Ann

Panel to referee fast food slow burn
by Emily Webb
Leader Newspaper
3 Jun 2013

Planning future under scrutiny
by Kath Gannaway
Mail Newpapers
4 Jun 2013

Hills controversy spills over
Mail Newspaper
4 Jun 2013

No cocky ban
by Emma Sun
Mail Newspaper
4 Jun 2013

Feathers fly as bid fails to fine cockatoo feeders
by Emily Webb
Leader Newspapers
3 Jun 2013

Panel to chew over fast food proposal
by Emily Webb
Free Press Leader
5 Jun 2013

Waging war on weeds
Free Press Leader
5 Jun 2013

Free to feed cockies
by Emily Webb
Free Press Leader
5 Jun 2013

design guidelines off to panel

report from the roundtable – 28 may

 

At this week’s meeting councillors had to consider submissions to what we call C126, a Planning Scheme Amendment (PSA) incorporating a set of Design and Development Overlays (DDOs) that provide guidance about the type of built form we’d like to see in our townships. The DDOs are a translation of Vision2020 by Design, ultimately for incorporation into the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme.

I was pleased to be able to move the motion to request that the Minister for Planning appoint an independent planning panel to consider all the submissions to PSA C126.  Given that there are some issues that cannot be resolved in some submissions the only option available to council is to take the PSA to a panel or abandon the amendment, which certainly wasn’t on the cards.

The DDO’s will give the planning scheme more rigour as they provide a finer grain of detail of what the built form elements of townships should be. The DDOs detail what council’s expectations are in relation to built form and will assist future applicants in understanding Council’s design objectives.

It was interesting to note that of the 72 submissions, 57 of them were in relation to the issue of drive through restaurants in the Dandenong Ranges. In considering the submissions officers have recommended that an addition be made to the design guidelines for  DDO14 (this applies to Olinda, Mt Dandenong, Sassafras and Kallista) and DDO15 (this applies to Belgrave) being:

“Buildings that include drive through sales facilities associated with a convenience restaurant are discouraged”.

Officers have also recommended that Tecoma (originally in DDO13) be included in DDO14 as a response to submissions about the similarity of Tecoma with other villages of the Dandenongs.

I was pleased to support the officer’s recommendations and this will form part of council’s submission to the planning panel. 

The planning panel will also provide submitters with the opportunity to participate in the panel process to reinforce their original submission. I’d certainly encourage all submitters to participate, it is important that the planning panel have a full understanding of the issues raised.

I’m pleased to say that councillors voted unanimously to support the motion.

 

Note: Crs McCarthy and Avery absent, Cr Child left the chamber declaring a conflict of interest due to an interest in properties in Warburton and Yarra Junction located within the exhibited DDOs.

 

new design and development overlays on exhibition now

Yes, sorry for the planning speak, but it's important council gets your views on what's known as Amendment C126, as this is all about the built form of new developments in our townships. I know that built form and township character have been key issues for some very controversial applications in the Lyster Ward so I encourage you to have your say on this consultation. The eventual outcome in this process is for Amendment C126 to be incorporated into the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme to give more weight to local design priorities.

Where does the amendment apply?

The amendment applies  Design and Development Overlays (DDO’s) to the following town centres:

Belgrave, Belgrave South, Coldstream, Kallista, Kilsyth, Healesville, Monbulk, Montrose, Mt Dandenong, Olinda, Sassafras, Seville, Tecoma, Upwey, Wandin North, Warburton, Woori Yallock, Yarra Glen and  Yarra Junction. 

What will the DDOs do?

The new overlays will provide design guidelines for new developments in these town centres. So they are all about the built form component of new developments. The design guidelines will make it easier for potential applicants and other interested parties to understand Council’s design objectives for the future development of town centre areas.

 The design guidelines will be used in the assessment of planning permit applications and in pre- application discussions with potential planning applicants. The new overlays will not increase the number of matters that currently require planning permits.

What information is available?

The Amendment info includes maps highlighting where the proposed DDOs will apply and a 'schedule' which details the sorts of things that are being considered to be included in the DDO. This includes things such as a character statement describing the town, the design objectives describing what's important to the town, what things are exempt, design requirements which has specific information detailing the town centre character, landscaping, the interface with public places and residential areas, car park design and if applicable design guidelines for key redevelopment sites. 

How can you find out more?

Community members can view the proposed design guidelines and other Amendment C126 documents at the following locations:

~ Council’s Community Links - our closest Monbulk or Upwey
~ Council’s website here

The closing date for submissions is 26 April 2013.

Submissions should be addressed to the Manager, Strategic Planning, PO Box 105 Lilydale 3140 or mail@yarraranges.vic.gov.au, quoting Amendment C126.