agenda 13 april

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council agenda - 9 Feb

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report from the round table - 11th Nov

A diverse meeting this week at council although there were no items on the agenda that directly affected the Lyster Ward.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Frank Smith, President of MEEPA (Mt Evelyn Environment and Progress Association) submit to council.

Frank presented council with a beautiful photograph of a powerful owl as way to say thank you for our efforts in deciding the application for the Safeway Supermarket in Mt Evelyn. It is not often that councillors get public thanks and recognition for their efforts and it was very humbling to receive a personal thank you from MEEPA.

Frank gave special thanks to me, as I was the mover of the motion to oppose the application (see Yarra Ranges minutes). The Mt Evelyn Supermarket application was very controversial, in my view (and I stated this at the council meeting at the time) the application;
1. does not reflect the characteristics of the town
2. does not meet the standards or design objectives of the proposed DDO
3. does nothing to enhance the local urban character
4. is excessive and incompatible in a low scale residential context
5. I urge you to support the motion to refuse this most dreadful application

That night at council, back in May 2007, was one of those times as a councillor that I really felt I was making a difference in the Shire of Yarra Ranges. Council was vindicated in its decision which was upheld by VCAT some months later.

Cr Samantha Dunn

Greens candidate for Lyster

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Caring for people, the

environment and

economic development

report from the roundtable – 23rd september

This week was a bit quieter than the last meeting, but there’s not many meetings where you get over 400 people attending for one item, the Chirnside Park Golf Club (see blog entry: Friday, September 12, 2008 - report from the round table – 9th September).

There was an application for a church, additions to a winery, development of a function centre, a subdivision of green wedge land and a final draft report for the Chirnside Park Urban Design Master Plan.

There were also items about the Oxfam Close the Gap Campaign, a Drug and Alcohol Working Group and opportunities for Habitat for Humanity Housing.

I never cease to be amazed by the scope of issues Councillors deal with. There is no doubt that planning matters take up an awful lot of time and are probably the steepest learning curve but the range of social issues are enormous as well dealing with the continuing pressures around infrastructure.

Every council meeting allows councillors to raise issues through ‘items raised through the chair’, this time I reported back on correspondence with the Director of Liquor Licensing (LL). Earlier on I had written to the Director of LL outlining my concerns about the display of a liquor licence application for the old Flash Mechanics site in Tecoma (see blog entry: Saturday, August 23, 2008 - display not so flash) and requesting an extension in display time for the application.

I am advised that to date the liquor licence application has received 25 individual objections and a petition with approximately 300 signatures. The Director will continue to accept any further objections until such time as the applicant (BWS – Woolworths Ltd) has submitted all of the supporting documentation required.

I’m pleased that the Director continues to accept objections and that awareness of the application has been raised in the local community.

report from the round table – 8 July

This edition of report from the round table is a summary of some of the items up for consideration at the council meeting. (Report from the round table is news and views of the fortnightly council meetings from my perspective)

A varied night at council this week, to start proceedings there was a planning scheme amendment (East Ridge) in Chirnside Park. Councillors felt it was important that the Chirnside Park Major Activity Centre amendment proceed ahead of the amendment for the East Ridge. I couldn’t agree more and voted with my colleagues for this.

Next up was the proposed new Lilydale Police Station. The Minister for Planning has allowed the new station to be constructed without a planning permit, however the plans do need to be approved by council before works can proceed. There was a lot of discussion about public/visitor parking for the station with the police submitting amended plans at the eleventh hour. I was very concerned that the traffic and parking report contained data from 1998, not very current. A number of councillors were concerned about the lack of appropriate parking for visitors and in the end the plans were rejected by the majority of councillors. I want to see a new police station built but it must not cause traffic or parking chaos due to shortage of parking spaces.

A view worth protecting, the magnificent Dandenong Ranges, a jewel in Melbourne's crown, the lungs of Melbourne and home.

Following this was a resubdivision of two lots in Hughes Street, Upwey. The site is very prominent on the front flank of the Dandenong Ranges. It is an important visual landscape not only for locals but for all Melburnians. I was happy to second a motion to keep the height of any building 3.5 metres from the natural ground level. We need to protect this area, it’s very sensitive and we do not want to encourage clutter on such an important landscape.

Then came a difficult application, intersection improvement works on Berwick & Wellington Rds. The application sought to remove 28 trees as well as low lying vegetation. As a compromise I sought not only offset planting within the Shire of Yarra Ranges but amenity planting as near as possible to where the trees will be removed along Berwick Road. It is always difficult to balance retention of vegetation with safety improvements of the road network.

The magnificent Baluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve, environmentally significant, containing over one third of Victoria's native orchids.






There were a few other items, I won’t mention them here except for the Special Charge Scheme to seal Courtney’s Road in Belgrave South. The road goes through the Baluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve, significant within Victoria as it is home to hundreds of native orchids. The Friends of Baluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve had raised a number of issues they were concerned about. I assured them that both the Friends Group and Parks Victoria will be presented with further plans to ensure they are satisfied with any of the works prior to them being undertaken.

The Shire has prepared an Environmental Management Plan for the project to ensure that the works do not impact on the sensitive environment and I am very mindful of the significance of the area. The Shire will also make sure contractors working on the project are abundantly aware of this significance too.

You never know what you might be dealing with next at council, I am always mindful of making decisions for the long term benefit of all.

report from the round table 27th May

A very planning orientated agenda at council last night, a lot of subdivisions to vote on, a dwelling construction and a couple of planning scheme amendments. Yarra Ranges is a very diverse shire and I find I need to have a very good understanding of the issues in the urban, environmentally sensitive and rural regions. The decisions council makes leaves a lasting impression on the shire and is not something to be taken lightly.

I’ve decided this time in my Report From The Round Table to list the meetings and events I've attended as councillor for Lyster Ward in the past fortnight.
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Wednesday
Filmed by a Swinburne student from Selby about the shire’s stance on GMOs
Met with officers to discuss festivals and events in the shire
Met with the community to talk about a masterplan for the Belgrave South sporting precinct
Participated in the development of a campaign strategy to get back federal funds for Burrinja
Thursday
Went to the launch of Open Studios at Burrinja
Friday
Special Council Meeting to appoint Yarra Ranges’ new CEO
Saturday
Spoke at a GMO forum put on by GeneEthics, giving advice to people across Victoria about how to approach their council to become GM free zones
Monday
Another follow up meeting to develop campaign strategy for Burrinja
Met with the community about the Menzies Creek Reserve
Tuesday
Went to the Council Forum, where councillors and officers meet to discuss issues
Wednesday
Attended the Shire’s Sustainable Food Forum
Met with a local sports club to discuss a redevelopment in Kilsyth
Attended an initial planning meeting to discuss my, Cr McRae and Cr Keane’s event to celebrate 100 years of women’s vote in Victoria
Met with concerned community members about the Belgrave toilet redevelopment
Thursday
Went to the Grab-a-Cab Forum at SkyHigh
Attended the planning consultation meeting for Burrinja
Friday
Met with a resident to discuss their application to build a house in an environmentally sensitive area
Spoke at the Forest and Water Forum in Warburton
Saturday
Visited eight local artist studios as part of Open Studios weekend
Sunday
Visited Fernlea House open day
Went to the Scouts Family Fun Day in Belgrave South
Monday
Went to the Belgrave Trader’s Association meeting
Attended the Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief Service Public Meeting to discuss the future of the service
Tuesday
Met with officers to discuss the Belgrave Planning Project
And finished the fortnight with our Council meeting

One of the stand out things I’ve learnt in the last fortnight is the desperate plight of the disadvantaged and homeless people in our community. I learnt if someone from our community wants to have a free shower in a public facility to do so they have to travel to Wantirna, on a Friday and be there between 9am and 11:30am. In such an affluent society as ours this is a crying shame. I am investigating if I can address this issue locally in the short term, I hope a quick solution can be found.