tecoma supermarket - vcat agrees

stop press stop press stop press

VCAT have supported council's position to refuse the Tecoma Supermarket application. Great news for the community, particularly those residents who had to contend with an 11 metre blank concrete wall. More details soon.

tecoma supermarket - vcat hearing date set

Save Tecoma have advised that they have received notice that the VCAT hearing to consider the Tecoma Supermarket application will be held on the 22nd June, 2009.

I spoke about the role of council and the planning process at the first public protest for the proposed Tecoma Supermarket application in October last year.
By the time the application was considered by Council we had received 531 objections to the proposal and 16 separate petitions against the application.

I have pencilled the date into my diary and will be observing the deliberations with great interest. It is my view that the application is an overdevelopment of the site, it’s a building that provides a three storey blank concrete wall to the majority of the population of Tecoma. It has significant amenity issues; traffic, noise and visual bulk to name a few….to read more about what I said about the application at the council meeting follow this link.

report from the round table – mar 10

Report from the round table is my regular report back from the council meeting, this week:

Shower opens at Mission Impossible
It was great to report back to council that I had the very great pleasure of officially opening a shower at Mission Impossible on Tuesday night. I had funded the installation of the shower from my ward fund (see blog entry) as a way to assist homeless and disadvantaged people in the Dandenong Ranges.

I saw it as a practical on the ground way to help people in need with a very basic but critical need. Mission Impossible were delighted with the installation (and the hot water service!) and the ribbon was cut to the cheer and applause of those who came along to celebrate the occasion.

The Tecoma Supermarket Application
At this meeting council were considering the application for the development of a supermarket in Tecoma. Although the application is before VCAT council still has to determine a position on the application to present to VCAT.

Shire planners had recommended a refusal of the application, I was very supportive of their recommendation and moved a motion to refuse the application. In summing up I started by telling my fellow councillors about the character of Tecoma. It is a town that has great hills character, it’s built form is low scale and one of it’s hallmarks is its canopy of trees and open space.

Tecoma is a town of around 2,000 people, it has little capacity for growth, something reconfirmed in the Shire’s housing strategy consultations.

Even though it is council’s role to determine the application on planning grounds I thought it was important to highlight the groundswell of community objection to the application. Council had received 531 objections and 16 petitions against the supermarket in comparison to 4 letters of support.

The application was to build a monolithic monstrosity, a building 11 metres high with minimal setbacks, the tiniest of landscaping and 3 storeys high at the rear. Its interface with the neighbours is atrocious. I referred councillors to attachment 9 of our council papers which shows how much the direct neighbour on Sandells Road would be overshadowed by this giant of a building. Not only the direct neighbours would be affected, but the majority of the Tecoma community would be looking at the back of an ugly 3 storey concrete block.

Traffic is a key concern. Burwood Highway carries much more than just local traffic, if you are coming or going from Emerald, Monbulk or Belgrave you will be using Burwood Highway and it is important to bear in mind it is a single lane road already very busy servicing the local Tecoma Primary School, PreSchool, Pathology Centre, Church and Strip Shopping Centre.

Traffic engineers for the applicant had calculated that the supermarket would add 3,348 additional traffic movements a day, given the difficulties traversing Burwood Highway now, an extra 3,348 cars would be a nightmare.

The application requires 211 parking spaces, even though the report refers to changes to the provisions, these changes are only proposed, not current law so the application must be measured against the current planning scheme. The application only provides for 130 car parking spaces, the applicant is asking for a car parking dispensation of 81 spaces, this will lead to parking chaos in Tecoma.

It is an overdevelopment of the site, it’s a building that provides a three storey blank concrete wall to the majority of the population of Tecoma. It has significant amenity issues; traffic, noise and visual bulk to name a few.

We want the hills to stay the hills and with that I urged councillors to support my motion to refuse the application.

I am very pleased to report that council voted unanimously to refuse the application.

The application will now be heard at VCAT who will make the final decision on the supermarket. So far a date for the VCAT hearing hasn’t been set, but watch this space for more information.
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tecoma supermarket application refused

STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS

At last night's council meeting (10 Mar), council voted unanimously to refuse the application to develop a supermarket in Tecoma.

The application is now before VCAT however a hearing date has not been set as yet.

More details to follow in my regular blog entry - report from the roundtable...

tecoma supermarket application, coming up 10 march

The Tecoma Supermarket application will be considered by council at its next meeting on Tuesday 10th March, 2009. Due to the ongoing emergency situation in the shire this council meeting will be held at the Mooroolbark Community Centre (Brice Avenue, Mooroolbark) instead of Lilydale.

The Council Chambers in Lilydale are currently being utilised as the Municipal Emergency Communications Centre (MECC) to deal with the ongoing fire emergency in the Shire.

At the meeting submissions in relation to the Tecoma Supermarket application are allowed (and will be invited via the Mayor), however only one representative will be able to speak on behalf of objectors and one representative to speak on behalf of the applicant.
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tecoma supermarket update

Earlier this week I was updated on the application for the Tecoma Supermarket by our planning department.

I am able to confirm that the applicant has taken the matter to VCAT for what’s known as a ‘Failure to Determine’. This is not an uncommon practice for large and complex applications.

There is a statutory time frame of 60 days for council to decide on a planning application. If an application isn’t decided in this time applicants can go to VCAT for a decision. A large and complicated application will often take longer than the statutory 60 day period to determine.



Me at the site of the proposed supermarket in Tecoma.


As part of the assessment process council must refer the application to various ‘referral authorities’, for example: Melbourne Water, CFA, Vic Roads, etc. To date council has not received a response from Vic Roads on this application, this is causing the application to be held up and not proceed to council.

As soon as council receives the referral from Vic Roads a report will come to council so a decision can be made on the application. Watch this space or savetecoma.com for more information as it comes to hand.

stop press….woolworths - no appeal for liquor licence

A great Christmas present for locals in Tecoma, particularly residents at Carlisle Court, there will be no drive through bottle shop at this site in Tecoma.

Yesterday Woolworths contacted me to advise that they will not be appealing or reviewing the decision of the Director of the Liquor Licensing Board to refuse their application for a drive through bottle shop in Tecoma.

Although Woolworths have further rights that may allow them additional time to appeal they have assured me that they will not be pursuing this matter further. Woolworths are keen to ensure that residents concerns regarding an appeal are alleviated over the next month.

I thank Woolworths for listening to the concerns of local residents and appreciate them taking the time to let me know.