Planning Zone Changes for the Aireys Inlet District – July 2012
On 11 July 2012 the Victorian Government announced the restructuring of the planning zones that control how land can be used across the state. These changes were designed to increase the diversity of uses that are permitted in most zones – for example, shops and offices in residential zones; accommodation, offices and educational facilities in shopping centres; and recreation, school, accommodation and commercial uses in surrounding rural areas – while at the same time “cutting red tape” by reducing the planning conditions required to be met by developers, and also reducing or eliminating opportunities for public objections.
These changes have the potential to change irredeemably the character of our area. Quite apart from dramatic changes to our precious part of the coast, AIDA is concerned that little thought has been given to infrastructure consequences (notably water supply, sewerage and roads) and increased bushfire risk.
These announcements come on top of radically revised and reduced state-wide car parking planning requirements introduced by the Minister for Planning in June, which will lead to increased roadside car parking, and will be further exacerbated by the new zoning changes.
Some aspects of the changes may be positive, such as a welcome absolute limit to residential building heights, but other changes will introduce potentially intrusive uses and encourage development to spread into surrounding green areas.
At public meetings, the Minister for Planning Matthew Guy has made clear that the proposed changes are designed to let “the market” determine the mix of uses under the new zonings rather than continue with the current level of more direct statutory control over land uses.
Ian Godfrey and Peter McPhee
BELOW YOU CAN FIND A SERIES OF DETAILED UPDATES (IN REVERSE DATE ORDER) ON THE ANNOUNCED REFORMS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN OUR DISTRICT
UPDATE December 2014
Changed Residential Zones
As the final phase in the government’s planning zone reforms, in June 2014 the shire recommended to the minister the adoption of the new General Residential Zone (GRZ) throughout all the previous Residential Zone 1 (RZ1) land in the Surf Coast. This decision was taken to ensure the continuing inclusion in the planning scheme of the differing neighbourhood character and environmental protection controls, which currently apply to each of the shire’s distinct districts. AIDA has been advised by the shire that the government has accepted its recommendation and that this zoning change is now in effect.
It should be noted though, that during the recent election campaign the ALP indicated that it would review the many unsatisfactory impacts of the outgoing government’s zoning changes. Watch this space!
Ian Godfrey
UPDATE July 2014
A Rethink on Residential Zones
As reported in our last newsletter, the government’s revised planning controls for the state’s residential zones were legally established in July last year as the first part of the Reformed Zones for Victoria program, although their inclusion in each planning scheme won’t be implemented until July this year. Before then it will be up to the shire council to recommend to the minister which new residential zone it believes should replace the Aireys Inlet district’s existing Residential Zone 1.
AIDA along with residents’ groups throughout Victoria believed there was a very strong case to choose the new Neighbourhood Residential Zone for our area so that our existing neighbourhood character provisions will continue to apply and can be strengthened – and this approach was endorsed by the shire’s manager of planning last year. However, in yet another case of needing to read the fine print, the planners now believe that, despite all initial appearances and the government’s claim that it would best protect local character, the Neighbourhood Residential Zone cannot in fact include the existing hard-won neighbourhood character and environmental protection controls of the planning scheme.
For this reason the shire now proposes to recommend adopting the new General Residential Zone throughout all areas so as to ensure the continuing inclusion of the distinct neighbourhood character and environmental protection controls which currently apply in each area.
Rural Zones
The third part of the government’s Reformed Zones initiative, changes to rural zones, was implemented by a state-wide amendment to all planning schemes on 5 September 2013. As with the residential zone changes we detailed in our April 2013 newsletter (or see March 2013 update below)and the new commercial provisions described in our last newsletter (see Feb 2014 update below), these changes follow the recommendations of a ministerial working party, which considered all public submissions made by the community.
The area affected in our district is the Rural Conservation Zone, which covers most private land around our townships but excludes public reserves and the national park. It incorporates all of Aireys Inlet north of Aireys Street and the Great Ocean Road and also Eastern View. In addition it covers the large allotments north of Boundary Road, those in the Painkalac Valley and along Bimbadeen Drive, and also our farming hinterland. Unlike the new residential and commercial zones, there are no new rural zones proposed, however many of the restrictions over the types of development permitted within rural zones have been relaxed or removed altogether.
The changes that the government has now put in place are:
- reduction of restrictions on alterations and extensions to dwellings and farm buildings
- removal of the requirement for a mandatory section 173 agreement which restricts future subdivision after an initial subdivision is approved (AIDA is particularly concerned that this may relax the restrictions on the further sub-division of the Painkalac Valley)
- making fewer uses prohibited and more uses discretionary – including some accommodation, retail and commercial uses
- removal of the prohibition on primary and secondary schools
- increase in the threshold for persons that can be accommodated in a bed and breakfast without a permit, from six to ten
- removal of the ‘in conjunction’ requirement
and other conditions for uses such as group accommodation, residential hotels and restaurants - removal of other conditions which restrict uses such as freezing and cool storage, group accommodation, residential hotels and restaurants, and
- removal of the ability for councils to limit the number of bedrooms in a residential hotel and the number of patrons in a restaurant.We and others like us across Victoria had one victory arising from the submission process in the abandonment of the proposal to allow camping and caravan parks, and to remove any conditions for them, in the Rural Conservation Zone, but as AIDA feared, the other changes now made have removed many of the controls designed to restrict inappropriate developments in our lower density residential areas and in the green areas around our townships. We remain concerned, as we made clear in our submission, that the increased rural development now permitted:
• will remove indigenous vegetation, endanger threatened fauna, destroy iconic views now largely empty of visible development, and end the current strategic separation of our existing townships by allowing continuous coastal development
• will add substantially to traffic, all of which must be funnelled along the Great Ocean Road, with no alternative routes being available and no prospects for increasing road capacity; more development will reduce local accessibility, create serious delays for tourist traffic and impair public transport, health, police and fire safety services
• will further increase fire risk, even with the considerable protections of the newly revised bushfire planning overlay, put additional strain on existing roads in the bushfire season and place both the existing and the additional permitted residents’ and business people’s lives in jeopardy
• will lead to new demand for water supply and sewerage service that the existing infrastructure cannot provide, requiring integration with the broader Barwon Water network and removing the major restriction to unlimited urban growth along our coast.
In short, the new relaxed Rural Conservation Zone is likely to increase local population and the mix of activities in our settlements and along the coast, placing strains on the capacity of our infrastructure, including water, sewerage, roads and drainage – not to mention our pristine beaches and environment – and also possibly adding to existing fire risks. Increased traffic volumes will lead to congestion and reduced pedestrian safety, with the need for yet more signage, road sealing, formal streets and footpaths – the suburbanisation of Aireys Inlet and district.
Ian Godfrey
UPDATE February 2014
Residential zones
The government’s revised planning controls for the state’s residential zones were legally established in July 2013 as the first part of the ‘Reformed Zones for Victoria’ program, although their inclusion in each planning scheme won’t be implemented until 1 July 2014. Before then it will be up to the shire council to recommend to the minister which new zone should replace the Aireys Inlet district’s existing Residential Zone 1. AIDA believes there is a very strong case to choose the new Neighbourhood Residential Zone so that our existing neighbourhood character provisions will continue to apply.
Commercial zones
The changes to existing business zones were implemented on 15 July 2013, as the second part of the government’s program. As with the residential zone changes we detailed in our March 2013 newsletter, the new commercial provisions follow the recommendations of a ministerial working party, which considered all public submissions made by the community last September.
Under the new arrangements, all business zones in planning schemes have been abolished and replaced with commercial zones. In our district business zones were limited to the top and bottom shops and also a single lot adjacent to the Fairhaven Surf Beach car park. Developments in these zones were all controlled under Business Zone 1. With the new arrangements these areas all now fall under Commercial 1 Zone.
Unfortunately most of AIDA’s concerns regarding Commercial 1 Zone as it was first announced last year have now been implemented. The new provisions are likely to have significant negative implications for the future character of Aireys Inlet’s commercial areas.
The changes put in force in July 2013, which the minister sees as leading to ‘more vibrant’ commercial areas are as follows.
Removal of planning permit requirements for all retail uses
Now no retail use (except for adult sex bookshops) requires a permit or is subject to any conditions, allowing a wide variety of new retail uses, including, for example, gaming and car sales. Also, conditions allowing restaurants to be limited to specified locations have been removed.
As a small victory though, it will be possible to limit the size of ‘small scale supermarkets in rural areas, to ensure the protection of established centres in regional towns’, and also to limit the total combined floor area
of all shops within a zone. But this will only apply if the council amends the Planning Scheme to include an appropriate schedule to the Commercial 1 Zone. AIDA fears this may provide a window of opportunity until then for another over-sized development in Aireys Inlet.
Office, education, exhibition, residential (except for corrective institutions) and a variety of other uses are now allowed in commercial zones without a permit and with very few conditions
With residential developments, fortunately the existing condition that any frontage at ground floor level must
not exceed 2 metres (other than a bed and breakfast and caretaker’s house) has been retained, restricting most residential uses to an upper floor, and seeming to prohibit the minister’s high-rise residential ‘thought bubble’ for commercial areas as in his original announcement.
Removal of the previous provision allowing further controls under an overlay
The full implications of this omission aren’t yet clear. In Aireys Inlet the overlays that might be affected include the design and development overlay providing urban design and height controls for the top and bottom shops and the commercial areas car-parking overlay currently being developed by the shire.
Removal of the rights of notice, decision and review requirements, except for areas within 30 metres of a residential zone and also for education and hospital uses
This means that except as above, all potentially affected parties (including AIDA acting on behalf of the community) will no longer receive any notice of proposed commercial developments, will have no right of objection to council regarding them, and also will have no right of review of any permits issued at VCAT, for almost all uses in our Commercial 1 Zones. This regressive change has been introduced by the government under its ‘cutting red tape’ banner.
Rural zones
The third part of the government’s ‘reformed zones’ initiative, changes to rural zones, was implemented by a state-wide amendment to all planning schemes on 5 September 2013.
As AIDA feared, this has removed many of the controls designed to restrict inappropriate developments in our lower density residential areas, and also in the green areas around our townships. Details of these changes will be provided in our next update.
Ian Godfrey
UPDATE March 2013
On 5 March Planning Minister Matthew Guy announced the government’s decisions regarding the changes to the state’s residential zones, as the first part of the ‘Reformed Zones for Victoria’ program. This follows the recommendations of the ministerial working party, which considered all public submissions made last September.
Although limited at this stage to residential zones only – and bearing in mind that AIDA’s main concerns related largely to the proposed changes to the commercial and rural zones – it is good to see that important changes to the original residential zone proposals have been agreed to by the government.
Of the three new and two revised residential zones, only two recognise neighbourhood character, and of these AIDA strongly prefers the Neighbourhood Residential Zone for our area. Although it will be up to the shire council to make a final decision on this choice, it appears that there is a very strong case to choose the Neighbourhood Residential Zone for all of the Aireys Inlet district’s existing Residential Zone 1 (RZ1) areas.
In all, the government received 180 submissions from throughout the state on the various points made associated with the proposed Neighbourhood Residential Zone. It is therefore well worth noting that the submissions of AIDA members would have made up a significant component of those expressing their views to the working party.
AIDA’s major concerns regarding the Neighbourhood Residential Zone were (in bold) and the government’s revised provisions (in italics) are:
Non-residential uses were not to be subject to building height or neighbourhood character controls.
Now ALL developments will be subject to building height controls, neighbourhood character, heritage, environmental and landscape characteristics.
The default building height limit was to be 9 metres, and 10 metres on sites steeper than 2.5 degrees.
This will now be reduced to 8 metres, and 9 metres for sites steeper than 2.5 degrees.
It is also good to see that this control is to be mandatory, and not merely an objective, as it is at present. A lesser building height can also be scheduled, as we currently have with our local 7.5 metre height limit.
Medical centres and places of worship were to be allowed anywhere, with no permit.
Now these developments will require access to road zone, which will limit them to sites with access to the Great Ocean Road or Bambra Road. Also, any new medical centre must now be within an existing building.
The new residential zones will be legally established on 1 July this year and their inclusion in each planning scheme is to be implemented by 1 July 2014.
We have yet to hear anything of the final proposals for the new and revised commercial and rural zones.
Ian Godfrey
UPDATE December 2012
Thank you to all members who made submissions and comments to the state government regarding its proposal to amend the planning controls for our Residential, Business and Rural Planning Scheme Zones. Many did submit – some even bearding the minister, and receiving ‘interesting’ personal replies for their trouble! You may also have seen the numerous media articles opposing the proposals.
All submissions across the state have been referred to a ministerial working party, which is scheduled to report on the results, together with recommendations, for residential zones this December, and all other zones in February 2013.
Ian Godfrey
Planning Zone Changes for the Aireys Inlet District – July 2012
On 11 July 2012 the Victorian Government announced the restructuring of the planning zones that control how land can be used across the state. These changes are designed to increase the diversity of uses that are permitted in most zones – for example, shops and offices in residential zones; accommodation, offices and educational facilities in shopping centres; and recreation, school, accommodation and commercial uses in surrounding rural areas – while at the same time “cutting red tape” by reducing the planning conditions required to be met by developers, and also reducing or eliminating opportunities for public objections.
These changes have the potential to change irredeemably the character of our area. Quite apart from dramatic changes to our precious part of the coast, AIDA is concerned that little thought has been given to infrastructure consequences (notably water supply, sewerage and roads) and increased bushfire risk.
These announcements come on top of radically revised and reduced state-wide car parking planning requirements introduced by the Minister for Planning in June, which will lead to increased roadside car parking, and will be further exacerbated by the new zoning changes.
Some aspects of the changes may be positive, such as a welcome absolute limit to residential building heights, but other changes will introduce potentially intrusive uses and encourage development to spread into surrounding green areas.
At public meetings, the Minister for Planning Matthew Guy has made clear that the proposed changes are designed to let “the market” determine the mix of uses under the new zonings rather than continue with the current level of more direct statutory control over land uses.
Rural areas:
All of the bush and paddocks between the public conservation zones of the Great Otway National Park and our core residential areas have a rural zoning. This includes most of the lower density residential areas in Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven – as well as most of the Painkalac Valley. In past consultations with our members and with the general community, the preservation of the Valley has ranked first in importance, ahead of all competing local development and environmental issues.
The Government’s stated aim for the revised rural zone is to “protect and enhance natural resources and the biodiversity of the area.” This sounds fine, but unfortunately, the proposed changes will remove the very controls, that is, the requirement to apply a Section 173 Agreement to stipulate detailed subdivision and development restrictions, which have preserved the Painkalac Valley to date.
This is a serious challenge for AIDA and our whole community.
But the rural zone changes as proposed go well beyond this challenge, driven by the state Government’s decision to allow greater Melbourne to “bleed” into Melbourne’s rural green wedges. Our rural zone is caught up in the backwash of this controversial metropolitan-focussed policy.
The changes to the rural zone are proposed to allow, with a permit, but without any use-related conditions: leisure, sports and recreation, camping and caravan parks, residential hotels (including entertainment), group accommodation, host farms, residential buildings, residential and retirement villages, primary and secondary schools, and other uses. Conditions on restaurants, including the current cap of 150 patrons, are to be removed. Only the existing conditions which apply to a planning permit for a dwelling are to be retained under the revised rural zone.
AIDA is concerned that our settlements will be permitted to spread into surrounding rural land, bringing greatly increased resident, tourist and visitor numbers. Some may think this will be a great opportunity, but we fear it will lead to the destruction of the things we value most about our area.
Taken together, the above changes to residential, shopping and rural areas are likely to increase local population and the mix of activities, placing strains on the capacity of our infrastructure, including water, sewerage, roads and drainage – not to mention our pristine beaches and environment – and also possibly adding to our existing fire risks. Increased traffic volumes will lead to congestion and reduced pedestrian safety, with the need for yet more signage, road sealing, formal streets and footpaths — the suburbanisation of Aireys Inlet.
Shopping centres:
Our shopping centres are to be changed to a new ‘commercial’ zone intended to radically free up the mix and scale of the developments permitted. This is designed to “promote vibrant mixed use commercial centres for retail, office, business, entertainment and high density residential” according to the Government’s documentation.
New retail uses, not currently allowed, are to be permitted – such as gambling and car sales – and will not require a permit nor be subject to any of the conditions which currently apply. “High density residential” may mean high-rise, as has been supported elsewhere by the Minister in low-rise areas.
In what the AIDA committee sees as a further dangerous step, in almost most cases the public will not be provided with notice of permit applications for new developments in this zone, nor be able to object to them nor to appeal to VCAT – except only for hospital and education uses and commercial areas within 30 metres of a residential zone.
Submissions to Government:
Public submissions to the Government on the new zones closed on 21 September. AIDA made a submission, as did many individual members.
There will now be a staged process for the changes to be confirmed by Government and put into place by local councils in all planning schemes throughout the state. We can therefore expect the changes to our area to be progressively introduced over the next 12 months.
Details of the Government’s proposed new zoning reforms can be found on the Victorian Planning Department’s website at:
www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/planning/theplanningsystem/improving-the-system/new-zones-for-victoria.
Ian Godfrey and Peter McPhee