The last Planning Scheme Review was completed in August 2010. Half of the ‘recommendations’ have never been mentioned since, much less implemented. What has been the focus for the past 5 years is to pass amendment after amendment that has rezoned land primarily into Commercial 1 or Mixed Use. This of course allows a developer to build one or two shops and hundreds of dwellings on top!

We have gone through all of the amendments put forward by Council since the beginning of 2011. There are 43 amendments of which the vast majority involved clearing the way for high density development – in particular, the Caulfield Village and Virginia Park fiascos, and facilitating the Monash Campus development. There have been only two amendments that looked at Neighbourhood Character Overlays and a tinkering with a few heritage properties – including the attempt to remove Heritage from the Esakoff, Seaview property.

Whilst other councils have been busy shoring up the ‘safeguards’ for their population none of this applies to Glen Eira. Stonnington is a case in point. They have introduced 63 amendments. Of these:

  • 23 related to heritage listings of new areas, individual properties, and interim controls becoming permanent controls. Only one amendment sought to remove heritage listing from 2 properties.
  • Other amendments involve: ‘water sensitive urban design’; awning and footpath policy; neighbourhood character overlays; car parking rates for 2 activity centres; design and development overlays; urban design frameworks; public acquisition overlays, open space levy where 3 suburbs now receive 8% and council is now asking for a 4th suburb to be added at 8%.
  • But the most important point to note is that rezoning to suit residential development appears in only 3 amendments!!!!!

Compare this record with what is happening in Glen Eira. Below is the complete list, plus what has thus far eventuated because of the rezoning. Gazetted dates for each amendment are in parenthesis.

C60 – rezoning of land to a Priority Development zone – ie the stepping stone for Caulfield Village (2/7/2011)

C64 – new Child Care Centres policy – now suitable for minimal change! (5/5/2011)

C75 – rezones Virginia Park from industrial/business to business zone and as with Caulfield Village a version of an ‘incorporated plan’ (2/6/2011)

C76 – rezones 235-237 Murrumbeena Road from Residential to business (5/5/2011) (application now in for 3 dwellings)

C77 – rezones 1030-1082 Dandenong Road from Business 4 to Business 2 zone (6/1/2011) (Permit granted for 12 storeys and 173 dwellings as part of this PLUS other permits for 23 dwellings )

C78 – rezones 791-793 Warrigal Road from Residential to Business (23/5/2013)

C80 – rezones parts of Grange and Glen Huntly Road section from GRZ to Commercial 2 and from Industrial to Commercial 1 (12/12/2013) (Permit for 6 storeys and 117 dwellings)

C83 – attempt to remove heritage overlay from Seaview Street (13/10/2011)

C84 – removed the Development Contributions Overlay from the scheme (8/9/2011)

C85 – rezoning of various places from business to residential (17/2/2011)

C87 – Neighbourhood character overlays (31/3/2013)

C88 – rezoning 331-335 North Road and 120 Patterson Road from residential to business (1/9/2011)

C91 – rezoning of part of Oakleigh Road Carnegie from residential to public park zone (ie Packer Park properties – NOTE: the only properties bought by council in the past decade)

C92 – removes the monash medical centre precinct structure plan (17/11/2011)

C93 – removes the Commercial Centres Policy (28/3/2013)

C94 – Minister for Planning amendment to make “changes to the Schedule to Clause 52.06 to include car parking rates for a dwelling” for the Caulfield Village development (In their haste they ‘forgot’ to include this fundamental clause in the Schedule!!!!) (22/12/2011).

C95 – rezones land in Hawthorn Road Caulfield South (348- 54) and Olive Street from Commercial 2 to Commercial 1 ( 12/9/2013)

C97 – to include Seaview in heritage overlay (25/1/2012)

C98 – rezones part of Tovan Akas from industrial 3 to Residential Growth Zone (12/9/2013)

C99 – student housing parking rates (27/2/2014)

C100 (part 1) – rezones part of Neerim Road Carnegie from industrial to Mixed Use zone (23/5/2013) (permit for 5 storey and unnamed number of units)

C100 – rezones Neerim Road and part of Emily Street from industrial 3 to Mixed Use zone.(26/2/2013)

C100 (part 2) – rezones 394-412 Neerim Road and part of Emily from Industrial 3 to Mixed Use (registered 5/2/2015)

C102 – new non residential uses in residential zones (awaiting approval)

C106 – rezones part of Monash precinct from Commercial 1 to Public Use Zone (ie educational purposes and paves the way for Monash major development of 22 storeys). (16/7/2014)

C107 – include Moodie and other street(s) in Neighbourhood Character Overlay (waiting for approval)

C109 – removes the Minister as planning authority for the Monash Village development (29/8/2013)

C110 – introduces new residential zones (23/8/2013)

C111 – introduces changes to the Caulfield Village priority development Schedule – ie allows encroachment of setbacks and height (16/1/2014)

C112 – includes ‘transitional provisions’ into the new zones (3/10/2013)

C113 – heritage overlay to several properties in Caulfield as a result of Panel report (5/3/2015)

C114 – corrects an ‘administrative error’ regarding schedules to General Residential Zone 2 (19/12/2013)

C116 – corrects parking overlay ‘anomalies’ for amendment C99 (10/4/2014)

C117 – tried to apply a special dispensation to allow an illegal office in Kooyong Road to continue – councillors voted to abandon this amendment (last council meeting)

C119 – Corrects height controls for the Caulfield Village Incorporated Plan (10/4/2014)

C120 – open space levy (12/3/2015)

C 121 – Rezones 641 – 685 North Road from Commerical 2 to a Mixed Use Zone (set for directions hearing)

C123 – revises Child Care amendment – Panel set

C124 – Rezones 16 -20 Clairmont Avenue Bentleigh East from Industrial 3 to Mixed Use Zone. Council still to vote following recept of Planning Panel report.

C125 – rezones 1051 Glen Huntly Road from Public Use 1 to Public Use 6

C128 – Rezones 11 Princes Avenue, Caulfield East from Residential Growth Zone to Public use Zone 2 and removes the public acquisition overlay from the bounds of Monash Caulfield Campus. (18/12/2014)

C130 – Environmental overlay to 101-113 Grange Road and 2-4 Watsons Grove Glen Huntly and 118 Grange Road (16/4/2015)

C135 – public acquisition overlay to 53 Magnolia Road, Gardenvale (being exhibited) (removed in 2008 after ten or so years of existence, and now re-applied!)

C137 – heritage overlay to 1 Wahgoo Road, Carnegie (being exhibited)

We acknowledge that land which has ‘served its purpose’ should be rezoned. In Glen Eira however the rezoning has consistently advantaged developers rather than residents. One might query why so many of these changes resulted in the status of ‘commercial’ rather than the more limiting ‘mixed use’ zoning and why so few of these amendments have addressed what residents see as vital to limit the damage wrought by over development. The Design & Development Overlays available to councils are the perfect case in point. Glen Eira has 5 – 2 of which facilitate further development and 3 concern themselves exclusively with the height of fences! That is the agenda in a nutshell!