Bentleigh East high rise development hangs on Glen Eira Council’s rezone vote

  • Troels Sommerville
  • Moorabbin Glen Eira Leader
  • July 03, 2015 12:00AM
Rodney Andonopoulos is worried a new development at Virginia Park, Bentleigh East, will c

Rodney Andonopoulos is worried a new development at Virginia Park, Bentleigh East, will cause traffic chaos around the neighbourhood. Picture: Valeriu Campan

HUNDREDS of objections to a rezoning proposal to allow for a high-rise, high density development have been filling Glen Eira Council’s mailboxes.

And Mayor, Cr Jim Magee said he expected “a gallery filled with protesters and placards” at the next council meeting.

The large development complex planned forBentleigh East’s Virginia Park, hangs on a crucial rezoning vote at the July 21 meeting.However, speaking on behalf of developer Gillon Group, one of the project’s development managers, Adam Brix from Brix Property Group, said there would be 1250 houses and not 4000 as objectors have been printing on distributed flyers.

Mr Brix said an engineers report, commissioned by the developer, worked on “an absolute maximum development scenario” when investigating services in the area.

That report, which is on exhibition as part of the rezoning process, assumed that the site would be developed for 12,000 square metres of retail floor space and 4,462 residential dwellings.

“The dwellings numbers referred to in the infrastructure report should not be construed as what is intended to be developed,” Mr Brix said.

But community members, who fear the developer would build as close to the maximum capacity as possible, have submitted more than 250 objections already and more were expected, Cr Magee said.

Councillors must make a decision on rezoning the estate from Commercial 1 and 2 to Commercial 1 which would allow for the residential and shopping centre development, by either recommending it to an independent panel or voting against a rezone.

It can’t simply urge the planning minister to approve because of the community objection.

Cr Magee said the said the community response had been “one of the most vocal” in his time on council.

“It’s very, very rare that we see a response like this and it just shows how protective the residents are of their suburb,” Cr Magee said.

“And I suspect come the meeting we will see the gallery filled with protesters and placards like they used to be.”

There is also a Facebook group opposed to the development.

PS: OFF TOPIC BUT OF INTEREST TO RESIDENTS. FROM YESTERDAY’S GOVERNMENT GAZETTE

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