We are revisiting the carnage that is taking place in Carnegie because a definite trend is developing throughout the municipality. Once a particular street is gone, then developers move onto the next street – knocking on doors and attempting to entice residents to sell. Now that Bent Street in Bentleigh is gone, the vultures are moving into Vickery. In Carnegie, Elliott Avenue is lost, so now the next profit making venture is Tranmere. Within two months of purchasing properties there, applications have gone in. The box below indicates those properties which have been sold but an application has yet to be submitted. The same for the next street along – Hewitts Road.
We have already depicted what is happening along Neerim Road. The image below reveals in all its gory detail what is happening in the surrounding local streets. This is not planning. This is incompetence and indifference and one might even argue utter negligence. When just under 500 dwellings are crammed into 4 blocks with no consideration of traffic, open space, drainage, water tables, and general mayhem for residents as a result of all this cumulative building, and all done in secret and by stealth and collusion, then all these councillors must be held to account. What is even more unforgivable, is knowing that this is happening and refusing to do anything to ameliorate the damage – except of course to blame VCAT and the State Government for their own incompetence and unwillingness to do what should have been done ten years ago – structure planning, design and development overlays, parking precinct plans, development contributions levy, and a fair dinkum review of the planning scheme.
CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
Glen Eira Debates 
December 6, 2015 at 8:00 AM
Indisputably, the current incumbents have to go. The above is exactly what their ignorance, incompetence and blind acceptance of what the administration tells them has caused.
Hyams, Lipshutz, Esakoff are ultra conservatives who believe they know it all but the reality is, despite their years in office, they know very little. They have been in way too long (Esakoff since 2003, Lipshutz 2005, Hyams 2003-2005 then since 2008) and are firmly entrenched in the much slower paced past where they could get away with doing buggar all. The times have changed but they haven’t and clearly don’t intend to.
Pilling, (2008) originally a Green now just someone who is disinterestedly serving out his Councillor term. Extremely pro development and not interested is listening to residents. From the way he offhandedly deals with residents, it’s pretty clear he has no intention of standing again.
Magee, (2008) is just plain baffled and is prone to telling residents what he thinks they want to hear so they will like him. Has yet to work out, that consistently telling residents one thing then voting for the opposite is not a good way to go.
Lobo (2009) well intentioned but utterly ineffective and politically naive. Thinks representation is speaking against a motion then voting for it. Also, despite repeated bad experiences has yet to learn about broken promises, ie. if you vote for this, I’ll support you on this.
And as for the relative newcomers
Delahunty (2012) despite an initial show of potential, quickly ditched the residents for the Administration. Refuses to accept the impact of over development with lines like “people tell me it’s ruined, but no one can prove it to me”. When shown evidence such as the above map and construction mayhem, what is and should be in the Planning Scheme and how flawed the planning department is she enters denial and relies on substandard comments (eg.”look I trust these people”).
Okotel (2012) an Esakoff stooge, who would be better off not saying anything at Council Meetings. Her arguments are irrational, difficult to follow and largely irrelevant. Vocal on social issues (right to life, anti gay marriage) but utterly useless and remarkably silent on the major issues confronting Glen Eira. Re over development and the zone implementation consistently parrots the Hyams line of “Council did what it could, if we had had consultation it would have been worse” but, despite numerous challenges, has yet to even attempt to provide substantiating evidence. Thinks the solution to all Glen Eira’s issues can be provided by residents speaking with Councillors
Sounness (2012) a professional town planner with eyes on a bigger political prize. Should be making serious moves on improving Glen Eira’s planning scheme but instead adopts a stance of if we had implemented this planning concept, then we could have rejected but since we haven’t we have to accept this application.
December 6, 2015 at 10:12 AM
The map is unbelievable. There is no way that infrastructure can cope with all this. I would love to know what the new density of population is going to be in Carnegie now. Unsustainable and unnecessary.
December 6, 2015 at 4:39 PM
and this doesnt even include the properties acquired on the other side of koornang road on Neerim Road around Trugannini Road
December 6, 2015 at 5:11 PM
The map also does not include 3 storey developments that started a few years ago on the corner of Neerim and Belsize and Neerim and Shepparson
December 6, 2015 at 5:22 PM
Correct! We have concentrated on developments/permits/applications POST INTRODUCTION OF NEW ZONES. Of course, this means that what council rubber stamped previously is not included in our maps.We have also assumed that even though council may have refused permits for a minority, given the state of their woeful planning scheme, the chances are that VCAT will approve these developments.
December 6, 2015 at 5:32 PM
Unbelievable. We have to do something to stop the rot.
December 6, 2015 at 6:27 PM
Forget council. Hammer politicians and tell them to sack Glen Eira for deliberate negligence on planning and governance. Put in complaint after complaint and tell everyone how they lie through their back teeth. Get onto current affair, newspapers, Hinchy, the whole shebang. There’s nothing these bastards hate more than negative publicity.
December 6, 2015 at 7:35 PM
This suggestion is not as far fetched as it might seem. If Richard Wynn receives enough complaints then this would provide him with the perfect excuse to intervene. The council deserves to be sacked for a whole variety of reasons. One culprit is going. The rest have to go willingly or are forced to go. No administrator could be worse than what we are saddled with at the moment. Once a new ceo comes in he or she will have to turf out all the remaining rubbish and start afresh. A huge task but well worth doing. Councillors were sacked in 2005 months before the election. It could and should happen again.
December 7, 2015 at 9:13 AM
I’ve been looking at the map carefully. Single storey places are being surrounded by 4 storeys so it is no wonder that people are selling up and getting out of the area. That makes it all the easier for speculators and developers to move in. Maybe some people would still stay if the new zones had been done properly and the schedules included improvements like decent setbacks and reduced site coverage. They don’t so there is wall to wall four storeys in front, at the side and behind. Not a lifestyle that many would want after spending a fortune doing up their bungalows or Edwardian cottages.
December 7, 2015 at 10:20 AM
Off topic but worth a read –
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/inner-south/secret-glen-eira-council-vote-approves-guards-with-guns-in-public-parks/news-story/5aa1b4250d372297edaf1a320a30f239#load-story-comments
December 7, 2015 at 1:58 PM
Extraordinary. Further evidence that GECC needs to be investigated for multiple breaches of the Local Government Act. The Minutes of the Security meeting don’t disclose any resolution either. It’s one thing to dicuss matters in secret, it is quite another to make secret decisions and not publish them. No officer report was presented according to the minutes, so what information did our dreadful councillors rely upon in making their secret decisions? I find it unacceptable that Council can refuse to inform us what decisions they have made on our behalf about our community assets and associated costs and risks.
As for the ridiculous view of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria that it is “really no big deal”, they couldn’t be more wrong. I am never comfortable when confronted by gun-toting people of uncertain provenance. The legal avenues of redress are pathetic if lethal force is ever used. Presence of guns increases risk, not diminishes it. At a minimum Council should ensure that park-goers are able to make informed decisions about whether they wish to spend time in a park where guns are present eg big signs warning the public to stay away if they find guns confronting.
December 7, 2015 at 2:15 PM
Pilling is also an arch conservative, likely the reason the Greens mob kicked him out
December 7, 2015 at 9:26 PM
Can someone find out if the voting was unanimous? If not, who voted for guns and who did not. Get the Inspectors in as it is too much for all of us to take such abuses and destruction of our municipality.
December 7, 2015 at 2:25 PM
Lets hope these armed guards have had mental health tests, so they themselves do not end up being the public risk.
December 7, 2015 at 5:09 PM
Apologies for the digression but no blog post on this? >
“GLEN Eira Council has secretly voted to allow private security guards from the Jewish community to carry guns in its public parks.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/inner-south/secret-glen-eira-council-vote-approves-guards-with-guns-in-public-parks/news-story/5aa1b4250d372297edaf1a320a30f239
This is an outrage! Just when you think Council has stooped as low as it can go they descend further. And what of that piece of work, Pilling, who was elected on an openness, transparency and accountability platform. What a political disgrace that man is.
If harm is done as a result of this act of recklessness I hope they not only sue the pants off the Council but each individual councillor who voted for it.
December 7, 2015 at 5:16 PM
The murk gets murkier. Apparently there isn’t a Council prohibition on guns in parks, nor does Local Law specify a requirement for a Permit. Vic Police spokesperson says private security guards can carry out only two activities while armed, and neither of those is to protect people. While Council could choose to protect its property [which is really OUR property] with armed guards, it’d be inappropriate for the Jewish community to do so, especially since they have revealed their concern is the safety of their community, not Council property. The racecourse isn’t Council property so Council’s non-decision is irrelevant to the proposed Chanukah in the racecourse event. Or are they planning to have armed guards on Council property outside of the event?