It is our understanding that Minister Wynne has ordered Glen Eira to finally undertake a Planning Scheme Review. He has also rejected we believe council’s attempt for an extension to the deadline he set.
March 30, 2016
News Flash: Wynne Orders Review
Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Governance, GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance[30] Comments
Glen Eira Debates 
March 30, 2016 at 10:32 AM
good on Wynne. About bloody time this rabble were hauled into line.
March 30, 2016 at 10:58 AM
This review may be Rebecca’s behind the scenes work, having now seen the misogynist set up at the town hall.
March 31, 2016 at 8:25 AM
The origin of this review is the direction from the Minister, it was not initiated by Councillors or Council officers. Unlike other Councils, the Glen Eira process associated with this review has so far lacked transperancy with no formal consideration at a Council meeting and no mention at the Assembly of Councillors. This would indicate that the new CEO is still settling in. Hopefully, through this, the CEO has learnt a lot about the Councillors and this assists her (and residents) into the future.
March 31, 2016 at 11:34 AM
Ditto. Extension after extension application does not equate with council willingly undertaking a review. They didn’t want it and now they have to do it. How well it is done is another question and how well they will listen to the plebs is the next question.
March 30, 2016 at 11:25 AM
Haven’t seen a public statement from Richard Wynne why he, and Matthew Guy before him, previously granted GECC exemptions from reviewing their Scheme. Why does GECC say “Your feedback is important” when it treats us with such contempt?
March 30, 2016 at 12:09 PM
Is there a link to the Planning Scheme Review? A search of the Glen Eira website doesn’t yield one….thanks
March 30, 2016 at 12:14 PM
The image comes from page 3 of the April edition of the Glen Eira News. At the time of writing there is no media release, nor any Discussion Paper published. There is also in the CEO’s column from GE News, reference to the review.
See: http://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/files/assets/public/document-resources/ge-news/201604-ge-news.pdf
March 30, 2016 at 12:31 PM
Well done Richard Wynne. Interesting to note that Council has no current plans to conduct consultation sessions in McKinnon or Bentleigh. Representation on this point should be made by all impacted by the current Planning Scheme.
April 19, 2016 at 7:52 PM
I can confirm after speaking to the Council Planning staff at the first community meeting on the 18th April that no suitable venues were available in Bentleigh. Apparently Bentleigh Club, RSL, Community Centre, Primary School, Bentleigh Football Club rooms or any other venue in Bentleigh was not available for a meeting – UNBELIEVABLE and disgusting!!
Additionally the meeting was opened by Cr Jim Magee who claimed that height regulations were a responsibility of the state government and not able to be controlled by the council. A public meeting should never be commenced based on a lie. It makes no sense to try and mislead a public meeting in this way. The question begs why have these councillors resisted the implementation of a structure plan for height restrictions in commercial zone 1 like Centre and McKinnons Rds. Their reluctance raises many more questions than answers to this issue.
March 30, 2016 at 12:45 PM
Make no mistake about it, this was review is the result of a Ministerial Order placed on Glen Eira Council by the Department of Planning and Richard Wynne and it’s taken Council over two months to organise.(that’s one month less than it took them to impose the zones)
The only thing Glen Eira Council had to do with review with was belligerently push the Planning Minister and Department too far and once too often on yet another request for exemption from community consultation of the Planning Scheme.
After more than 3 years of ignoring residents on the zone implementation, Council’s trotting out of the “ÿour feedback is important to us” is nauseating.
March 30, 2016 at 2:28 PM
Council’s intentions will be made crystal clear once they publish the discussion paper. If it is anything like the discussion paper that was thrown together for the 2010 effort, then I urge all residents to write directly to Wynne and local mps complaining bitterly about how council goes about informing the community. They should never ever again be allowed to get away with the kind of rubbish that they have got away with in the past.
March 30, 2016 at 2:56 PM
So another Wynne-dow opens! Glen Eira will now begin to see the light. Don
March 30, 2016 at 7:12 PM
All the early signs are that things will be changing in Glen Eira and that the ruling faction will soon have their noses rubbed in it. I cannot wait.
March 30, 2016 at 3:33 PM
A little too late when so many apartments have already been built and being built as we speak. All those gorgeous old home built in the early 1920’s and earlier that already have been knocked down. Too late for those single story home owners who have these monstrosities built next door to them with absolutely no consideration for their privacy and open space 😦
March 30, 2016 at 4:26 PM
Yes, it is too late for many residents and for many streets. But that doesn’t mean that residents should sit back and not be proactive here. That is what many on council would be hoping might happen. They should be in for a rude awakening over this review and in the upcoming elections. Nor do I think that people should be satisfied with a few cosmetic changes here and there. This is an opportunity that can’t be ignored or missed. I’m hoping for hundreds and hundreds of people showing up and putting in their submissions. If these views are then ignored, I’m all in favour of asking Wynne to dismiss this council on the spot. It’s been done once and can be done again.
March 31, 2016 at 7:39 AM
Yes much has been lost and will continue to be lost until this Council gets it’s “A” into gear and does what it is supposed to do ie. actually undertake proper town planning considers and plans for all flow on impacts of increased development.
While developments most visible loss is related to heritage and neighbourhood character changes (ie. as period/heritage homes are replaced with high density multi unit developments.that are not required to consider prevailing neighbourhood character) that is not the only loss.
Not only has Council ignored heritage/neighbourhood character in the past 13 years, it has also totally and abjectly failed to address (even minimally) the obvious traffic, parking and open space stresses that turning streets previously occupied by 20 dwellings into streets now occupied by 250+ dwellings brings.
Yeah sure, as population grows so to does the demand for housing, but with proper town planning (that addresses all aspects of planning rather than just the current Council mentality of build, build, build) it’s possible to accommodate population growth and maintain amenity and livability. It is why proper town planning was invented!!!!
Much has been lost but it’s still possible to turn the tide. It’s an election year and Council has received a Ministerial Order to undertake proper town planning and community consultation.
For the first time since it’s inception the residents of Glen Eira have an opportunity to effect real change, it’s time to speak up and not allow mistakes of the past to continue.
.
April 20, 2016 at 10:54 AM
Totally agree. Rows of beautiful homes gone to be replaced by cheap looking soulless apartments – what has happened to our lovely streets. I noticed two houses in Bent street have been demolished (near McKinnon road). Please tell me the date palm that was in the back was relocated and not destroyed. I laugh – how many children can actually fit into McKinnon High School?
March 30, 2016 at 8:13 PM
The 2010 Review Discussion Paper stated, quite inaccurately as it turns out, that Glen Eira City Council is required by legislation to review its Planning Scheme every 4 years. S.12(1)(b) actually says ” or within such longer period as is determined by the Minister”. Without any council resolution to authorize them, members of council staff have made multiple requests to the Minister for exemption, and the target date has been extended THREE times. Which of our councillors have secretively lobbied for this outcome? Bet some of them don’t want us to find out.
March 30, 2016 at 8:26 PM
Your questions go to the heart of good governance in Glen Eira. No formal council resolution has ever been tabled re request for extension to the timeline for a planning scheme review. Secondly, no officer has delegated authority to request such an extension. No records of assembly note any discussion on this issue. Hence, the questions remain –
1. who authorised such requests?
2. did councillors know and ‘approve’ in secret – meaning that decisions are made in briefings that therefore breach the Local Government Act?
3. to what extent are the records of assembly mere works of fiction?
4. and what reasons were put forward to warrant each extension? and
5. why did two planning ministers okay these extensions?
The modus operandi of Glen Eira as we have often stated is to operate in secrecy. It is high time that those responsible are called to account.
March 30, 2016 at 9:52 PM
The main culprits are gone – Newton, Akehurst, Waite, Okotel. That leaves Burke, Hyams, Lipshutz, Esakoff, Pilling, Magee, Delahunty, Lobo, Sounness, to join the exodus.
March 31, 2016 at 9:31 AM
You definitely overrate Okotel.
A useless “supposedly” independent Councillor of less than 3 years standing looking to be an even more useless Liberal Senator. Definitely not a good selection by the Liberal Party, all the grooming in the world won’t pay off in this case.
March 31, 2016 at 6:35 AM
Waite is a highly qualified professional engineer with plenty of local government experience that in my view was not highly appreciated in Glen Eira. Here is how he is being treated by Hume City Council http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/About_Us_Contact_Details/Your_Council/CEO_Executive_Management_Team .
In comparison, have a look at how the GE Council is treating its ‘management team’ http://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/Council/Our-organisation/Organisational-structure . Who are they? I can’t see it on this website. Does anybody know, who replaced Peter Waite? Some-kind of ‘management guru’ rather than an appropriate professional?
March 30, 2016 at 11:03 PM
Must be a lot of nervous nellies sitting in councillor chairs right now waiting for the sh*t to hit the fan. See that Don Dunstan has put up a comment. Here’s a prediction. He will be the new councillor replacing Okotel. That should put the cat right in amongst the old puffed up peacocks.
March 30, 2016 at 11:38 PM
Residents have been waiting for years for this to happen. It doesn’t guarantee that things will change quickly or dramatically, but it does give residents the opportunity to voice their discontent with the zones and council’s terrible planning. Other comments on this blog site and other social media have expressed the need for people to come together and put in their submissions, to ask questions and basically to be organised. I agree with this wholeheartedly. If we want major change and the community to be listened to and then their opinions entrenched in a totally new planning scheme, then those views must be voiced loudly and clearly and by countless people. One suggestion for the owners of this site is that once the discussion paper is available if they could please put some guidance up on what people might like to say in their submissions. I think this would be a great help for many who are not familiar with the ins and outs of the planning scheme nor how to go about even putting in a submission. I would also like to see plenty of comments from others who have got suggestions and advice. We need to ram this home to councillors. They are accountable to us and we are calling in our dues.
March 30, 2016 at 11:47 PM
Thanks for your suggestion objector. Will do once the paper is released. We also suggest that residents have a read of how other councils go about reviewing the planning scheme and then compare this with Glen Eira. For example – the Bayside Council’s recent review. See: http://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/about_the_council/Bayside_Planning_Scheme_Review.htm
The final report that Bayside published is comprehensive and most significantly it provides a detailed assessment of council’s performance at VCAT. Decisions are analysed and recommendations to shore up the planning scheme included. Nothing like this has ever seen the light of day in Glen Eira!
March 31, 2016 at 8:26 AM
Great idea.
March 31, 2016 at 7:14 AM
anyone hear anything about the CRRT meeting last night? Noticed walking pat the racecourse in the morning there a barely any horses training at all. Must be because of Moody ban. Must be very expensive to keep the lights running.
March 31, 2016 at 9:48 AM
They haven’t put up any agenda again for yesterdays meeting. Don’t suppose that minutes will go up either. Fabulous result after all the auditor general said about governance and how the trustees cant be trusted.
March 31, 2016 at 2:48 PM
Minutes won’t be up until just before next meeting.
Why are these utterly useless people, who through inaction and total disregard for anything other than the kudos that goes with being a Trustee (free entry and wining and dining on racedays) still there. As per the AG’s report their presence does more harm than good.
March 31, 2016 at 6:39 PM
The Planning Scheme Review submission form provides a URL http://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/psr which doesn’t exist: returns “Error 404 – Page Not Found”. Still not ready after 6+ years.