Tonight was the first of the 5 ‘community forums’ on the Planning Scheme review. About 30 residents showed up. Magee introduced the evening and then departed due to a prior engagement. He reiterated that Glen Eira has about 1300 people moving into the municipality each year and that they need to live somewhere. VCAT was still his main villain! His ten minute introduction was followed by another ten minute introduction by a ‘facilitator’ hired by council.
Residents were seated at tables with a council planner assigned to each table and a scribe given the task of recording people’s responses to the set questions from the discussion paper. At the conclusion of ten minutes for each theme, the elected scribe reported back to the entire gathering.
The following proposals were repeated several times and from most of the groups:
- The need for structure planning
- The need for tree protection
- The need for parking precinct plans
- The need for preferred character statements
- The need to curb overdevelopment
- The need for a full heritage review
- The need for policies with more ‘bite’
- The need for greater environmental considerations in terms of building design and vegetation
- The need to protect local shopping strips
- The need to review the zones and schedules
- The need for height limits overall
- The need for developers to pay for parking waivers and infrastructure
Sadly, the opportunity to ask questions and receive responses that the entire audience could hear, was not provided. It was clear that the focus was to be on the set questions from the discussion paper, rather than an open and free discussion. When one resident towards the end interrupted the facilitator as she was summing up and asked why no forum was scheduled for Bentleigh, the response was that council could not find a venue! We should also point out, that if council was really determined to engage with the community, then surely 6pm is not the ideal time! And finally, we ask, is it sheer coincidence that the forum scheduled for Carnegie, is to be held so late in the piece (25th May), with only 6 days left before submissions close?
PS: this is why the above recommendations are crucial
Glen Eira Debates 
April 19, 2016 at 9:37 AM
Which councillors showed up and was the ceo there?
April 19, 2016 at 9:39 AM
Apart from Magee, Lobo and Sounness were present. Ms McKenzie was not.
April 19, 2016 at 11:15 AM
No sign of Ms McKenzie is disappointing
She is either keeping out of the rot created by the liberal party Councillor’s headed by the Master of Deceivors (MOD) Any guesses?
April 19, 2016 at 11:24 AM
Another street added to the list of Bent, Elliott, Mavho. Council aka Whelan the Wrecker!
April 19, 2016 at 12:02 PM
It is pleasing to read the recommendations because this shows that more and more people are taking the time to think about what changes are needed and that they have bothered to educate themselves on planning. What councillors do with these recommendations will either make them or break them. I don’t think that people are going to be so easily fobbed off as they have been in the past. Drive anywhere now and the signs in the picture are sprouting like mushrooms. That says a lot.
April 19, 2016 at 2:40 PM
Some of the suggestions in the list don’t sound very sensible to me—Council is conducting a review, albeit reluctantly and at the explicit order of the Minister, so now is the time to review the residential zones and schedules and from that determine what changes should be made to them. We’re going around in circles if the outcome of a review is that the subject of the review should be reviewed.
The Planning Scheme needs to be brought up-to-date, and all local content checked against the Objectives of planning in Victoria. Is it fair to protect the amenity of people in NRZ by demanding people in GRZ/RGZ/C1Z sacrifice their own amenity? What guidance do the so-called “decision guidelines” provide and are they clear? If VCAT and Council can’t agree on planning outcomes, what changes need to be made to make clear what the planning outcomes should be? How many years of supply do we need? How fast do we intend the population in Glen Eira to grow? How far should residents in the new urban ghettos have to go to access public open space larger than a pocket park? What are the minimum amenity standards that anybody should reasonably expect?
I’m not convinced Council will tackle any of these. Historically Council has never admitted to making mistakes and it refuses to accept responsibility for the consequences of their Planning Scheme. VCAT performance is dreadful but it is Council that has given VCAT so much freedom and so little guidance. We never see a recommendation for changes to the Planning Scheme as an outcome of its VCAT Watch. Councillors claim they oppose “inappropriate development” but then claim that the only development that is inappropriate is that which is prohibited. We need a change of culture in Council.
April 19, 2016 at 2:45 PM
How can we get one of the signs
April 19, 2016 at 2:47 PM
They are for purchase from Save Our Suburbs at $20 per sign for non members. See: http://sos.asn.au/get-a-sign-oppose-inappropriate-development/
April 19, 2016 at 5:15 PM
In another sad sign of the times, McKee’s is closing down after 95 years of serving Carnegie, in which it provided a wide range of furniture. It’s a familiar story. The land was purchased by a developer, who then jacked up rates to the point it was no longer economic to continue to trade. Carnegie has now ceased to be a subregional shopping centre, and is instead a collection of food outlets and boxy apartments. It has lost most of the diversity of shops that made it attractive 20 years ago.
A further sign of the economic madness is that fewer jobs are being created than the number of residents arriving. People are having to travel further and taking longer to access jobs, which increasingly aren’t readily accessible by the Principal Public Transport Network [PPTN]. In effect, Council’s policies are undermining the very reasons Council uses to justify establishing its urban ghettos.
April 19, 2016 at 5:48 PM
A long list of to dos. I would be satisfied if 20% of these were completed within 6 months and were done properly. My priorities would be structure planning, review of the schedules, parking analysis and some decent and enforceable preferred character statements for all of the current housing diversity areas. Without this kind of reform we are only going to get more and more of the same over development.
April 19, 2016 at 8:25 PM
Hot news! Heard in a social gathering last Sunday, that Hyams will not stand for Council elections in 2016. What a fantastic bloody news after the crap he has fed the resident for 13 unlucky years, a toss of the coin Mayor disliked by majority of councillors.
April 19, 2016 at 9:04 PM
Rubbery figures Jimbo. Even if true that 1300 folks coming to glorious Glen Eira this doesn’t tell us why 2000 apartments are being built per year and why we should keep building 700 more than required per year and how many are standing empty. Plus, how many good folk are deciding to get out of ge. How about some figures on that Magee?
April 19, 2016 at 10:44 PM
Yer Repeobate it is especially sad that McKees is closing also because many of the goods they sold were made in Australia. I traded with them and was especially happy with thier excellent service. Thank goodness I probably won’t need more furniture but the furniture amnufacturers will still need their jobs. Hopefullly th larger chains still stock Ausie made goods..
April 20, 2016 at 6:43 AM
The timing of the event, 6 pm, would be all about the staff and their overtime.
Most of them would live miles away and of course the council priority is to the staff. The residents come way down the list.
April 20, 2016 at 10:10 AM
They can spend thousands on glossy print outs so they can spend a little more on double pay, or time off in lieu for staff if necessary. 6 or 6.30 is the worst possible time to get residents to show up. That can’t be anything but deliberate. Don’t even know why they need all of the staff. Just get the top bods there to answer questions and councillors to show off how little they know.
April 20, 2016 at 8:31 AM
This is an opportunity not to be missed. Encourage neighbours and residents to attend the next meeting. We need numbers to put pressure on the Council to make this fair dinkum.