At last night’s Zoom forum on the Built Form Frameworks for Caulfield South, we had Kate Jewell (Co-ordinator City Strategy) make the pronouncement that’s in the header to this post. This statement followed resident after resident complaining vigorously about council’s reluctance to impose mandatory heights.
Here is the audio of this interchange:
Jewell’s statement tosses the ball straight back into councillors’ court. They have the power to oversee policy direction. They also have the power to pass resolutions which officers are mandated to follow. We have already had some examples of this – namely the abandonment of Amendments for Glen Huntly and for Bentleigh & Carnegie. This is no different. The question thus becomes:
- Will councillors have the courage to insist on mandatory heights for all neighbourhood centres?
- Will councillors, as representatives of their constituents, act in accordance with the community’s wishes?
- Will councillors finally see the folly of this planning department and insist that the foundation for all strategic planning must derive from a comprehensive Housing Strategy that should be prioritised immediately and certainly before any decisions are made on structure plans or built form frameworks.
We also have to wonder whether Mr Slavin’s quick intervention in the above audio, cutting off the Jewell response, was that he perceived she was heading into ‘dangerous waters’ for the bureaucrats?
Glen Eira Debates 
June 3, 2021 at 2:45 PM
I registered for last night’s session. All residents spoke very well and were unanimous in their view that council had sat on its hands for years and let all this happen. This was even admitted by officers but not willingly I bet. The post puts this all onto councillors. They can change things around. The $64 question is whether they will or will still be lead by the nose from the planning department.
June 3, 2021 at 5:25 PM
Mandatory height limits would see a drop of take home rewards in the planning department.
June 3, 2021 at 6:15 PM
What a gem!! We wondered, we speculated, but NOW we know. The Planning Department acts according to orders from above.The Planning department will look at mandatory heights in their NAC draft Built Form Framework if the Councillors told them to. Wow. Come on Councillors, this is what the residents have been waiting for.
June 4, 2021 at 10:30 AM
Slavin’s intervention is meant to cut the discussion short. What is inexcusable is the absence of most of our councillors. Esakoff was there as mayor (obligatory?) and reports tell me that only Zmood and Zyngier bothered to put in the time. Was this the case for the other two zoom meetings?
June 8, 2021 at 1:20 PM
Was this meeting recorded to be made public? Otherwise I think recoding people without their knowledge is disingenuous. Surely we are better then that?