The following audio is from last night’s council meeting where one resident addressed council basically telling them how inadequate strategic planning has been and the consistent refusal to incorporate years of community feedback into the draft housing strategy. Please listen carefully:
March 16, 2022
Telling It Like It Is!
Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Council Meeting(s), GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance[7] Comments
Glen Eira Debates 
March 16, 2022 at 9:36 AM
The reply should have said “we will toss all your submissions in the bin, before reading them, because we know better”
Mr Green was correct, I never ever seen any change from a draft to a final, ever adopted by planners that came through any public submission process, except for spelling mistakes and in correct place names pointed out to them etc.
Most of our Councillors are complicit in allowing this abuse to happen.
March 16, 2022 at 9:43 AM
Torres’ answer doesn’t answer the crucial question of why officers and councillors have for donkey’s years refused to incorporate what the community has been saying for years. The promise to “consider” is not enough. When you’ve been told again and again and again that overdevelopment is a huge problem, then “considering” this feedback doesn’t change anything. The housing strategy should have included ways of limiting overdevelopment right from the start.
March 16, 2022 at 10:03 AM
As the speaker, I thought it was important to lay out the long history of very poor planning in Glen Eira. At each important juncture, we get another poor outcome, in this case, the Draft Housing Strategy. For over six years we have had to call Council Officers (in particular) to account on matters relating to strategic planning. Council Officers have committed to Involving (refer IAP2 Framework) residents in the development of the Draft Housing Strategy and the evidence indicates that once again this is not occurring. This is just not good enough. I can say with extensive experience of dealing with officers that something is very seriously wrong with planning in Glen Eira.
March 16, 2022 at 11:17 AM
Thank you for taking the time to address council and presenting what I believe are majority resident views. I’ve read the draft housing strategy and looked at the survey questions. Both are extremely poor examples of planning, and as you point out, the failure to move up the ladder of the IAPP to actually ‘involve’ residents in determining their future. I cannot find one legitimate piece of evidence that would support the rezoning of so many areas plus the removal of the mandatory garden requirement from all areas zoned as general residential. This latter proposal flies in the face of every recent policy adopted by council – namely, the urban forest strategy, the tree register and the climate emergency declaration.
Under this current ceo I would assert that we are continuing to go backwards, especially in planning, consultation, and in budget expenditures. This blog site has on numerous occasions pointed out what other councils have achieved, but which Glen Eira has not. Continually blaming government or the department does not wash when these other councils have managed to implement policies and strategies that put ours to shame. Compliance like this must change if this council is there to truly represent their constituents. I see this as the role of councillors to insist that planners follow this agenda completely.
March 16, 2022 at 2:53 PM
Very well said Warren. Four councillors thought this was crap to put it non too politely. The other five wouldn’t have bothered reading the 600 pages and do everything they’re told by these incompetent and indifferent planners.
As for your comment Mr Evans, I agree. The buck stops with McKenzie. If someone is to blame for the rubbish that keeps getting put out, then it is her job to rein this in and produce policies that are in accord with community expectations, or at the very least, can show that they are in line with overall “net community benefit”. I’d argue we have zero community benefit with this housing strategy.
March 16, 2022 at 2:40 PM
Thank you for your efforts Warren Green!!
March 16, 2022 at 5:09 PM
I second that