GE Transport

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June 20, 2016

Q & A: #2

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Governance, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[11] Comments

Not on this topic, but worth a read – http://www.danielbowen.com/2016/06/20/use-other-footpath/

RESIDENT #5 – stated that he ‘lived directly behind the town hall’ and that council talks about ‘community planning’ but they got a letter ‘yesterday’ telling them that their 2 hour parking on their street would now become all day parking. Believed that this change was to ‘facilitate council employee’ parking and not residents. Facilitator again interrupted and said that the resident is basically asking about the amount of information and ‘why’ this is happening. Resident answered that he is talking about ‘prior consultation’. Facilitator then rephrased again to include ‘consultation’.

TORRES: started saying about a ‘review’ of parking in the municipality, but was interrupted by the resident saying that he isn’t concerned with the entire municipality just why this happened to his street. Torres then continued and said that some ‘underutilised parking areas’ had been identified and having one side of the street as two hours and the opposite as unrestricted is ‘consistent’ with other streets in Glen Eira. Also said that parking is ‘dynamic’ and changes happen ‘over time’ so ‘it’s not a permanent situation’. The letter also said that the new conditions would be ‘reviewed early next year’.

Resident then explained how he already can’t get out of his drive. Facilitator again suggested that the resident speak with Torres and to provide him with details about the ‘process that took place’ and how the resident might ‘make an objection’. Resident claimed that this situation is exactly the same as happened to the other speaker’s question on Phillip’s Street changes. Facilitator summed up by saying ‘parking is a huge issue’ and therefore there needs to be the opportunity for this to be ‘examined’. Resident then went on with issue about trees and breaking branches and that ‘nothing’ ever happens about their concerns.

COMMENT

The resident’s question of ‘consultation’ has again been neatly sidestepped as has justification for the changes. In light of these actions, readers need to consider council’s ‘policy’ on traffic management changes. To the best of our knowledge this policy is still extant and is available online. Only 2002 this time! AND

June 18, 2016

Planning: Residents’ Q & A!

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[9] Comments

Residents at Wednesday night’s ‘feedback’ forum were provided with the opportunity to ask questions. Here is a summary of the first few –

Resident #1 – asked what part of structure planning will ensure, for example that heights are mandatory?

THE TORRES RESPONSE: said that there can be a mixture of controls – some are discretionary and also mandatory. ‘Ideally’ they want mandatory which VCAT cannot overturn. Glen Eira has got mandatory height controls over residential zoned land and VCAT can’t change this, but they can over-ride the ResCode guidelines such as setbacks, car parking requirements, etc.

Resident 1 then asked whether ‘we can assume’ that mandatory height limits will be put on commercial zoned sites like in Centre Road? Torres responded by saying that there would be a ‘thorough review’ of what people want to see develop in the future and that ‘there are tools available to produce greater clarity’ and height limits is one of these and there is ‘potential for mandatory height limits’ but this will involve a planning scheme amendment, then ‘ultimately the Minister for Planning has to approve that’. We will ‘ensure that we produce the best strategic justification’ for this.

RESIDENT #2 – spoke about heritage and that ‘our heritage areas are being attacked and we are losing them’. Said he couldn’t understand why council hasn’t done anything about its 2002 draft heritage guidelines which VCAT continually ignores because it is only a ‘reference document’ in the planning scheme and not a major policy. Said that he ‘understands’ that all that needs to happen is for this draft to be ‘ratified’ in some way. So instead of having ‘five or ten years of destruction happen’ he can’t understand why this draft document isn’t ‘ratified’ since a lot of the work has already been done and ‘is far better than the 1996 plan’. ‘We need to do something about it now’. (applause).

TORRES: said that what was called the ‘draft’ is part of the plan for the review and they’re ‘not talking 5 or 10 years’ time . The review will also probably recommend an ‘updated status’ of heritage within the planning scheme. They still need to go through the planning scheme review process though. Resident then asked that the draft plan stems from 2002 and that’s 14 years, so ‘why wasn’t this certified or ratified’? Also stated that he doesn’t understand Torres’ response and asked if he’s saying that it ‘can’t be certified or ratified now or do we have to wait for this other grand plan?’

Torres replied that there has to be a planning scheme amendment process in order for this to be ‘elevated’ in status in ‘our planning scheme’. They are reference documents currently and VCAT is ‘not giving them the weight’ that they should have. Resident again asked why this draft ‘can’t be certified now. Why wait’. The facilitator then interrupted asking officers to explain the amendment process to the audience because ‘there is a process involved here’. Torres then went through the process – ie asking the minister for authorisation to exhibit the amendment, public consultation, and if there are concerns then an independent planning panel is convened and this ‘applies to all of Victoria’. ‘There are many legal stages and they have to be honoured’. The comment was that all this could take 18 months.

Again the resident stated that he didn’t understand why nothing has been done in 16 years on something that is a lot better than the work produced in 1996. Then resident asked ‘why can’t this be taken as interim’ for the time being? Facilitator then intervened suggesting that the resident sit down with Torres privately so he could explain the State Government ‘process and the local council process’. Resident again stated that if it is taken directly to the Minister that the minister ‘can come up with some interim’ orders. Smith responded that it is part of the ‘work plan’ and that they can’t do anything that hasn’t been ‘reviewed’.

COMMENT

The responses to both of these questions are informative not for what they state, but for what is left UNSTATED! On the heritage questions, Torres kept insisting on the legal processes of a formal advertised amendment, possibly a planning panel and then the Minister’s approval. What is NOT STATED and could be a viable option is an application to the Minister under Section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act, asking the minister to intervene and approve the amendment, or impose interim controls – without the need for public consultation or a panel. This we remind readers is what council did when they introduced the residential zones by stealth and in secret! Of course, the major obstacle to such an approach is that since council has done bugger all for the past 14 years on Heritage, the minister may well be loath to rubber stamp a document that is so out of date. Another scathing indictment of the failure of this council to act and to fulfil anything that it has promised in the planning scheme.

On the first question of height limits for Centre Road, we again have to query the comprehensiveness of the Torres response. When both Lipshutz and Hyams have declared that they think that 6 storeys is appropriate in Centre Road, then how much credence should residents have that their preferred heights (which some have already stated to be 4 storeys) will get a look in from this council. Once again council has the option of applying for interim height controls whilst working on their structure plans and thus ten years need not go by before anything is done. This option is not stated!

Nor is it clear what position LOCAL CENTRES have in all this discussion of ‘activity centre’ commercial zoning. Glen Eira has heaps of LOCAL CENTRES and in each we have commercially zoned sites, many directly abutting Neighbourhood Residential zones. Not once has the discussion paper referred to these areas. Not once has any councillor or planner referred to these areas. Nor is it even clear whether Local Centres are classified as ‘activity centres’!

June 15, 2016

Planning Scheme Review: #1

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Governance, GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[13] Comments

Tonight’s meeting drew a big crowd. Over 100 people in attendance. Missing in action were – Lipshutz, Esakoff, Ho, Delahunty. Ms McKenzie (CEO) was present as were Lobo, Hyams, Magee, Pilling and Sounness.

The evening started with the facilitator introducing the format and then Ms McKenzie providing the ‘context’. Acknowledgement was given as to the criticism levelled at council and the amount of work that was required. This was followed by Torres providing feedback on the results of the community consultation and then Russell Smith (acting manager Strategic Planning) providing a synopsis of the planning tools available which could address the issues raised by residents. Residents were then invited to ask questions of planners.

The Positives

Despite years and years of refusing to undertake various initiatives, tonight possibly, maybe, perhaps, signalled a change in direction. Here is a brief list of what council proposes to do according to their stated ‘draft work plan’.

Structure planning
Water Sensitive Urban Design
Vegetation Protection
Environmental Sustainable Design
Preferred Neighbourhood Character Statements
Heritage Review
Development Contributions Levy for drainage
SBO – overlays to mitigate flooding
Update the Municipal Strategic Statement and Local Policies

Without unduly blowing our own trumpet, we wish to point out that these initiatives are what we, and countless residents, have been demanding for years and years and which council has steadfastly refused to implement! Whether this represents a real change in culture, attitude, and listening to residents remains to be seen.

The Negatives

Council’s ‘draft work plan’ was stated as:

3 structure plans to be carried out over first 5 years with a view to continue developing structure plans or Urban Design Frameworks over all activity centres after this period of 10 years……

Residents were also asked to ‘prioritise’ the list provided at the start of this post. Torres explained in response to a question that the 3 structure plans does not automatically mean that this will be the 3 major activity centres of Bentleigh, Elsternwick and Carnegie. People were free to suggest that the initial structure plans should involve such neighbourhood centres as Glen Huntly for example.

We do not deny the amount of work involved in preparing sound and competent structure plans. Nor do we deny the costs involved. Our concerns are as follows:

If only 3 are to be completed within 5 years and the rest subject to council’s budgets/finances and a time span of ten or more years, then the reality is that of the 10 neighbourhood centres, most will remain untouched for the next decade.
No ‘official’ reference was made to reviewing the zones, or the associated schedules. What this means is that if structure plans are developed for the major activity centres, then the neighbourhood centres and their surrounding residential areas, will continue to allow three and four storey overdevelopments for the next decade. Only at question time from the audience was the completely lame response given that the neighbourhood character policy review would safeguard these centres. We beg to differ! If the mandatory height limit remains at 3 and 4 storeys for large swathes of McKinnon, Ormond, Glen Huntly, Murrumbeena, Bentleigh East, Caulfield North, then no local policy will prevent this overdevelopment of local residential streets. Without reviewing the extent of the zones, then structure plans alone will not safeguard residents from overdevelopment!

Our next post will focus on the questions asked by residents and the often unsatisfactory responses received. Overall, whilst this planning scheme review has seen changes that are positive, and explicitly acknowledged by the new CEO of council’s failure to address planning issues over the past decade, there is still room for major scepticism as the answers to the questions revealed. More on this in the days ahead.

June 14, 2016

Virginia Estate

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[8] Comments

The Gillon conglomerate has now released its next phase of ‘consultation’ for Virginia Estate. Residents should note:

The site keeps expanding. It now includes the area between Griffiths Avenue and North Road. We estimate that the site is approximately 25 hectares.
Detail is non-existent and several of the maps in relation to NEW OPEN SPACE are contradictory.
Terminology is obtuse (ie Mixed Use Development we argue should be read as a euphemism for residential development).
Solution to traffic is the installation of two sets of traffic lights within 100 metres of each other along East Boundary Road.

Readers should consider the following carefully in terms of:

If all the buildings marked as ‘redundant’ are to go, will they be replaced with apartments?
Are we really looking at an ‘employment hub’ that covers 90% of the site, or is this simply doublespeak for 2 shops and hundreds of apartments above? Remember that the centre of the site has already been rezoned and ‘permission’ granted for 10 storey developments.

Conclusion?

Until the Gillon group is prepared to be upfront with residents and to provide full detail then little credence can be given to these ‘concepts’.

June 8, 2016

Council’s ‘Parking Management’!!!!!

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Governance, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[14] Comments

CLICK TO ENLARGE

We remind readers of the following:

Changes to parking arrangements according to council ‘policy’ is to undertake a survey of all residents and requires a vast majority of responses in support. Was a survey undertaken?
What has happened to council ‘policy’ that new developments will not be eligible for residential parking permits?
What rationale could support the removal of 2 hour parking? Were residents informed, warned? Where is the data to support this?
Is council monitoring this street and fining drivers if they break the law?

May 26, 2016

Another ‘Clayton’s Consultation’?

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Governance, GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[13] Comments

For the second consecutive time, Theme 1 (Municipal Strategic Statement & Local Policies) contained in the ‘Discussion Paper’ for the review of the planning scheme has been neatly side-stepped and no discussion permitted. We therefore wonder how Council can ‘know’ what residents suggest, or want, if they haven’t even bothered to ask. What comments council officers have made in previous forums on this theme has been far from satisfactory. Torres simply admitted that the Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) is well and truly outdated and will need to be ‘revised’. That’s it!

Given that the MSS and its associated Local Policies are perhaps the most important components of any planning scheme, it is unforgiveable that residents have not been provided with (a) enough information on these sections, and (b) that ‘discussion’ has been literally ‘censored’. That of course leads to the very obvious questions of:

Is this another Clayton’s consultation where ‘changes’ have already been predetermined but residents are kept in the dark like mushrooms?
Who decided to discard discussion on Theme 1? Was Ms Turner given her orders to do so or was it her decision alone?

Below is a screen dump from the Discussion Paper. Please note how bereft of detail this really is, yet how this Theme contains all the vital policies and which, of course, ultimately lead onto the zones and their schedules. From our perspective, it appears that council has done everything it can to avoid any discussion on the most contentious issue in Glen Eira – ie a review of the zones and their respective schedules.

PS: also worthy of note – the only councillor to front last night was Lobo. No sign of Lipshutz at any of these ‘forums’ and Magee’s 5 minute appearance at the first one! Delahunty has also been a noticeable absentee.

May 10, 2016

Some More Councillor ‘Gifts’

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Governance, GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[8] Comments

Our thanks to Urban Melbourne for these pics!

April 28, 2016

Thank You Again Council!

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Governance, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[3] Comments

Here are some more developments taking place in our municipality. Whilst councillors have sat on their hands doing bugger all about an inept planning scheme and blaming VCAT for all their ills, developers have been having a field day. This is the inevitable result – 5 developments alone providing what the planning scheme says is the ‘average’ number of new dwellings per year! Please also note that some of these are not even in what is euphemistically called our ‘Urban Villages’ (Bentleigh, Elsternwick, Carnegie) but in the now defunct Neighbourhood Centres, which are supposed to have only ‘medium density development’.

If this is not the Glen Eira you want, then make your views heard at the current Planning Scheme Review. Insist on real change and a real commitment to protecting residential amenity. Do not be satisfied with a mere tinkering of the current scheme that in the end achieves very little.

We have already outlined what residents at the first forum thought should be done. We repeat some of these:

structure plans
parking precinct plans
developer levies on car parking waivers and on drainage
stringent review of the zones and the schedules
tree protection and greater emphasis on environmental sustainability
full and comprehensive heritage review

April 18, 2016

Community Forum #1

Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Consultation/Communication, GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance, GE Transport
[16] Comments

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 (25^th May), with only 6 days left before submissions close?

PS: this is why the above recommendations are crucial