Fight for foothills

By Ed Merrison
PRESSURE is building for the State Government to give greater planning power to Knox City Council and recognise the specific development needs of the Dandenong foothills.
Dobson Ward councillor Karin Orpen said she had little confidence that council’s planning policies would be able to protect sensitive dispersed residential locations from inappropriate development.
Her comment came after the delivery of the draft Eastern Regional Housing Statement (ERHS) to a planning meeting on Tuesday, 14 February.
Numerous council planning decisions in the Foothills area have been overturned by the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), and Cr Orpen’s confidence has been further dented by an independent panel’s recent rejection of Amendment C46 of the Knox Housing Statement.
The panel had objected to a schedule in the amendment that modified ResCode standards to fit with the council’s vision for the Foothills.
The ERHS, compiled by the Department of Human Services following feedback from eight municipalities as a requirement of Melbourne 2030, is seen as an important planning tool for the region.
But Cr Orpen said for the draft ERHS to be taken seriously, the State Government would have to start treating local government as an equal partner.
Cr Orpen said the community was too often at the mercy of developers and the ‘one-size-fits-all’ mentality of ResCode.
Tirhatuan Ward councillor Mick Van de Vreede agreed that councils needed more control over how developers responded to neighbourhood character.
“Knox is playing ball with the Government, and what we need is for them to reciprocate.
“They can start by allowing our housing statement to go through as is. If that occurs, it will indicate that the Government is starting to understand that local councils need more control over local planning matters,” he said.
Cr Orpen went further to say she hoped there would be a time when responsibility for planning decisions lay solely with the council.
“My hope is that local governments will band together more and more with the community behind them to get back control of our back yards and our neighbourhoods,” she said.
Planning Minister Rob Hulls said contrary to popular perception, only eight per cent of planning applications determined by Knox went to VCAT.
The vast majority of applications were therefore dealt with by the council, which Mr Hulls said was appropriate.
Mr Hulls acknowledged that councils were best placed to make decisions that reflected local character and aspirations.
“VCAT, in determining a proposal, considers the same matters originally considered by a council, in this case the Knox Planning Scheme.
“This is why it is important for councils to have very clear policies in their planning schemes so that VCAT can take them into account,” he said.
Cr Orpen said it would be ‘delightful’ if the State Government were to lend support to clearly defined council planning policies.
“My expectation would therefore be that the Government will embrace amendment C40, the Foothills Policy Review, which does have very prescriptive policies in it.
“Amendment C46 is now squarely back with (Mr Hulls) and the minister has a duty of care to uphold the wishes of this community.
“Amendment C40 is going before a panel soon and if this is his view, I hope that view is imparted to whatever panel he appoints,” she said.