Call for minister to change plans

By Tania Martin
THE Shire of Yarra Ranges will apply to the Minister for Planning, Rob Hulls, for a planning scheme amendment to apply a Design and Development Overlay (DDO) for the Mt Evelyn retail precinct.
The draft DDO was prepared following council’s decision in September last year to investigate a new planning scheme amendment for the town.
In December 2002, following a lengthy community consultation period, the council agreed to rezone the land from Residential One to Business One.
The land owner, Arch Casell, proposed to turn the land at 3 Snowball Avenue and 18 Station Street, Mt Evelyn, into a pharmacy, a doctor’s surgery, and car-parking space. Following the withdrawal of objections from nearby residents, the council referred the application to the Minister for Planning, Rob Hulls, for approval, which was granted in September 2003.
However, the council was told in September last year that nearby residents had since campaigned to re-establish the land as a Residential One zone following speculation that the land may be considered as a site for the development of a new Safeway supermarket.
Since September last year, the council has been working closely with the Mt Evelyn community to produce the draft DDO.
A report to council last week said that the draft DDO reflects a high level of community interest in the future development of the Mt Evelyn township.
The report also said the introduction of the DDO would provide a much clearer basis for future decision-making on development applications in the area.
Mt Evelyn resident Colin Gillam last week told the council that he commended the previous council for understanding that the rezoning of the land to a Business One zone was not acceptable to the community and offering to investigate a DDO for the town.
Mr Gillam said the implementation of a DDO was important to the town’s future development, as it would provide a level of safeguards against certain developments.
He said the nearby residents were hoping that the DDO would create a document that would enable future development, yet at the same time retaining the town’s village atmosphere.
However, Mr Gillam said he was concerned that the DDO was in some senses a ‘waste of paper’ as it didn’t provide much detail on what would be allowed in the future development of the town.
Billanook Ward councillor said one of his concerns about the DDO was that it was a hard document for many residents to comprehend.
But Cr Heenan also said he hopes the introduction of the DDO would spell a way forward for the Mt Evelyn township when looking at future developments.