Council rejects policy changes

By Ed Merrison
KNOX City Council has rejected an independent panel’s recommendation that it scrap a housing policy amendment designed to protect the Dandenong foothills.
A report on the Knox Housing Statement Amendment C46 by a panel appointed by Planning Minister Rob Hulls showed overall support to the Knox Housing Planning Policy but did not regard as necessary a schedule modifying ResCode standards to fit with the council’s vision for the foothills.
Under the proposed schedule, a planning permit would be required to construct or extend a dwelling on a lot between 300 and 500 square metres in the foothills.
Other proposed changes to the ResCode standards include decreasing site coverage from 60 per cent to 40 per cent, varying the standards for private open space for single and medium density developments, and increasing the minimum dimension of the minimum area of private open space to five metres for single and medium density developments.
The maximum height of front fences would also be decreased to 1.2 metres on local roads.
The independent panel rejected the schedule on the grounds of insufficient evidence of the usual ResCode standards and other planning controls failing to deliver desirable planning outcomes.
But Knox housing reference committee chairman councillor Mick Van de Vreede did not accept the panel’s logic.
“Council disagrees with the panel’s suggestion that council should wait for mounting evidence that the current provisions are detrimental to the retention of neighbourhood character.
“Once development has happened it’s too late,” he said.
Dobson Ward councillor Karin Orpen went further, describing the panel’s reasoning as ‘nonsense’.
“ResCode is a one-size-fits-all policy and what the council is saying is ‘Sorry, but one size does not fit all here’.
“What’s fine in Richmond or Prahran will not be fine in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges,” she said.
Cr Orpen said the council’s housing reference committee needed to take a prescriptive approach in order to have a say on matters such as the replacement of canopy trees, maintaining neighbourhood character and the provision of quality, useable open space.
“The committee is saying we don’t want (planning) to be subjective, we don’t want it to be at the whim of whoever sits at VCAT (the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal),” she said.
Mr Hulls will now be asked to approve changes to the Knox Housing Local Policy including the modifications specified in the schedule.
Cr Orpen said the council would be asking local MPs to support the foothills policy.
“Now the pressure is squarely with Planning Minister Mr Hulls.
“That’s where the community has to be strong and put pressure on this government before this area is destroyed completely,” she said.