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Latest Newsletter June 08 Page 1 - click on to enlarge

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NEWS FROM MONASH COUNCIL MEETING, 3RD JUNE 2008

Objections to developments in Notting Hill
Three developments have sparked objections from Notting Hill residents in the last few weeks: two proposals to erect/maintain industrial buildings on the Road Traffic Authority land at the rear of premises in Longbourne Avenue and Risdon Drive, and one proposal to build a residential hotel on Blackburn Road and Finch Street. All of these have now been considered by Council, with mixed results from a resident’s point of view.
The two proposals concerning the RTA land – ‘the horse paddock’ – have both been reviewed by the Planning Department and refused – a good result, though it seems that one of the rejected proposals will be appealed to VTAC. The hotel proposal was considered by Council at its meeting this evening, 3rd June, and accepted without a dissenting vote. The report before Council recognised the number and substance of objections received, but Council was satisfied that the provisions of the proposal met the issues raised. The only outstanding issue was the objection that a residential hotel might become a venue for gambling and poker machines; the report noted that while this was possible, a further permit was required to install a gambling machine, and that this was unlikely to be supported by Council.
This is not a good result for residents, but it seems unlikely that further action – an appeal to VTAC – would have much hope of success. You can find the full report in item 5.9 of the papers presented to Council, 3rd June 2008: at www.monash.vic.gov.au/reports/papers125.htm.

Monash Domestic Animal Management Plan
Item 5.10 on the Council Agenda concerned the Council’s Domestic Animal Plan, a matter of some concern to Notting Hill residents, several of whom made submissions during the drawing-up of the plan about the lack of dogs-off-leash areas in the Notting Hill vicinity. Of the total of 9 written submissions received by Council, 4 were from Notting Hill. The report recognises ‘the lack of off leash opportunities in the Westerfield Drive area’ (page 159), also that ‘Westerfield Dog Walking Club needs a dedicated area to exercise their dogs (page 161), even that
The residential area bounded by Ferntree Gully Road, Blackburn Road, Monash Freeway and Duerdin Street/Dunlop Road does not have good access to an off leash park nor are there options for creating an off leash park in this area. (page 165)
But the relevant recommendation is that ‘No change in the number of Off Leash areas is proposed’.
Perhaps there is still ground here for further community action.

Monash Liveability Coalition
In one of the few personal interventions in a meeting almost free of discussion, Councillor Denise McGill rose to inform Council that on the evening of Monday 2nd of June she had attended a meeting at the Notting Hill Community House of the Monash Liveability Coalition, and had been impressed by the speakers, the issues and the audience. She suggested to that Council might consider supporting more such meetings in order to help residents understand the implications of current Government planning proposals.
Thank you Councillor McGill!

A 3-storey apartment building on your fenceline?

The chances of someone building a three-story apartment block next door to your house – without you having any rights to complain about it – will greatly increase in the few months if the Government succeeds in bringing in its new residential zones planning proposal. The proposal will require municipal councils to allocate residential areas under their control into planning zones within which new developments must be multi-storied and residents’ rights to be informed and to protest will be severely restricted.

A meeting called by the Monash Liveability Coalition last Monday evening (June 2^nd) heard from a number of speakers about the pressures on liveability and the losses of citizens rights involved in the new proposal. Bob Birrell from the Monash Centre of Population and Urban Research laid out the implications for urban planning of the recent explosion in Melbourne’s population growth. He suggested that the Government’s attempts to meet the resulting demand for housing were inadequate, ill-advised, and could only lead to the destruction of the neighbourhood character of areas like Notting Hill and Monash more generally. Members of the Legislative Council, Matthew Guy for the Liberals and Greg Barber for the Greens, argued that the Government was panicked by the new population statistics, and was responding with short-term solutions that over-rode the rights of residents, councils, and parliament itself. David Gates, a Notting Hill resident, suggested that planning should relate to the long term needs of current residents rather than the other way around. And Denise McGill, Monash City Councillor, pointed out the difficulties that the council had with authoritarian current and future planning regimes.

Mary Drost, for the Planning Backlash – a comprehensive coalition of residents’ groups from across Victoria – supplied the meeting with a petition to Government asking that residents’ rights be considered, and announced the creation of a new website devoted to keeping Melbourne marvellous (http://www.marvellousmelbourne.org ). And Greg Barber suggested that the Legislative Council may move to disallow the regulatory and legislative changes that the Government will require to implement its new planning regime.

The next meeting of the Monash Liveability Coalition, on Monday 4^th August, will consider practical ways and means of defending residents’ rights to a liveable city.

WATCH THIS SPACE.

(For further information contact Marian Quartly marian.quartly@arts.monash.edu.au)