Moreland City Council has announced a potentially revolutionary planning scheme amendment that could significantly reduce the time and cost associated with permit applications for dual-occupancy developments, throughout the majority of the municipality.
So, what does Amendment c190 include?
The amendment proposes a new class of local VicSmart application that would allow planning permit applications for two dwellings on a lot within the General Residential and Neighbourhood Residential Zones, be processed under the VicSmart provisions, if strict criteria are met.
Regular applicants will be aware that VicSmart applications:
- Provide for a 10 day statutory timeframe in which a decision should be made;
- Are exempt from third-party notification and review rights to VCAT
- And remove the elected Councillors from the process. For more details on the VicSmart process click here: https://clause1.com.au/?s=VicSmart
The potential benefits of C190 are obvious, and could save applicants more than six months, remove the risk of frivolous objector appeals and remove unnecessary political interference by Councillors, for compliant projects.
Amendment C190, as exhibited, provides that an application within a GRZ or NRZ to Construct a dwelling if there is one dwelling existing on the lot or construct two dwellings on a lot, could be assessed as a VicSmart application, if the proposal meets:
- The minimum garden area requirement
- The minimum height requirement
- The requirements of the following Clause 55 Standards
- B6 Street setback
- B8 Site coverage
- B9 Permeability
- B14 Access
- B17 Side and rear setbacks
- B18 Walls on boundaries
- B19 Daylight to existing windows
- B20 North-facing windows
- B21 Overshadowing open space
- B22 Overlooking
- B23 Internal views
- B27 Daylight to new windows
- B28 Private open space
- B29 Solar access to open space
- B30 Storage
- B32 Front fences
- The number or carparking spaces required by Clause 52.06
- Additional requirements relating to the siting of new crossovers and garages
- A minimum BESS score of 50%
- A ‘silver’ rating under the Liveable Housing Australia Design Guidelines
Moreland is the first municipality to attempt to utilise the VicSmart provisions in such a significant manner.
Moreland, alone, receives approximately 150 applications for dual occupancies per year. Across the whole of Victoria that number is estimated to swell to more than 5000 applications. These applications can take more than 180 gross days to determine and tie up an estimated $2.5billion in potential development activity… And those numbers do not include the additional time some of these applications spend at appeal.
Clause 1 Planning, joins the majority of the industry in congratulating Moreland on this initiative. We wish them every strength in their endeavour and are hopeful that other municipalities will follow their lead.
Full details of the amendment can be found here:
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