At its meeting on March 23, the City of Greater Geelong voted to refer two proposals to rezone various parts of Drysdale & Clifton Springs to a Planning Panel to be appointed by State Planning Minister Justin Madden.
These proposals are in the form of two Amendments - C103 and C194 - to the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme. Between them, the two Amendments generated over fifty submissions to the Council, opposing the rezoning proposals overwhelmingly.
The two Amendments include a proposal to build a housing estate on one of the few remaining stretches of public open space in the Springs Street area of Clifton Springs. DCSCA members and friends have convinced the City of Greater Geelong to abandon the proposal. DCSCA officers helped local residents to challenge the proposal and over 180 local people signed a petition opposing it. As a result, the Council withdrew the proposal before even discussing it! Good news indeed and a great result for local people.
However, residents and property owners in other areas will face significant increases in their rates if the Planning Panels recommend that the Council adopts the rest of Amendments C103 and C194:
- Residents of the area bounded by Drysdale's High, Eversley and Princess Streets are opposing Council plans (in Amendment C194) to rezone their area from 'Residential' to 'Business', causing a significant rise in rates bills. Many residents have lived there for decades and they believe that this proposal threatens their future.
- Residents of the area near Drysdale's Potato Shed are opposing Council plans (in Amendment C194) to develop the area as a recreational 'hub', fearing increases in traffic volume and speed.
- Residents adjacent to the area behind the shops and workshops on the southern side of Drysdale's Murradoc Road are opposing Council plans (in Amendment C103) to rezone the area from 'Farming' and 'Low Density Residential' to 'Residential 1' (i.e. high density housing), causing a significant rise in rates bills
Where do they get these ideas from?
Amendment C103 generated 19 submissions , only one of which supported it. This submission came from Melbourne-based Urban Land Development p/l (ULD), which has bought land on the southern side of Drysdale's Murradoc Road.
ULD wants to build a housing estate on their Murradoc Road property and asked CoGG for the land to be rezoned. However, ULD did more than just ask. It collaborated with Council officers to write part of Amendment C103! The part in question is the 'Development Plan Overlay', which specifies how a particular parcel of land should be developed. In its submission to the Council regarding Amendment C103, ULD says:
'ULD and Council have had a substantial amount of dialogue regarding the wording of the DPO (Development Plan Overlay). As a result, ULD is broadly satisfied with the DPO and again congratulate Council on striking the right balance between providing certainty as to what the Development Plan should contain without being to (sic) prescriptive.'The next step: a Planning Panel
Due to the opposition to Amendments C103 and C194, the Council has referred each one to a Planning Panel to be appointed by State Planning Minister Justin Madden. Anyone who made a submission concerning one or both of these Amendments should have received a formal letter from the Council advising them of this.
Would you like information or advice about Planning Panels? Would you like assistance to present your arguments to the Panel? If so, please contact DCSCA:
By mail: P.O. Box 581, Drysdale, Vic. 3222
By E-mail: dryclift@bigpond.com
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