Residential revamp approved by Shire
A proposal to develop three townhouses and subdivide a Lampard Rd, Drouin residential property has been approved by Baw Baw Shire Council, against the advice of planning staff.
Planners described the application as being a “poor design.”
The application sought to develop three double storey dwellings, extend the existing house and subdivide the land into five lots.
The subject site is located on Drouin’s urban fringe with existing residential development to the east and rural and public land to the west.
It is proposed the subdivided lots would have access to Settlement Rd or Lampard Rd.
There were two objections to the application who raised concerns about traffic congestion in Settlement Rd and loss of trees due to construction of driveways.
In a report to council, planners said the proposal failed to satisfy a number of Rescode standards, “indicating a poor design response and poor built form outcome.”
“This design layout also results in poor integration with the street, reduced safety and an obscured dwelling entry.
“The overall proposed development and subdivision is considered to be ad hoc and piecemeal and does not represent proper and orderly planning.
“The design response is also inconsistent with the existing neighbourhood character and fails to recognise that the Settlement Rd nature strip / park is located within the public park and recreation zone,” the report said.
Applicant Duncan Treller told council he received professional advice and the proposal put forward was the most beneficial.
He said they wanted to continue living in their current house where they had lived for 18 years.
“We are comfortable here, with our threephase power, and we want to stay here,” he said.
On the advice of planning staff, Cr Annemarie McCabe moved council refuse the application.
However, the motion was unsuccessful and an alternate motion from Cr Ben Lucas to approve the application was carried by council.
Cr Lucas said the applicant worked on solar powered cars and was environmentally mindful.
He said he had spent hours looking at the plans and believed it was a good development.
“Legislation is open to interpretation. It’s up to us to look at what the officers say and decide whether we agree with it.
“We are trying to attract infill development…you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
“Is it the prettiest development? Not at all but that is not a reason to knock it back,” he said.
Cr Joe Gauci also supported the application. “VCAT has already said it is environmentally irresponsible to pull down a house that can be kept.”
Cr Michael Leaney said it was not a perfect development but the alternative of a multiunit development would be worse.
Cr McCabe said there had been ad hoc history to this application.
She said her primary concerns were the failure to maintain neighbourhood character and the impact on traffic management in the area.
Cr McCabe said there was no nature strip and parking cars on the road reserve was inappropriate.
“I am not against this development but I think there can be a better way.
“We need to stand up and have high standards rather than putting up with what’s up the road.
“I am not asking you to knock down your house, but to revisit your dreams,” she said.
Cr Darren Wallace said it would be a much easier subdivision design if it was a greenfield site and the development potential of this beautiful site could be maximised.
“Having the houses face that reserve would be a better outcome. This is such a beautiful site and the applicant needs to focus on the key elements,” he said.
Cr Danny Goss said council was in the middle of developing neighbourhood character guidelines but approving this development would ignore those guidelines.
“Planning issues need to be decided on planning guidelines, not on the feel or vibe.
“This is not a good outcome for a strategic block,” he said.
Cr Goss called for a division on the vote. Crs Lucas, Leaney, Gauci, Peter Kostos, Tricia Jones and Jazmin Tauru supported the application. Crs McCabe, Wallace and Goss voted against the proposal.