council development

council development

You are the council development committee and your task is to decide whether or not to approve this
development application stating the applicable law and the reasons for your decision.
Application details
Development proposal: Medium density housing proposal comprising 190 one and two bedroom
units in a mix of two storey townhouse and three story walk up unit
buildings to be developed in accordance with a Plan of Development for the
land
Description and features: See History and Outline below
Development type: Material Change of Use
Assessment Level: Impact Assessable
Submissions: 32 individual submissions plus a petition with 220 signatures. See History
and Outline for details
Zoning: Transition zone
Overlays: None
Referral agencies: None
History and Outline
Site history
The development is proposed on a 6 hectare parcel of disused industrial land adjoining an established
residential area.
The land was originally developed with a furniture factory in the 1950s and this use remained in place
until the factory’s closure in the 1980s. The factory building was then internally partitioned and used for
a variety of storage and workshop uses. A fire severely damaged the building in 2006 and the site has
been largely vacant since then.
When the factory was built the surrounding area was still used for rural purposes. As the city has grown,
the rural uses have disappeared and the surrounding lands have been converted to urban uses.
Residential development (predominantly single lot residential) adjoins the land on the northern and
western sides and a primary school is located about 400 metres to the west of the site. Sporting fields
and parkland adjoin the land on the eastern side. A major feeder road runs along the southern boundary
and a district level shopping and service centre is on the opposite side of the road. A public transport
interchange is located in the shopping centre opposite and a business park located one kilometre to the
west of the site along the feeder road is a major local employment hub.
The current planning scheme was introduced in 2003. The land was included in a special zone called
the Transition zone that was specifically created to cater for sites identified by the council as having
significant infill redevelopment potential. The intent of the zone stated in the scheme is to protect from
fragmentation selected sites in the urban area that have potential to be redeveloped as coordinated infill
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development areas. The zone intent goes on to state that the preferred uses on each site will be
determined by local structure plans that will be prepared for each site and its surrounding area and
progressively incorporated into the planning scheme. The zone intent states that it is the council’s
intention to complete these local plans by 2006.
In the absence of a local structure plan, all uses other than park uses have been declared to be Impact
Assessable in the zone’s assessment table and the zone intent emphasises the need for any
development application to include a plan of development for the whole site.
Council started the local plan for the area in 2004. An initial proposal released for public consultation in
2006 showed a mix of low and medium density housing on the land with a yield of up to 80 dwelling
units identified. The plan also showed a substantial park area on the site to complement the existing
parkland on the eastern side of the land. The initial feedback from the public was favourable towards
the park extension and low density residential development but strongly opposed to the medium density
housing components due to traffic and character concerns. There was a strong view at the time that
“sardine city” development was not appropriate in this part of the city. Progress on the plan slowed to a
crawl following this initial consultation and the plan was still not completed in 2012 when the council
began planning the review of the whole planning scheme, which is to commence in the second half of
2013.
Different developers have shown interest in the land over the years. However, until the present
application, no development applications have been lodged over the land. A developer had initial
discussions with council officers in 2007 about establishing a new industrial estate on the land. This did
not result in an application being made but it led to the following resolution being adopted by council at
the next council meeting after these discussions:
“Council does not support development of the land other than in accordance with an adopted local plan
covering the area.”
The application
The present application was lodged in January 2013 by a developer who specialises in medium density
housing projects. The planning report submitted with the application contains the following information:
• The development has incorporated water sensitive urban design principles, including a system for
the capture, treatment and recycling of stormwater;
• Buildings incorporate climate sensitive design features that among other things maximise the
energy efficiency of the dwelling units
• Particular attention has been paid to the design and layout to ensure a high quality development is
created that has architectural merit and is environmentally efficient;
• The development is targeted at the affordable housing market and expressions of interest have
been received from two community housing companies to purchase up to 40 dwelling units to
provide managed rental housing for low income households and socially disadvantaged persons,
including homeless persons;
• Research by the developer demonstrates there is a shortage of affordable rental housing in the
area;
• The land is close to a major employment hub, and is well serviced with public transport, shopping
and school facilities;
• The proposal is consistent with the strategic aims of the planning scheme as expressed in the
Desired Environmental Outcomes, in particular DEOs 1, 2 and 3:
DEO 1: A city that provides for a range of housing choices to meet the needs of all residents
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DEO 2: A city with housing that is affordable and well located to services, transport and
employment;
DEO 3: A compact city that that realises infill development opportunities and a city that is
ecologically sustainable, with a built environment that is energy and water efficient.
Planning scheme matters
• The development complies with the acceptable solutions in the medium density housing code
except for the solutions dealing with:
o building height — the sloping roof of the unit building is 3m higher (at its highest point) than the
acceptable solution maximum height. The applicant commented that the roof is a major design
feature that has been included to maximise shade and breeze capture as well as enhance the
aesthetic quality of the building;
o building length — the curved unit building follows the curving topography of the former factory
site but is 15% longer than the maximum acceptable solution length.
• The performance criterion for both of these solutions states, “building height and length is
appropriate for the site and compatible with any adjoining or nearby housing development”
• The purpose of the code is stated as, ”to provide housing at medium densities with amenity and
design features that meet the housing needs of residents in environmentally efficient buildings that
have aesthetic and architectural merit”.
Site access and traffic
• The council’s traffic engineers have commented that an access directly onto the feeder road
anywhere along the southern boundary is not recommended for safety reasons due to restricted
sightlines
• They have recommended that instead of two accesses as proposed by the applicant (one onto the
feeder road and the other into the residential street adjoining the western boundary), the site should
have only a single access, into the residential street (and the adjoining residential area) on the
western boundary.
• They further recommend that the applicant pay the full cost of bringing forward (i.e. pay the
financing cost) the planned upgrade of the signalised intersection onto the feeder road adjacent to
the school. The upgrade is needed now and is in the council forward works program for 2016 but
the traffic engineers believe this needs to be brought forward to coincide with the commencement
of this use.
Submissions
The school P&C committee organised a petition against the proposal. The petition was circulated
among the school community, at the shopping centre and sporting clubs adjacent to the development
site. 220 signatures were obtained during the notification period. Major objections were:
Traffic — traffic to and from the site will pass by the school increasing the existing traffic hazard in the
morning and afternoons;
Amenity, character — 190 small, tightly packed, high density residential units located on the edge of an
established high quality residential area will significantly undermine the character and amenity of the
area;
Risks, particularly to children — the establishment of an affordable housing estate catering for low
income, homeless and socially disadvantaged persons so close to the primary school will significantly
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increase the risks of “undesirables” preying on children at the school. It will also increase the road
safety risk not just due to increased traffic volumes but also from the significantly increased potential for
reckless driving by residents of the development.
The 32 individual submissions addressed similar themes ranging from increased traffic noise and
nuisance from hotted up old cars belonging to residents being driven recklessly, increased risks of
assault and burglaries, decreased property values and the like. Four submissions drew attention to the
2006 local plan consultation pointing out that the community had already rejected “sardine city”
development on the land.
No submissions raised specific building design, siting or set back issues.
Assignment Administration Notes
Submitting your Assessment Item: The due date for submission of this assessment item is Monday
5pm, 27 May, 2013.
Word Limit: The word limit for this assessment item is 1000 words. This is a short piece of work
requiring a thorough understanding of the modules covered so far but, in general, no additional research.
Calculating excess word length: Breaches of the word limit will be calculated in accordance with the
following:
When counting words for compliance with a word length requirement, all words are
to be counted (including footnotes) (sic) other than citations, references and
bibliographies which do not contain any substantive content.
Penalties for excess word length: Breaches of the word limit will be calculated as follows:
The whole of the assessment item will be marked but the student will be penalised according

• word for word copying without both appropriate use of quotation marks indicating direct
copying as such and the inclusion of a reference identifying the source of the material; or
• closely paraphrasing material without acknowledging the source; or
• submitting work which has been produced by someone else.
Late Penalties: The penalty for late submission of assessment items is 10% of the total (maximum)
assessment mark for the item per day. No assignments will be accepted after the one-week period.
Requests for extensions for assessment items must be directed to the Course Convenor before the
submission time and date. Extensions may be granted for medical conditions, however extensions will
not be granted for work commitments, family commitments or computer failure.
Special Consideration: Students applying for special consideration (due to medical or other grounds)
for assessment items must complete the appropriate application form available from a Student
Administration Centre. Special consideration is not retrospective and students should submit Special
Consideration forms as soon as they experience any difficulties that may interfere with study or
examination performance. It is expected that any applications for special consideration will be received

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