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P.O. Box 2007 Hotham Hill Victoria 3051 4 May 2014 Mr David Mayes Manager Strategic Planning City of Melbourne City Planning & Infrastructure PO Box 1603 MELBOURNE VIC 3001 Dear David, RE – PROPOSED NEW PLANNING ZONES IN THE CITY OF MELBOURNE As you may be aware, Residents About Integrated Development @3051 is a group of North Melbourne residents and business people who are actively working with council and other community groups to seek the best possible outcomes for planning and development in North Melbourne and nearby areas. While we do not claim to speak for the entire North Melbourne community, we have many members and speak for a sizeable and concerned proportion of that community. The Process RAID members attended two briefing sessions to gain some insight into the implications of the New Residential Zones proposed for the City of Melbourne, the first on March 27th at the North Melbourne Town Hall, the in April, organised by the North & West Melbourne Association. From the RAID point of view neither session provided the clarity we seek as to the rationale for of the City of Melbourne Officers recommending no allocation of the Neighbourhood Residential Zone in favour of the General Residential Zone. This of concern to us. The CoM Officers advised at the meetings that in their view the proposed changes are a ‘policy neutral’ outcome and that the existing controls, such as the MSS; local policies such as heritage and urban design, and Heritage overlays for individual properties and streetscapes, will protect areas currently zoned Residential 1,. RAID is doubtful that this is adequate, since having these controls in place has not prevented past inappropriate developments and cannot see such controls having certain effect in the future. The Supreme Court has recently determined (Boroondara City Council v 1045 Burke Road Pty Ltd [2014] VSC 127 ) that the Tribunal was entitled to take into account all relevant considerations when determining to allow the demolition of a heritage building. This fundamentally weakens and undermines the controls are in place to protect inappropriate development, which is again a major concern for RAID and its members. The Inner City Context Large parts of North and West Melbourne are presently zoned Residential Zone 1 (RZ1). This would logically translate to NRZ under the current proposals. RZN limits housing growth and density, and allows for predominately single dwellings. It also includes a mandatory maximum building height of 8 P.O. Box 2007 Hotham Hill Victoria 3051 metres for residential buildings. There is presently latitude for CoM decision makers to increase or decrease building height under RNZ. This is the category that other surrounding inner city municipalities have assigned their valuable housing stock to, in many cases to the vast majority of it. RAID believes that the CoM proposal is at odds with the approach of these neighbouring Councils and there is no satisfactory justification to explain this. We cannot understand why the heritage areas in the City of Melbourne are viewed so differently from similar areas in the city of Yarra, Port Phillip and the Moonee Valley. Currently the City of Melbourne is carrying the load of increased population growth in the inner city . This cannot continue without loss of amenity without increased investment in urgently needed infrastructure such as better public transport and cycling links, primary and secondary schools, aged care and childcare facilities, kindergartens, recreational facilities and open space. RAID @ 3051 Inc formed as a residents group to raise such issues in the context of the Woolworths (over) development in North Melbourne. Now that it has been approved this has set a precedent for the area which is likely to be replicated over and over again. The impact of such developments will hugely increase the demand for the social infrastructure that we mention above and which is yet to be provided. Additionally, developers are currently taking advantage of uncertainty. The new planning proposal for 1 Shiel St, North Melbourne. RAID objected to an initial original application for a 6 storey development on the site in 2013. This was subsequently approved. Now a new application for a 10 storey development to a height more than double the Arden Macaulay Structure Plan guidelines metres is being proposed! The rationale by the applicant is that this will enable other developers to build to similar heights, which is precisely why RAID objected to the original proposal! Proposal RAID contends that the City of Melbourne must move quickly to identify Neighbourhood Residential Zones for all areas that are currently zoned Residential Zone 1 (RZ1). RAID trusts that this proposal will be supported in the recommendation to Councillors in June. Yours sincerely Peter Hogg Chair RAID @3051 Inc.