Planning Row Is Developing As Tribunal Chief Blasts Back
The Age
Monday September 11, 2006
VICTORIA'S most senior planning law official has hit back at local council and resident claims that Melbourne's neighbourhoods are being ruined by a rabid, pro-development appeals tribunal.
In a rare intervention in Melbourne's planning debate, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Justice Stuart Morris has rejected the allegation that the tribunal is overriding councils and damaging suburbs in the name of Melbourne 2030, the city's planning policy. VCAT president Justice Morris has turned to the Bayside municipality where the council has launched a campaign to scrap the current system. Mayor Derek Wilson has described 2030 as the "biggest threat to the character and amenity" of Bayside suburbs.Justice Morris has analysed every case - 47 in total - where developers and builders have appealed Bayside Council permit refusals for the 14 months to the end of August. He is set to meet with the council to discuss their concerns next month.In a report released to The Age, Justice Morris finds that applicants were successful in 68 per cent of cases, consistent with the statewide average.However, he notes that in 20 of the 32 cases where the tribunal found in favour of the developers, the rulings were in line with recommendations of council officers. Of the 12 remaining cases found in favour of developers, only two involved developments of more than two dwellings - a four-level mixed-use building near the Highett rail station, and another four-level apartment building in the Bay Street shopping centre. These two were also the only cases where 2030 played an important role. Justice Morris highlights that in both cases the projects were amended at the tribunal in accordance with changes sought by council officers.He points out that it is unlikely that council officers would make recommendations at odds with relevant state or local policy. Without openly stating it, he implies that councillors are making decisions contrary to their own policies. "If any overall trend is to be identified, it is that there is a strong correlation between tribunal decisions and the professional advice of Bayside's planning staff," he said.Justice Morris' findings come at a time when planning is developing into a hot topic ahead of thestate election in November.
© 2006 The Age