The 3068 Group invites all members and supports to attend tonight’s Council Meeting (Tuesday 22nd November) to add your support to the following important motions that were endorsed  at a public meeting last Thursday.

The 3068 Group joined other Yarra community groups to convey their anger and alarm about the scale of development going on across Yarra, which is intrinsically linked to the destruction of heritage, neighbourhood character and public amenity. These are the real values of Yarra that money can’t buy. Our cherished historic shopping streets that are such an important part of Yarra’s identity and culture are being eyed off by developers who see an unbounded potential.

While their profits are limitless, prices spiral in a speculative land boom that returns little if anything to the community.

Bridge Road, Proposed Development

At the meeting, residents called on the Minister for Planning to place bounds on the maximum height that is allowed in shopping strips and in Mixed Use Zones and to introduce mandatory minimum provision of affordable housing into large developments.

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Limiting development to five stories would still allow Yarra’s population to more than double, with all the change that brings. Allowing 17 storey towers in historic residential and retail areas is leading to land prices that force developers to extract more value to pay for the increased land. Mandatory height limits would dampen this speculative boom that is fueled by international investment.

Professor Michael Buxton addressed the meeting of over 200 residents and remarked how nowhere else would this situation be tolerated, that Yarra is “under siege”. Professor Buxton has warned that Yarra has lost a lot of its heritage already and urgent action is needed.

Although streets such as Smith Street and Bridge road enjoy heritage protection, the destruction, it has not slowed the destruction of those streets by high rise developments opportunistically encroaching on the street’s, stealing its amenity for their own resale. Queens Parade is next, with two 17 storey developments received. In the Dummett Crescent triangle, bounded by Hoddle St, Queens Parade and Heidelberg Road, the 3068 Group has fought (unsuccessfully) 8 storey developments that morphed into 14 storey developments. Now there is a 17 storey development, that if approved (like all the others) will lead to a new escalation.

Meanwhile, large vacant lots abound in the municipality, such as the land between Hoddle Street and the railway, occupied by a cement warehouse, storage and plumbing supplies, where developers won’t place residential development as they would have to create the environment instead of stealing it.

The coalition of community groups that hosted the public meeting included Fitzroy Residents’ Association, Collingwood andAbbotsford Residents’ Association, The 3068 Group, Protect North Fitzroy’s Skyline, and Walmer Street Action Group. Also present were members of the Collingwood Historical Society, Fitzroy Historical Society and four councillors.

The extraordinary meeting and collaboration of community groups sent a strong message to Yarra Council and the State Government that the current regime is intolerable.

Add your voice at Tuesday’s Council meeting to increase the chances of real change at both the State and local level.

RESOLUTIONS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY OF YARRA COUNCIL

The following resolutions were passed at a residents’ meeting convened by the Yarra Residents’ Coalition at the Fitzroy Town Hall, on Thursday, 17 November 2016

STRIP CENTRE HERITAGE PROTECTION

1. THAT Council requests the Minister for Planning to introduce immediate protection for historic shopping streets through an interim amendment to the City of Yarra planning scheme, to alter the building and works requirements of the Commercial 1 and Activity Centres zones requirements to include:

a). a permit to demolish buildings

b). for new buildings and works that:

i. no building can be constructed within 10 metres of the frontage

ii. further than 10 metres from the frontage, no building can exceed 11.5 metres in height and

that the Minister approve the advertising of a concurrent amendment to apply to these requirements only to buildings constructed prior to 1939.

MIXED ZONE USE

2. THAT Council request the Minister for Planning to introduce immediate interim height control to the Mixed Use zone and General Residential Zones (Schedule 3) in the City of Yarra through the introduction of a Design and Development Overlay (DDO) specifying a maximum development height control of 13 metres and a development set-back of 10 metres and approve the advertising of a concurrent amendment to the planning scheme.

AFFORDABLE COMMUNITY HOUSING

3. THAT Council requests the Minister for Planning to amend the Planning Scheme for all relevant zones to adopt the practice that developments of more than 10 dwellings provide a minimum of 10 per cent of dwellings defined as affordable community housing, developed in association with an accredited housing association, on a sliding scale to 20 per cent for developments above 100 dwellings.

PUBLIC HOUSING PROTECTION AND INCREASE

4. THAT Council requests the Minister for Housing to protect the existing level of State public housing and increase it to address the government waiting list of some 30,000 people, including the homeless (as well as others in inferior accommodation) and to protect and improve the future rent and living conditions (including public open space) for existing tenants.

INCREASED OPEN SPACE

5. THAT Council requests the Minister for Planning that legislation be amended to require the open space contribution in a development to be proportionate to the number of dwellings.

APPOINTMENT OF HERITAGE OFFICER

6. THAT the City of Yarra appoint a Heritage Officer, independent of the Director of Planning, with responsibilities to include

a. promoting heritage within Council and the community

b. being available to residents to offer support, access to information and advice on heritage-related matters

c. provision of in-house expertise to Council on heritage matters and policy, including strategic planning

d. provision of heritage advice on planning applications, advice on heritage policy, including attendance at Internal Development Approvals Committee (IDAC) and other Council meetings.

BANNING OF DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS

7. THAT the Victorian Parliament ban developer contributions to political parties and politicians.

CONCLUSION

Yarra Residents’ Coalition is determined that these resolutions will not be subjected to “death by committee”, which too many participants have learnt about from bitter experience when trying to achieve genuine change through Yarra Council processes. For this reason, we have decided to defer our request for the establishment of a committee under s86 of the Local Government Act, to demonstrate good faith in action being undertaken immediately to respond to the resolutions provided. This would include an Implementation Plan, as agreed upon between Council representatives and Yarra Residents’ Coalition representatives (and expert consultants as required), to be presented to the Yarra Council meeting to be held on Tuesday 6 December 2016. Put simply, we are asking that at tonight’s meeting, council agree to setting up this consultative mechanism with the YRC for its immediate action to progress the motions council endorses tonight with the first reporting of this consultative group, to be at council meeting of the 6th of December, 2016