BAYSIDE City Council has submitted comments on the Victorian Government’s proposed new residential zones, which aim to create greater local planning flexibility and certainty for Council, the community and applicants.

Bayside Mayor Councillor James Long said Council had provided feedback on the proposed zones to the State Government in 2008 and was pleased it had listened to some of Council’s concerns.

“Council welcomes the flexibility provided by the new residential zones to better tailor controls to local circumstances.

“However, there are a few details that Council would like the Victorian Government to clarify, including the ability for Council to determine where the zones will be applied in Bayside.

“There is also uncertainly and direction about how the zones will be integrated with Bayside’s current residential controls – controls that Bayside City Council has been successful in introducing over the past 10 years, which reflect local circumstances and community expectations of new developments.

“Bayside City Council seeks assurance from the Victorian Government that the current residential height controls, which are working well and have been approved by the Planning Minister, can be incorporated into the new residential zoning.

“Under the new zones, it’s unclear how much authority Council would have in determining appropriate height controls for Bayside. We welcome the introduction of mandatory substantial height controls and being able to vary height in some zones, but we are opposed to not being able to consider less than four storeys in the ‘substantial change zones’.

Bayside City Council has submitted comments to the Department of Planning and Community Development for its consideration.

For more information, view a copy of Bayside City Council’s Submission on the New Residential Zones (PDF, 60KB).