Bayside Mayor, Councillor Hanna El Mouallem has written to the Minister for Planning regarding the Victorian Government's implementation of their expanded Activity Centres Program.
The Activity Centre Program is part of the Victorian Government's Housing Statement, which aims to deliver more than 300,000 additional homes across Melbourne by 2051.
Four areas in Bayside have been included in the expanded program including North Brighton (Bay Street), Middle Brighton (Church Street), Hampton (Hampton Street) and Sandringham (Sandringham Village). This follows on from the initial 10 Pilot Activity Centres, which included Moorabbin/Hampton East.
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) recently facilitated Community Reference Group (CRG) sessions for the four Bayside areas included in the expanded Activity Centres Program.
Councillors were not initially invited to attend the sessions. After requests from Council, only one Councillor was invited to attend, despite the four Activity Centres being represented by four different ward Councillors.
Cr El Mouallem said the exclusion of Councillors from the sessions is concerning and contrary to commitments made to a collaborative process.
"Earlier this year, Council was assured that lessons from the Activity Centre pilot program had been learnt and that the next phase would involve greater collaboration," said Cr El Mouallem.
"Not including Council's voice at the recent CRG sessions shows that we have been restricted in representing our community, who are rightfully concerned about the impact these planning changes could have on their suburbs."
Cr El Mouallem also expressed his concerns about amendments to the Residential Building Standards (ResCode) within Victorian Planning Schemes.
The Victorian Government recently implemented Amendment VC267, which updates the design standards that apply to most new homes, townhouses, and low-rise apartments.
These changes modify ResCode, which is the set of residential design standards that guide how development must respond to neighbourhood character, landscaping, privacy and amenity.
The changes also limit community input, with a new 'deemed-to-comply' process requiring automatic approval for proposals that meet all new standards, and with no opportunity for objections or appeals from Council or the community.
"Council is strongly opposed to these changes due to concerns around a potential loss of green space, privacy, neighbourhood character and community voice," said Cr El Mouallem.
"The changes severely threaten Council's ability to protect the unique character of our Bayside suburbs."
