The following changes have been made to two residential zones in urban Geelong under amendment GC172 by the Minister for Planning gazetted on 23/12/2020:
- Residential Growth Zone Schedule 2 (RGZ2) to General Residential Zone Schedule 4 (GRZ4) and modifies the maximum building height from 10.5 metres, to 11 metres and 3 storeys.
The 'Increased Housing Diversity Areas' affected include: Bell Park, Bell Post Hill, Newcomb, Belmont, Corio Shopping Centre, East Geelong, Geelong West, Hamyln Heights, Highton, Lara, Marshall, North Geelong, South Geelong and Waurn Ponds.
and
- General Residential Zone Schedule 2 (GRZ2) to Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 8 (NRZ8) to retain the maximum building height of 9 metres.
This zone applies to incremental change areas with a garden character including areas of Newcomb, East Geelong, South Geelong, West Geelong, North Shore, Manifold Heights, Hamlyn Heights, Bell Post Hill, Bell Park, Herne Hill, Highton, Belmont, Wandana Heights, Grovedale and Waurn Ponds.
This amendment was prepared by the Minister to corrects height inconsistencies that resulted from the implementation of the reformed residential zones through amendment VC110 in 2017. Public notice was exempted as part of this amendment. The amendment documents can be viewed via the link below.
The Council considered a report by planning officers on options to deal with the residential height inconsistencies in March 2020 and resolved in part to:
- Support the following zone and policy changes as described in Attachment 2 – Report to Implementing the new Residential Zones (PDF):
- Back zoning of the General Residential Zone 2 areas in urban Geelong to Neighbourhood Residential Zone and include:
- a 9m maximum height limit; and
- maintain the existing additional open space and landscape requirements
- Back zoning the Residential Growth Zone 2 areas to a new General
Residential Zone and include:
- all other variations in existing zone schedules (open space, site coverage, front setbacks) will be transferred from the RGZ to deliver housing change and diversity in these areas and to differentiate from the other GRZ areas; and
- exempt the garden area requirement.
- Write to the Minister for Planning with Council's preferred option and to request that the changes are implemented via GC Ministerial amendment with other impacted Councils.
The Minister approved the amendment inline with the Council resolution except for exempting the garden requirement in the new GRZ increased housing diversity areas and including neighbourhood character objectives in the new zone schedules. Minor changes were also made to policy 21.06 Settlement and Housing to reflect the zone changes.
