Today the state government announced that that the Glenside Urban Corridor (Living) Code Amendment has been adopted by the state government, which will see the maximum height for buildings increased to 20 levels in the north-west corner of the Glenside development.
This is a disappointing decision for the community who had campaigned against this outcome. Council received considerable feedback from community members expressing opposition to the increase from eight to 20 levels, as well as concerns regarding impacts on nearby residents and increased pressure on parking, schools, open space, tree canopy, utilities, and roads.
City of Burnside CEO, Julia Grant said that the Council made a submission in strong opposition to changes to the Planning and Design Code of proposed height increases above 8 storeys and continued to advocate this position to the Minister. The City of Burnside had consistently objected to the proposed height increase, arguing:
- The increase would be more than triple the potential building height at this highly visible entry point to the City of Burnside and would be inconsistent with the existing agreed and comprehensive Glenside Cedar Woods development master plan which anticipated eight level buildings.
- The proposed policy changes would cause significant negative visual and liveability impacts within the existing harmonious park land and heritage character setting.
- The proposed changes did not sufficiently demonstrate how overshadowing and privacy impacts on surrounding development will be mitigated.
- The proposal did not adequately address anticipated parking and traffic impacts, and additional pressure on community and social infrastructure.
Council's submission proactively included many constructive suggestions for improvements to the proposed Code Amendment, to achieve better outcomes which would be more consistent with Council's desired outcome for the Glenside site. The finalised Code Amendment has not yet been made available to Council or the community and as such it is unclear what, if any, other amendments have been made to the Planning and Design Code to mitigate the impacts of the significant increase in height.
'While the maximum height increase is well beyond what we hoped for, Council recognises the demand for housing and will now work with the state government and the developer to encourage the best quality design and development outcomes for our existing and future community,' Ms Grant said.
