Council's Planning Committee has recommended the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) refuse a planning permit for a proposed 15-lot subdivision in Grovedale.
Developers have put forward a plan to construct 13 single story units on a 3,859 square metre site at 212 Bailey Street, with the remaining two lots to be left vacant.
Lot sizes featuring the terrace housing would be between 127 and 175 square metres, with the two vacant lots both larger at just under 640 square metres.
Twelve of the units would have two bedrooms and one would have three bedrooms, with all properties to be serviced by a single vehicle accessway onto Bailey Street.
A public notice about the plan attracted 36 written objections plus a petition, with community concerns centred on the development's potential impact on neighbourhood character, its density and lack of environmental sustainability, and the likelihood of increased noise, traffic congestion and parking demand.
Planning Committee chair, Councillor Kylie Grzybek, said the committee unanimously agreed that the objectors' concerns were well founded.
"Having considered the application very carefully, it's our opinion that the proposed development wouldn't meet the character of the surrounding area," Cr Grzybek said.
"While the subdivision could make a contribution to the supply of affordable housing in the area, I'm particularly concerned about the narrow built form that's been proposed, and about the impacts on traffic and parking in what is quite a narrow residential street.
"The matter is in the hands of VCAT now, but we feel it's the right decision for us to support the nearby residents who have objected."
Alongside Cr Grzybek, the committee included Deputy Mayor Trent Sullivan and councillors Belinda Moloney, Ron Nelson, Bruce Harwood and Jim Mason.
VCAT will hold a compulsory conference on 10 June ahead of a case hearing on 16 August.
