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What Works, Why?

Borneo Sporenburg in Amsterdam where high density doesn’t mean high rise.

The buildings are unique and built by different owners/developers,

St Killda Junction, where high rise is not just grey and white. The cantilevered floors break up sheer visual mass. Softer coloured cladding toward the top of the building helps it fade into the background. The height of the building is not overshadowing much other than the open road junction.

Featured on Grand Designs and House of the Year, this house is architect designed, low cost/affordable, (made from shipping containers) and sustainable.

It’s hard to believe this Grand Designs featured home is constructed out of four shipping containers.

Green walls and Vertical Gardens soften the hard visual mass and insulate the building.

The Bosco Vertical Forest, Milan. This idea can be used on low rise as well as high rise. As Darebin is one of the highest heat stressed cities in Australia we need to think of more imaginative ways to find places for tree planting.

Clay Field is a development of affordable housing in the village of Elmswell. A partnership between Suffolk Preservation Society, Mid Suffolk District Council, Orwell Housing Association and Elmswell Parish Council and built by local contractor Seamans Building. The scheme was the result of a RIBA design competition and achieves Eco Homes Excellent rating. The concept was to provide exemplar affordable homes which were designed to be energy efficient and sustainable, have a high design quality and provide positive public and private spaces.

http://www.greensuffolk.org/sgbn/suffolk-case-studies/clayfield/

Darebin Car Parking Strategy

Car parking access has long been an issue in over-development applications in Darebin. Here is a chance to influence a new parking strategy for Darebin. Follow the link to complete the survey.

Re: Car parking strategy for Darebin

Council is currently developing a car parking strategy for Darebin and wants to hear the community’s views on how parking can be managed in the future.

The consultation process will run until mid-February 2019, and there are multiple ways you can have your say, including attending a community forum or small discussion group, or completing an online survey. You can find more information at https://www.yoursaydarebin.com.au/parkingstrategy. This web site also contains frequently asked questions and provides more information about the car parking strategy in general.

We would very much like to hear your views and those of people that you may know. Please feel free to circulate this information.

Blog 26: The ‘Real’ Planning and Development Process in Darebin

The ‘Real’ Planning and Development Process in Darebin

The developer submits to council an ambit claim planning proposal eg. The plans are for 6 units on a single block but they really just want to build 3. (not seen by Councilors or the community) An ambit claim is an extravagant initial demand made in expectation of an eventual counter-offer and compromise.
The proposal is assigned to a council planning officer who works with the developer to point out where the proposal doesn’t meet the planning scheme in an attempt to bring the proposal in line with legislative requirements. (not seen by Councilors or the community)
The developer may submit more plans that meet some but never all of the legislative requirements. They think that near enough will get them through council and VCAT process. (not seen by Councilors or the community)
The planning officer decides if the planning proposal is to be advertised or not. If the decision is to not advertise because the planning application is in ‘general in accordance’ then your third party objection rights are removed.
If a decision is made to advertise and if you are quick and catch the advertising sign on the site you can send in an objection pointing out why the application is lacking and how that will negatively impact on you. (Can be seen by the community)
If you miss the closing date bad luck you lost your only chance to have a say.
If there are less than 5 objections then the officer will make the decision to either approve or refuse the planning application. They usually approve. (not seen by Councilors or the community)
If there are more than 5 objections, from within 200 metres of the site, the proposal will go to the Planning Committee for the decision. (where the community can have a say and appeal to Councilors)
While waiting to be heard at the planning committee the developer many submit further plans, especially if their ambit claim is so outrageous they think it will be rejected by the officer and Planning Committee. (not seen by Councilors or the community)
At the Planning Committee objectors get 5 minutes in total to make a verbal appeal to Councilors to refuse the planning proposal.
If the proposal is refused by the council planning committee then the developer can submit further plans to council and a planning officer decides if they will be accepted, they usually are, and reassessed by an officer. (not seen by Councilors but parties to a hearing at VCAT might get to see them, not objectors or the community)
If the proposal is refused by the council planning committee then the developer can seek an appeal at VCAT. They can also continue to submit plans until the VCAT hearing. These never go back to Councilors at planning committee for their refusal or approval. (developers can and do leave out aspects of the design they know council will refuse in the initial plans and then add them in to later plans if they think VCAT will approve them eg. car stackers)
If the application is approved by VCAT and/or Council the developer builds what they like, regardless of approved plans. During the build they apply for variations/amendments. Variations are always approved by the planning department and not seen by councilors or the community. These are advertised, but only those who objected to the original application are eligible to object to the amendment, and the public is not made aware of this ruling.
Community members can ask the council investigations officer to take a look at new development to check specific details that do not meet the approved plans and if lucky they may find other aspects that do not meet the approved plans.
Conditions of the permit are un-enforceable and are not enforced by an under resourced town planning department who a busy at HQ dealing with paper work and phone calls about other proposals. And the present frenzy of applications dilutes/stretches the available resources for processing them.

Finally: The whole stupid charade should have been stopped at step (2) simply by saying no, your ridiculous planning proposal is refused for reasons that can be rapidly documented in a pro forma letter. ‘Kindly Stop wasting everybody’s time.’

Still we have a very good record of defeating poor planning proposals at council and VCAT even though the process is heavily weighted in favor of developers, against objectors who are residents and rate payers.

Blog 25: What is the housing demand in Darebin?

We like a bit of a challenge at DADA, to say the least. So when challenged this week to check where demand for housing meets availability I did some research.

DADA has been making the claim for many years that there is an oversupply of one and two bedroom apartments in Darebin and an under supply of separate family homes. My research, show below does not debunk this claim. Estate agents anecdotal evidence mostly supported it.

The following table includes statistics from the Realestate.com website for dwellings open for inspection on Saturday the 28th of January 2017

While there are many more one and two bedroom apartments available the statistics track quite closely the projected need according to the Darebin Housing Policy.

This is good for now, but DADA would still worry about an over supply of one and two bedrooms given all the developments waiting to be approved and built. Preston Market being the biggest of these with around 90% of one and two bedroom dwellings.

To check where the greater demand is the following Real Estate Agents gave this anecdotal advice (agents could not provide specific figures):

Nelson Alexander, Preston: ‘More apartments available than people wanting to buy and more people wanting than family homes available’

Barry Plant: ‘Maybe a need for more apartments for students’ (currently the busiest time for this demand)

Stockdale and Leggo, Reservoir: ‘highest demand is for houses because the land size is sort out by developers. More supply of units and townhouses. In 2016 the numbers of houses sold were at the lowest levels in 20 years.’

McGrath, Preston, ‘probably even.’

My challenge is for Darebin Council to do the work to investigate the number of empty dwellings in Darebin. If we could get that information we could then develop some legislation to encourage filling empty dwellings available to ease demand.

Cheers, Maria

DADA

Blog 24 : Vancouver slaps $10,000 a year tax on empty homes. Lie about it and it’s $10,000 a day

This article was in the Bloomberg News.

If they can do this in Vancouver why not here in Darebin???

Natalie Obiko Pearson, Bloomberg News
Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016

The measure is among efforts to make housing more accessible and affordable in Vancouver, ranked the world’s third-most-livable city. Postmedia

Want to keep your million-dollar luxury pad in Vancouver empty? Get ready to pay $10,000 (US$7,450) annually in extra taxes. Lie about it? That’ll be $10,000 a day in fines.

Canada’s most-expensive property market, suffering from a near-zero supply of rental homes, announced the details of a new tax aimed at prodding absentee landlords into making their properties available for lease. The empty-home tax will take effect by Jan. 1 and will be calculated at one per cent of the property’s assessed value, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told reporters at City Hall.

“Vancouver is in a rental-housing crisis,” Robertson said. “The city won’t sit on the sidelines while over 20,000 empty and under-occupied properties hold back homes from renters.”

The measure is among efforts to make housing more accessible and affordable in Vancouver, ranked the world’s third-most-livable city, and has drawn attention for its sky-high prices fomented by global money flows. Public scrutiny has focused on absentee landlords, particularly from overseas, who are accused of sitting on investment properties where windows remain dark throughout the year.

In August, the provincial government imposed a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers, and last month the federal government tightened mortgage insurance eligibility requirements. The city of Vancouver has focused its efforts on the rental market, where vacancies can get scooped up within hours while bidding wars drive up leasing costs.

Robertson estimated that more than 10,800 homes are empty and 10,000 more are not fully used. The city expects that instituting the tax will boost the supply of homes available for lease to the point that the vacancy rate increases to about 3.5 per cent from 0.6 per cent currently.

The city will allow certain exemptions to ensure that most homeowners who are Vancouver residents, including those who spend their winters at nearby ski resorts, won’t be affected. Principal homes, as well as properties that are rented for at least six months of the year on 30-day minimum leases, won’t be taxed.

Homeowners will self-declare whether their property is a principal residence or a secondary investment. People who pay the new tax late will face a 5 per cent penalty, while those who don’t declare will automatically be taxed. Falsely declaring that a home is occupied or that it’s a principal residence could lead to a maximum fine of $10,000 a day for as long as the offense continues, according to the mayor’s office.

Blog 23: Election Protests

On Saturday the 1st of October we were out protesting against inappropriate development in Darebin at Preston Market, Northland Shopping Centre and Summerhill Shopping Centre. Some of us dressed as developers, some just had signs and hats.

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