Dear DADA Folk,
Attached are my notes from last nights meeting.
Apologies to those who attended for my grumpiness!
There were lots of good ideas for action from all and so still much to do. Thank you to all who put there hand up to act.
Please help us keep up the fight against over development in Darebin.
Stay warm, Maria
DADA
Meeting Notes: 5th of August, 2015
Present: Marion Coffey, Craig Walters, Mandy Baird, Chris Erlandson, Meryl Waugh, Sally Mendes, Laara Eames, Maria Poletti,
Apologies: Keith Coffey
1. Business Arising:
a. Golden Guys seem a popular idea but not at the moment, perhaps another time. Chris has suggested we go to council with the idea of an award for best sustainability practice Action: Chris to research other councils and bring back ideas to us to then take to council. Scrap book idea for DADA web site where people can send in photos of poor development, before and after shots, basic details like address, developers names, details of faults, what is planned.etc. Action: Maria
b. Council flooded with planning applications; Action: Nola sending a further letter asking for some clarification of money collected and spent. Action: Maria to seek out FOI process.
c. Question to council about developers recycling as many materials as possible. We will begin to talk and form more ideas on the quality of demolition as well as the quality of the build. Action: Craig will formulate and ask questions at a council meeting.
d. For the Blog, before and after photos, Gone but not forgotten, RIP houses, Action: Craig to send photos to Maria.
e. Discussed other city councils plan for buying up houses to eventually convert into public open space. Action: Maria to do more research to bring back to the meeting. Stonnington Council
f. Preston Market: Action: Craig to look at special meeting video and bring back to next meeting. Salter Group are the developers. Ask questions to Council regarding the discussions with the minister about Preston Market.
g. 748 to 750 Plenty Road, 4 stories, 22 apartments with some at 40 square metres. Action: Mandy to keep an eye on it.
h. Community Consultation in the development process – are there any precedents for making this compulsory? Kelly suggested a community consultation process where developers have to meet with the community in consultation before the planning application is submitted. Action: Kelly and Maria to work on basics of a community consultation process to bring back to meeting and to go to council.
i. What to do about the 470 High Street development – while it’s still going through the approvals process, workmen have been on-site undertaking preliminary works (are any developments fully stopped?) on an assessment of compaction. In mediation, last month, Action: Kelly to follow up with council planner on the mediation outcome.
j. 672 Plenty Road, revised plans adding a story making it 4 at front, 5 at back, Action: Mandy and neighbours will send new objections on the amended plans.
k. 153 Wood Street, Action: Craig to send objection to Maria for send to network. Done
l. C152 Meeting with planners report. 6 DADA folk meet on Friday the 3rd with Darren Rudd, Manager City Development, Greg Hughes, Principal Strategic Planner and Sophie Jordon, Strategic Planning, to discuss the changes in Amendment C152. They asked for our support by lobbying Richard Wynne and Robin Scott. Also asked to encourage DADA folk to do the council survey on the YourSay website. Agreed to meet with Robin Scott.
Action: Maria to draft and circulate a letter to the Planning Minister. Done Action: Keith to ask Robin for a meeting. Done. Meeting 7th of August 9.30am. Chris, Maria, Craig to attend. Letter can go to both in the meantime.
m. Discussion of lot consolidated sites over 1000 square metres or 1200 square metres. Also the interface is a concern that it isn’t integrated.
Action: Craig to ask D Rudd about footprint on consolidated blocks and the status of garage
2.New Business:
a. Meeting with Minister Richard Wynne. Maria took approx 20 letters and then rang Darren Rudd afterwards to give him feedback on the Ministers response to C152. Jack Roache from BRAG discussed stats. on VCAT members and found one made over 90% decisions in favor of the developers. Reply from the Minister’s office to Mandy’s emailed letter circulated and discussed Action: Mandy to reply in disgust to how condescending and deflective it is.
b. Meeting Robin Scott, He has already written to the Planning Minister to support C152. We agreed to discuss meeting with the planning minister, our disappointment with his reaction. We plan to talk to local issues as well. Ask Robin to ask the planning minister on our behalf to call in the Smorgies proposal. Give him the example of the 17 units planned for Murphy Grove and the problems with C137 and Plenty Road. Agreed to try and meet with other Fiona Richardson. Action: Keith to call Fiona Richardson’s office to ask for meeting.
c. C136, C137 and Heritage concerns. C136 and C137 back to council on Monday. Reply from Greg Hughes to Chris’s letter circulated. Action: DADA to write a letter of support for broader protection around stand alone heritage houses. Chris to send ideas to Maria. Action: Folk to attend meeting.
d. Residents from Northcote meeting with Council Planners. Action: Maria to meet with Kelly and bring back key points. Ask to include notification to at least all the neighbours within a 50 metre radius of the proposed site.
e. Mandy has volunteered to collect data on Councilor voting at Planning Committee meetings.
Categories will include Councilor name, application ward, developer name, legal rep, architects, planning officer name, planning officer recommendation and councilor vote. Discussed standing orders. Action: Craig to talk to Trent about the best way to get something like standing orders on all decisions so we can have more transparency on how councilors vote.
f. DADA Vague Objection List circulated for feedback.
Action: Maria to give feedback to keep objections general but send longer letters or objections to ward councilors. Action:Craig to send info on air-conditioner. Action: Maria to send Mandy a copy.
3.Council Report:
a. Still a City of Darebin Circus!!!
4.Other:
a. Craig attended a meeting on food security and pointed out it is at odds with the planning scheme.
5.Press:
a. Article in today’s business age. Downsizers to target leafy suburb. Not enough 3 bedroom apartments for local empty nesters. Implied that the only people buying 1 and 2’s are investors.
6. Objector Updates:
a. Smorgies developers, because of the price of construction, have decided to go back to VCAT to increase the number of units back to almost the original number. Action: Maria sent an example of a letter to ask the Minister to call in the application.
b. 672 Plenty Road, was rejected at Planning Committee. Dry cleaners on Plenty Road.
c. 13 Brown Street, demolished house, worried about asbestos. Also concern that work has started without planning permission. Action: Craig to ask council if they have a planning application and do they know the development has begun.
d. 112 Collins Street and 48 Murphy Grove tenants have vacated so expect demolish to start soon.
7. Planning Alerts:
a. Discussion about comments status as objections. Action: Meryl to test planning alerts by objecting and seeing if she is listed as an objector.
Next Meeting: 7.00pm, Tuesday, October 13th at 33 Dean Street, Preston