Coronet Bay Design and development Overlay. The pink section comes under the overlay, meaning a height limit of seven metres without a permit. The rest of the township falls under Rescode, which allows a height limit of nine metres, or 10 metres on a sloping block. A three-storey development in a one-storey township has residents crying foul, writes Veronica Dowman.
IN November 2013, against the wishes of the Coronet Bay Ratepayers & Residents Association and nine objectors, Bass Coast Shire councillors unanimously approved an application for a three-storey development 65 metres from the Coronet Bay foreshore.
The development, on two small parcels of adjoining commercial land (118.15 square metres each), comprises two ground-floor shops and two double-storey apartments above the shops joined by a party wall.
The third storey comprises an “observatory” with a full bathroom, surrounded by a large balcony with multiple access points. The building is 9.4 metres high.
Coronet Bay is a small coastal town with a population of 710, with all but one dwelling and existing buildings within the town at either one or two storeys. This built form is typical of the character of small coastal towns within the shire.
The Coronet Bay Ratepayers & Residents Association believes the third storey of this proposal is not in character, sensitive or responsive to the coastal character of the settlement. The association has engaged a consultant to represent us at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on July 27. The VCAT member will visit Coronet Bay and then make his determination.
The residential land surrounding this small commercial precinct has a Design and Development Overlay that restricts residential development near the coast to seven metres without a permit. Unfortunately, the commercial land in the same coastal location is not covered by the overlay and has no height limit controls.
Further, most residential land in Coronet Bay is not covered by the overlay. It comes under Rescode, which allows for a nine-metre building height or 10 metres on sloping land.
This is a wider issue than Coronet Bay. Most residential land in the shire’s small coastal townships or land zoned commercial is not covered by design and development overlays. The council has been approving three-storey, higher development in a number of our small coastal townships, against the wishes of residents, mainly due to the lack of adequate planning controls.
Residents associations in Coronet Bay, Corinella and Tenby Point believe we need to unite with other small coastal townships to try to introduce appropriate planning controls to encourage the character of development most residents want. We're inviting the other 11 small Bass Coast townships (Pioneer Bay, Kilcunda, Cape Paterson, Harmers Haven, Rhyll, Ventnor, Smiths Beach, Sunset Strip, Sunderland Bay, Cape Woolamai and Newhaven) to join us to lobby the council to introduce controls to limit the height of development.
We also believe we need professional help to prepare a case to present to councillors. A professionally developed paper will have the authority of planning knowledge and terminology.
It’s unlikely the council will agree to implement changes to just a few townships as they and the State Government require a strategic, not ad hoc, evidence-based approach. A paper presented and backed by all the small townships should demonstrate a strong and united position held by residents across the Shire.
Residents concerned that limiting development to seven metres without a permit will result in the expansion of our coastal township boundaries, encourage strip development along the coast and eat into our valuable agricultural land can be reassured: in 2011 the council completed its land use strategic planning which allows for some 10,000 development blocks across the shire – enough land for 20-30 years of growth.
Further, Plan Melbourne states:
Smaller towns in the peri-urban and regional areas also offer the opportunity for an attractive country lifestyle. Attracting more growth to some of these strategic towns will not just take pressure off Melbourne, but also attract greater provision of services to these towns as populations grow. Development in and around these towns should not be an imitation of Melbourne’s growth areas, but should offer a less crowded, lower-density housing product, with larger housing lots that will particularly cater for families.
Height and other types of planning controls, such as guidelines on attics and roof decks, will provide more certainty to both planners and developers when considering appropriate development in these towns. It will help maintain the character of our small coastal townships, which residents have been striving to achieve for many years and which visitors love.
For further information, email [email protected] or phone 0402 168 161.
Veronica Dowman is a former Bass Coast councillor and mayor.
The development, on two small parcels of adjoining commercial land (118.15 square metres each), comprises two ground-floor shops and two double-storey apartments above the shops joined by a party wall.
The third storey comprises an “observatory” with a full bathroom, surrounded by a large balcony with multiple access points. The building is 9.4 metres high.
Coronet Bay is a small coastal town with a population of 710, with all but one dwelling and existing buildings within the town at either one or two storeys. This built form is typical of the character of small coastal towns within the shire.
The Coronet Bay Ratepayers & Residents Association believes the third storey of this proposal is not in character, sensitive or responsive to the coastal character of the settlement. The association has engaged a consultant to represent us at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on July 27. The VCAT member will visit Coronet Bay and then make his determination.
The residential land surrounding this small commercial precinct has a Design and Development Overlay that restricts residential development near the coast to seven metres without a permit. Unfortunately, the commercial land in the same coastal location is not covered by the overlay and has no height limit controls.
Further, most residential land in Coronet Bay is not covered by the overlay. It comes under Rescode, which allows for a nine-metre building height or 10 metres on sloping land.
This is a wider issue than Coronet Bay. Most residential land in the shire’s small coastal townships or land zoned commercial is not covered by design and development overlays. The council has been approving three-storey, higher development in a number of our small coastal townships, against the wishes of residents, mainly due to the lack of adequate planning controls.
Residents associations in Coronet Bay, Corinella and Tenby Point believe we need to unite with other small coastal townships to try to introduce appropriate planning controls to encourage the character of development most residents want. We're inviting the other 11 small Bass Coast townships (Pioneer Bay, Kilcunda, Cape Paterson, Harmers Haven, Rhyll, Ventnor, Smiths Beach, Sunset Strip, Sunderland Bay, Cape Woolamai and Newhaven) to join us to lobby the council to introduce controls to limit the height of development.
We also believe we need professional help to prepare a case to present to councillors. A professionally developed paper will have the authority of planning knowledge and terminology.
It’s unlikely the council will agree to implement changes to just a few townships as they and the State Government require a strategic, not ad hoc, evidence-based approach. A paper presented and backed by all the small townships should demonstrate a strong and united position held by residents across the Shire.
Residents concerned that limiting development to seven metres without a permit will result in the expansion of our coastal township boundaries, encourage strip development along the coast and eat into our valuable agricultural land can be reassured: in 2011 the council completed its land use strategic planning which allows for some 10,000 development blocks across the shire – enough land for 20-30 years of growth.
Further, Plan Melbourne states:
Smaller towns in the peri-urban and regional areas also offer the opportunity for an attractive country lifestyle. Attracting more growth to some of these strategic towns will not just take pressure off Melbourne, but also attract greater provision of services to these towns as populations grow. Development in and around these towns should not be an imitation of Melbourne’s growth areas, but should offer a less crowded, lower-density housing product, with larger housing lots that will particularly cater for families.
Height and other types of planning controls, such as guidelines on attics and roof decks, will provide more certainty to both planners and developers when considering appropriate development in these towns. It will help maintain the character of our small coastal townships, which residents have been striving to achieve for many years and which visitors love.
For further information, email [email protected] or phone 0402 168 161.
Veronica Dowman is a former Bass Coast councillor and mayor.