Agenda papers

 

The agenda for the coming Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, 25 February 2014 is now available here.  The meeting begins at 7.30 pm at the Monash Civic Centre at 293 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley.  The meeting is open to the public.

Key reports to be considered by Council at the meeting are summarised below.

 

Community Development and Services:

 

• An evaluation report on the Strengthening Clayton & Clarinda Project.
• A report proposing conditions on which Council will support clubs that have accepted a licence for the revised National Premier League Victoria (soccer).

 

Infrastructure:

 

• A report containing a mid-year review of Council’s 2013/14 Capital Works Program together with relevant recommendations.
• A recommendation to award a contract to Parkinson Group (Aust) Pty Ltd to undertake the reconstruction of Atherton Road, Oakleigh between Huntingdale Road to Clyde Street for the lump sum of $2,303,205.30.

 

City Development:

 

• A recommendation to refuse to grant a planning permit for a two storey apartment building  with 12 dwellings and basement car parking at 8 Railway Parade North, Glen Waverley.
• A recommendation to refuse to grant a planning permit for a three storey apartment building comprising 12 dwellings and basement car parking at 124 Clayton Road, Clayton.
• A recommendation to grant a planning permit three storey apartment building comprising 20 dwellings with basement car parking at 1451-1453 Centre Road, Clayton.

 

Committee Reports:

 

• A recommendation from Council’s Audit & Risk Committee that Council extends independent member Michael Ulbrick’s tenure for a further three years to 30 June 2017 and commence the Expression of Interest  process to recruit a new Independent Chair and, if required, a new Independent Member.
• A recommendation from the Monash Gallery of Art Committee of Management that Council accept the resignation of Bill Bowness from the Committee and that his significant contribution to the Gallery over many years be recognised.
• A recommendation to appoint 12 community representatives to Council’s Environmental Advisory Committee for a period of two years.

 

Notices of Motion:

 

• A recommendation that Council provide funding or hall hire to Mulgrave Football Club, Glendal Primary School, the Oakleigh Centre and Down Syndrome Victora.
• A report submitted by me relating to a recent decision by the Minister for Planning to rezone five vacant former school sites in Monash

 

My comments

 

Public question time

 

There are a number of questions which have been received for public question time – most of which relate to Council’s decision at the previous meeting to proceed with a sale of the residential aged care facilities to Royal Freemasons.

It is expected that all of these questions will be completed within the 20 minutes allotted by our Local Law governing meeting procedures for public question time.

 

Five vacant former school sites

 

Council recently has received correspondence from the Minister for Planning advising that he has approved Amendment GC05 to the Monash Planning Scheme.  Amendment GC05 affects five vacant schools sites across
the municipality:

• the former Brandon Park Secondary College at 6-30 Brandon Park Drive, Wheelers Hill;
• the former Monash Special Development School at 1 Renver Road, Clayton;
• the former Clayton Primary School at 29 Browns Road, Clayton;
• the former Clayton West Primary School at 10 Alvina Street, Oakleigh South; and
• the former Oakleigh South Primary School at 1 Beryl Avenue, Oakleigh South.

Council had submitted to the Minister that the Development Plan Overlay (DPO) should not be applied because it does not provide residents with third party VCAT appeal rights.  Council argued at the Advisory Committee that “many Planning Panel reports have long held the notion that the use of a DPO must be careful not to lock out third party rights unless they have had a fair opportunity to have input into not just abstract development principles but rather a development concept for the subject land”. It is notable that four of the sites have had no basic concept plans prepared to date.

Council is very concerned that planning appeal rights have been removed by the Minister.  Residents cannot lodge an appeal to VCAT regarding a decision to approve a Development Plan.  Residents have no legal standing in any VCAT process including one where an applicant/owner of one of the sites may appeal a decision by Council regarding a Development Plan to VCAT.

My report recommends that Council correct the false public statements made by the Minister for Planning in respect of the effect of the Overlay on residents’ appeal rights and to communicate the impacts of the Minister’s decision to affected residents.