Planning movement
By Bert van Bedaf
A MAJOR planning breakthrough could be the result of a recent meeting between South Gippsland shire council staff and councillors and State Planning Minister Justin Madden over the debilitating C48 Amendment.
About 200 local land owners could benefit from the February 4 meeting, allowing them to build on their small blocks.
Delegate members included Mayor Jim Fawcett, Cr Warren Raabe, council chief executive Tim Tamlin and planning manager Chris Wightman.
In force since last May, C48 prohibits house construction and subdivisions on lots less than 40ha in the farming zone, which has caused substantial financial hardship to many people in the shire.
Delegates put a number of proposals to Minister Madden, which may result in the approval of a large number of small block building permits and the eventual lifting of C48. It would restore hundreds of thousands of dollars to the value of land, which was rendered virtually valueless because of the amendment.
“If we get the proposals through as presented, the breakthrough will be that they should resolve a lot of hardship for people,” Mr Tamlin said.
“A lot of land will be affected. People sitting on an acre or two with development all around them, who are now not allowed to get a building permit (under the C48 rules), will be able to get a permit, if the Minister goes with the proposal. It affects about 200 people, which is exciting stuff.”
Although a lot of detail will need to be worked through between the State Department of Planning and Economic Development and council’s Planning Department before C48 can be lifted, Mr Tamlin is optimistic this will happen in due course.
“I believe it will be lifted. We need to work out more details with the Minister. His office and our staff need to confirm the policy documents.”
The core points are that the Minister does not want any further erosion of rural land in the farming zone. “He does not want farming land turned into residential land,” Mr Tamlin said.
Cr Raabe was not as optimistic, saying he did not want to rush to conclusions and raise people’s hopes unnecessarily.
He said the Minister spoke in “generalities” and he believed the eventual outcome would see council’s planning to be in line with the State Planning Scheme, endorsing the 40ha default. However, lifting C48 would restore some discretionary powers to council.
“The State Planning Scheme will be applied and anything below 40ha will need to demonstrate an agricultural outcome,” Cr Raabe said.
He said council needed to finalise its rural land use strategy and negotiate a positive outcome with the Minister, “hopefully before June”.
A major sticking point is the difference in interpretations as to what constitutes the need for a dwelling in the farming zone. “Our interpretation differs from the Minister and we need to resolve, and come to an agreement, how to interpret the need for a dwelling. People coming down for a hobby farm need the flexibility of having a dwelling associated with it. They need to have the opportunity to live in the country,” Cr Raabe said.
Cr Fawcett believed it had been “an extremely positive meeting”.
“We were given ample opportunity to present our case and Minister Madden has given his “in principle” support to a process to address the urgent matter of clarifying subdivision provisions and dwellings in rural areas leading to the finalisation of the Rural (Land Use) Strategy.
“The first step in the process will be for council to work closely with State Government officers to develop policies that will enable an equitable resolution to the complex issue of dwelling development and subdivision of land in rural areas,” Cr Fawcett said.
“This should achieve outcomes that address local circumstances and reflect State policy,” the mayor said. “We are optimistic there will be a positive resolution for many
landowners.
“However it’s unrealistic to think that the local planning approach will return to its former state and that all individual issues will be resolved satisfactorily. We envisage a workable compromise and will seek to address hardship issues.”
He said once the key issues surrounding dwellings in rural zones had been addressed, “the way will be paved to progress the second step of finalising the Rural (Land Use) Strategy to provide a long term vision for the shire”.
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