Urban and Land Use Planning Policy

The Greens will work towards returning democracy, clarity, sustainability and integrity to urban and land use planning


Our planning-system is currently complex, inefficient, and unaccountable. More transparency and accountability needs to be injected into our planning system with decision-making powers being returned to local Victorian communities.
When elected to the Victorian Parliament in 2010, The Greens will work towards implementing the following improvements to Victoria’s Planning system.


Democracy

International experience demonstrates that given the opportunity to genuinely participate in decision making, people are more likely to support difficult, yet critical, decisions, leading to a better city. The Greens will protect people’s right to a say in planning our cities and state by:

1. Opposing the government’s proposals to: allow developers to prepare private planning scheme amendments; create processes with no third party rights (code assessment).

2. Improving the Planning and Environment Act in line with the views of councils and submissions to the review process.

3. Maintaining third party rights for planning applications, reviewing where these have been removed and legislating for third party rights under the Heritage Act.

4. Ending ad hoc call-ins by the Planning Minister.

5. Funding councils to work with communities to identify sites for higher density residential developments.

6. Allowing councils and communities to set mandatory height limits and stronger provisions in Development Design Overlays.

7. Dissolving Development Assessment Committees and return decision making to councils and communities in these areas.


Clarity

Current planning laws are unclear and lacking in direction. They fail to protect environmental values, public open spaces, social equity and heritage. With community input, The Greens will provide certainty for residents and applicants by:

8. Turning local planning ‘guidelines’ (ResCode) into enforceable rules that are consistently applied to all buildings and enforced by Responsible Authorities and VCAT.

9. Strengthening ResCode for developments to improve environmental design and better protect neighbour’s amenity, internal liveability and accessibility including overshadowing, overlooking and private open space.

10. Implementing rules for developments over four storeys rather than current discretionary design guidelines.

11. Respecting Heritage including consulting with people on the recommendations from the 2007 Heritage Overlay Review.[1]


Sustainability

The Greens will build homes that use less energy, protect our environment and are affordable by:

12. Including environmental sustainable design priorities and standards for energy and water use for housing in the Planning and Environment Act.

13. Prioritising public transport, education facilities, walking and cycling paths for new developments.

14. Protecting green wedges and open space in urban areas for healthy living, protection of biodiversity and productive land.

15. Addressing housing affordability by investing in more social and public housing.[2]

16. Introducing minimum rental housing standards.


Integrity

Independence in planning is compromised when political parties receive donations from developers. The Greens will restore confidence in the planning system by:

17. The Greens will ban donations to political parties other than from individuals and these will be capped. All donations must be disclosed prior to an election.

18. Requiring responsible authorities to maintain records of all meetings, including pre-application meetings, with applicants, councils and residents


1 www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/.../Heritage_Review_Consultation_Paper.pdf
2 www.parliament.vic.gov.au/publications/...inquiry...public-housing...victoria/download