Notice Paper

Monday 28October2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Council Chamber, Stonnington City Centre

(enter off Glenferrie Road, Malvern)

RECONCILIATION STATEMENT

We acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional land of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people and offer our respects to the elders past and present. We recognise and respect the cultural heritage of this land.

PRAYER

Almighty God, we humbly beseech you, to grant your blessing on this Council, direct and prosper its deliberations to the advancement of your glory, and the true welfare of the people of the City of Stonnington. Amen.

NOTE

Council business is conducted in accordance with Part 4 Division 3 of the Meeting Procedure section of Council’s General Local Law 2008 (No 1). Some copies are available with the agenda or you can find a copy on Council’s website under local laws.

Council Meeting

Notice Paper

28October2013

Order of Business and Index

a)Reading of the Reconciliation Statement and Prayer;

b)Apologies;

c)Adoption and confirmation of minutes of previous meeting(s) in accordance with Section 63 of the Act and Clause 423 of General Local Law 2008 (No 1);

d)Disclosure by Councillors of any conflicts of interest in accordance with Section 79 of the Act[1]

e)Questions to Council from Members of the Public;

f)Correspondence – (only if related to council business);

g)Questions to Council Officers from Councillors;

h)Tabling of Petitions and Joint Letters;

i)Notices of Motion;

j)Reports of Special and Other Committees; - Assembly of Councillors

k)Reports by Delegates;

l)General Business;

1.Planning Applications......

1.1.Planning Application 0215/13 - 27 & 29 Nicholson Street, South Yarra – Construction Of Three Dwellings On Two Lots

1.2.Planning Application 0913/12 – 61 Kensington Road, 52 Rockley Road, 135 & 141 Alexandra Avenue, South Yarra – Demolition of buildings and construction of a new six level Residential Aged Care Facility with a new vehicle access and basement car park accessed from Alexandra Avenue

1.3.Planning Application 0858/12 - 373 - 375 Dandenong Road & 1 Denbigh Road - King David School Armadale – Demolition Of The Existing Building At 375 Dandenong Road, Construction Of A New Underground Car Park Comprising 49 Car Spaces And Construction And Use Of 1 Denbigh Road For A Kindergarten For A Total Of 350 Students Over Both Sites

1.4.Planning Application 0457/89 - 16 Hurry Place Prahran – Amendment to Planning Permit and Plans to Allow For the Removal of Obscure Glazing to East Facing Bathroom Window

1.5.Planning Application 0415/13 - 3 - 5 Cooinda Place Malvern East - Partial Demolition Of An Existing Child Care Centre In A Heritage Overlay And Car Parking Dispensation

2.Amendment C153: 590 orrong road / 4 osment street, armadale – consideration of panel report and Adoption

3.amendment c155 - yarra river skyline controls – consideration of recommendations of the planning panel and adoption of amendment

4.Annual Report 2012/13......

5.Local Government Electoral Review......

6.Access and Inclusion Plan 2014-2017......

7.Economic Development Strategy Implementation Year One......

8.Prahran RSL War Memorial......

9.Adventure playground – Plaque Approval......

10.Community Safety Camera Program Implementation Update......

m)Urgent Business; and

n)Confidential Business.

1.consideration of air rights over right of way between 607-613 dandenong road & 3-5 railway place, armadale………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Page 1

Adoption and Confirmation of Minutes

of Previous Meetings

28 october 2013

Recommendation

That the Council confirms the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Stonnington City Council held on 14 October 2013 and Minutes of the Confidential Meeting of the Stonnington City Council held on 14 October 2013 as an accurate record of the proceedings.

Page 1

General Business

28 october 2013

1.Planning Applications

1.1.Planning Application 0215/13 - 27 & 29 Nicholson Street, South Yarra–Construction Of Three Dwellings On Two Lots

(Statutory Planning Manager: Alexandra Kastaniotis)

(General Manager: Stuart Draffin)

PURPOSE

For Council to consider a planning application for the construction of a multi-dwelling development in a Residential 1 Zone and a Special Building Overlay

Executive Summary

Applicant: / Gillian Hund
Ward: / NORTH
Zone: / Residential 1 Zone
Overlay: / Special Building Overlay
Date lodged: / 16/04/2013
Statutory days: / 68
Trigger for referral to Council: / Objections from seven or more properties
Number of objections: / 12
Consultative Meeting: / Yes (13 August 2013)
Officer Recommendation: / Issue a Notice of Decision to Grant a Planning Permit

BACKGROUND

The Proposal

The plans that form part of the basis of Council's consideration were prepared by Oakholm Architecture and are those which were formally substituted for the application plans following public notification. Specifically, the drawings, which sought to respond to the grounds for objection raised by residents, are “Issue D” and dated 18 August 2013 (Council date stamped 19 August 2013).

Council has been asked to consider a proposal to construct three dwellings on two lots at 27-29 Nicholson Street, South Yarra. The key features of this proposal are summarised below.

  • The dwellings are laid out in townhouse form, and with generally matching floor plans.
  • The ground floor of each dwelling will comprise a garage fronting Nicholson Street, a central kitchen and north facing dining and lounge room opening onto areas of secluded and private open space, which are all at least 27 sqm in size, with a minimum dimension of 5 metres.
  • The first floor of each dwelling contains three bedrooms along with two bathrooms. Small decks are attached to some of the bedrooms.
  • The building is built side-boundary to side-boundary, although the first floor of the western most dwelling (Dwelling 1) employs a 1 metre setback and a sloping roofline to respond to the conditions on the abutting property (25 Nicholson Street). Dwelling 1 also contains a light well adjoining a matching light well at the abutting property.
  • Clerestory windows are located above the central bedrooms in each dwelling and skylights illuminate each dwelling’s stair. Smaller skylights are sited above the first floor bedrooms.
  • The dwellings rely on the construction of two further crossovers and the removal of all existing trees. Space is provided outside each garage to accommodate a second car park for each dwelling.
  • The dwellings are of modern design and principally will be finished with white rendered walls. Individual entry doors will be painted a primary colour. The sloping roof on the western side will be zincalum profiled metal
  • The building will be a maximum height of approximately 7.875 metres and it will occupy around 65% of the site.

Site and Surrounds

The site is located on the north side of Nicholson Street, approximately 158 metres east of Punt Road. The subject site comprises two allotments, with a combined frontage of 15.32 metres, and a consistent depth of 32.8 metres (it has a total site area of around 502.5 sqm).

The site is currently developed with two, detached, Victorian cottages. No. 27 (on the west side) looks to be in mostly original condition however, No. 29 has had its front verandah removed and facade rendered. Both sites accommodate some established trees. There is a Flowering Gum and a Trident Maple in the rear of No. 27 and a Box Elder in the frontage of No. 29. Both of these trees are proposed to be removed. There is also an established street tree within the frontage of No. 29.

Only No. 29 currently accommodates on site car parking, within a paved apron in front of the dwelling. This dwelling is setback around 2 metres from the east boundary, while No. 27 is setback by around 1.1 metres from its west boundary. The existing dwellings are setback by 4.3 metres (No. 27) and 5.2 metres (No. 29) from Nicholson Street respectively.

Nicholson Street is a narrow residential street with parking on both sides of a single carriageway. It contains development of numerous eras, and it appears that original cottages, such as those which exist at the subject site, are increasingly giving way to more modern dwellings. The subdivision pattern exhibiting narrow frontages lends itself to townhouses, which are emerging as the prevailing housing typology.

The site has two side neighbours and a further two properties abut it to the north. These neighbours are described below.

25 Nicholson Street is located immediately west of the subject site and contains a recently constructed townhouse. This development presents a projecting first floor box element to the street, setback 4.275 metres from the street. The dwelling’s ground floor frontage comprises a garage (setback 5.5 metres from Nicholson Street) with a recessed entry. The dwelling is constructed hard up against the common boundary for its length with the exception of a central patio which illuminates a kitchen and provides secondary light to a north facing living room. At the first floor the dwelling is setback by around 1.5 metres from the common boundary and this setback provides light and ventilation for a central bedroom, as well as skylights over the dwelling’s stairs. There is an area of private and secluded open space at the rear of the dwelling. The dwelling has a maximum height of 6.54 metres.

31 Nicolson Street is located immediately east of the subject site and is currently vacant. A current planning permit application is before the Council (P291/13) seeking to develop this parcel of land with a double storey townhouse. The townhouse has been designed in consideration of this proposal and accordingly, it proposes to build hard up against the common boundary with the exception of a central, narrow (900 mm wide) light court which serves the proposed dwelling’s stairs.

The proposed dwelling at 31 Nicholson Street is setback from Nicholson Street by 6.4 metres and open car parking is proposed within this area. Secluded private open space is at the rear, and includes a raised swimming pool.

This application has been advertised (one joint objection was received generally from the same parties objecting to the subject application) and a decision is pending.

At the rear the subject site abuts 26 and 28 Fawkner Street, the majority of the boundary is occupied by the latter, which is a relatively large dwelling with a generous garden forming the immediate interface. 26 Fawkner Street is a smaller property and the immediate interface is also to a garden which in this case is quite heavily vegetated. The relevant dwellings are located at least 10 metres from the common boundary. These properties are subject to Heritage Overlay131 (Fawkner Street / Davis Avenue Precinct South Yarra).

Previous Planning Application(s)

A search of Council records indicates that neither of the two sites have any relevant planning history.

The Title

The land is formally described as follows:

Lot 1 on Title Plan 907532W and

Lot 1 on Title Plan 825017U

No easements, covenants or other restriction affects either title.

Planning Controls

The following controls/permit triggers are considerations for this application:

Zone

Clause 32.01 - Residential 1 Zone

Pursuant to Clause 32.01-4 a permit is required to construct or extend two or more dwellings on a lot.

Overlay

Clause 44.05 – Special Building Overlay

Pursuant to Clause 44.05-1 a permit is required to construct or carry out works within land subject to the Special Building Overlay. The SBO partially affects the front of both properties.

Relevant Planning Policies

The following clauses of the Stonnington Planning Scheme are relevant to this application:

  • Clause 15 Built Environment
  • Clause 16 Housing
  • Clause 21.03 Housing
  • Clause 22.02 Urban Design
  • Clause 22.06 Residential Character, Amenity and Interface Policy
  • Clause 32.01 Residential 1 Zone
  • Clause 52.06 Car Parking
  • Clause 55 Two or More Dwellings on a Lot and Residential Buildings
  • Clause 65 Decision Guidelines

Advertising

The application has been advertised pursuant to Section 52 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 by sending notices to the owners and occupiers of adjoining land. The public notification of the application has been completed satisfactorily.

The site is located in North Ward and objections from twelve (12) different properties have been received.

The concerns raised can be summarised as follows:

  • Insufficient car parking provided on the site, which does not comply with Clause 52.06
  • The new crossovers will reduce on street parking
  • Carparking should be underground
  • Site more appropriate for a two dwelling development
  • Length and height of walls on boundaries is excessive
  • Insufficient landscaping within the front and rear of the site
  • Excessive height, more than usual for two storey development
  • The development is visually bulky and will dwarf adjoining development
  • The front fence is excessively tall, visually impermeable and out of character
  • Fails to respect the neighbourhood character due to its overly dominant built form
  • Excessive site coverage fails to meet Standard B8 Site Coverage of Clause
  • Excessive frontage given over to crossovers fails to meet Standard B14 Access of Clause 55
  • Upper floor should be recessive when viewed from Nicholson Street
  • A softer palette of materials is required to reduce the overall bulk
  • Removal of tree in front of No. 29 inappropriate

A Consultative Meeting was held on 13 August 2013. The meeting was attended by all North Ward

Councillors, representatives of the applicant, objectors and a Council planning officer.

As a consequence of the issues raised by objectors during public notification and at the consultative meeting, the permit applicant amended the application plans in the following ways:

  • Ground floor front and rear setbacks and first floor rear setbacks all increased by around an average of 100 mm to each dwelling.
  • First floor front setbacks increased from 5.032 to 6.0 metres (Dwelling 1), from 4.192 to 5.2 metres (Dwelling 2) and from 4.192 to 6.0 metres (Dwelling 3) (with encroaching decks)
  • Front parapet height reduced by between 410 mm and 760 mm.
  • Lowering of roof ridge by up to 800 mm and its apex relocated further north (away from Nicholson Street).
  • Each dwelling’s front room converted into a garage, to provide two car parking spaces per dwelling on the site to accord with Clause 52.06 Car Parking. Glazing retained on external garage door.
  • Alterations of fenestrations to achieve a more domestic appearance.
  • Solar hot water collectors relocated to a less prominent location.
  • West boundary wall reduced in height to 3 metres.
  • Dwelling 1 entry recessed to reduce the wall length on the western boundary to align with similarly constructed adjoining wall.

Plans amended as described above were formally substituted for the application plans and now form the basis of Council’s decision.

Referrals

Parks

  • Agree to the removal of the Flowering Gum at the rear of No. 27. The tree has poor structure and large areas of decay.
  • Agree to the removal of the Trident Maple at the rear of No. 27. Although of good structure this tree appears to be in declining health potentially due to buildings works within 25 Nicholson Street (note: a Tree Management Plan was submitted and endorsed by Council as a condition upon Planning Permit 935/08 and which sought to protect this particular tree).
  • Agree to the removal of the Box Elder in the front of No. 29. The tree is a woody weed and has major decay pockets.
  • Proposed offsets from the street tree are okay for the species (Prickly Paperbark).
  • Changes suggested to the proposed Landscape Plan as follows:
  • The Acer palmatum should be substituted for a more appropriate species that would ultimately form a canopy outside the vehicle with minimal uplift pruning (suggest 75l stock of Lagerstroemia x faurei ‘Tuscarora’ or ‘Natchez’, Ulmus parviflolia ‘Burnley Select’ or ‘Todd’ or Koelruteria paniculata).
  • Canopy tree replacement must occur in the rear setback.

Infrastructure

  • The minimum floor level is to be 12.41 m AHD (200 mm above the flood level) meaning the development complies.
  • Please include a condition requiring a legal point of discharge.
  • As always we encourage the installation of water tanks.
  • Please also place a condition confirming the footpath levels at the property line will not be lowered or altered in any way.

Transport and Parking Unit

The Transport and Parking Unit reviewed this application prior to the substitution of plans and the inclusion of one additional parking space per dwelling. It was there view that one car parking space per dwelling was acceptable while noting that it did not comply with Clause 52.06 of the Stonnington Planning Scheme.

The Transport and Parking Unit required minor design changes and conditions as follows:

  • Council’s Vehicle Crossing Policy states that a crossing will only be permitted where the parking space within a property has a minimum length of 5.4 metres.
  • The gradient of parking areas should be annotated.
  • Longitudinal sections should be provided from the far side of the footpath to the parking area to ensure scraping will not occur at the property line.
  • Sight distance triangles should be achieved at access points.
  • The proposed crossovers take up approximately 55% of the frontage which is more than the 33% suggested by Council’s Vehicle Crossing Policy.
  • The splays and crossing widths need to be clearly detailed on the plans, along with any service or other infrastructure which may be located within the abutting footpath.

KEY ISSUES

This application involves a fairly typical townhouse-style development within an area where this typology is emerging as the prevailing housing style. Increasingly, traditional Victorian cottages prove unsuitable for modern living, and in areas outside the heritage overlay, Council is regularly observing this type of application. The application may vary somewhat from the norm in that it seeks to provide three houses across two lots yet in principal there is nothing wrong with this proposition. To the contrary the provision of smaller, easily maintained dwellings is completely consistent with the thrust of urban consolidation and housing policy as set out in the Planning Scheme. It cannot be said that providing three houses on around 500 sqm of land is excessive as density alone is not the test as to an appropriate development. In this case, the means of assessing the appropriateness of an application is spelt out at Clause 55 (Two or more dwellings on a lot and residential buildings or “Rescode”) of the Planning Scheme. The objectives and standards of Rescode generally seek to ensure that a development adequately respects the neighbourhood character, provides for reasonable standards of amenity for existing residents and achieves an adequate provision of on-site amenity. The proposed development is considered against these three key outcomes below. Relevant objectives and standards of Clause 55 are referred to where appropriate.