Page 1 of 133 PLANNING COMMITTEE REPORT Agenda Item 5.2 1 August 2006 MARIBYRNONG RIVER VALLEY VISION AND DESIGN GUIDELINES Division Sustainability & Innovation Presenter Jodie Harris, Acting Manager City Strategy Purpose 1. To: 1.1. seek in-principle endorsement of the draft Maribyrnong River Valley Vision and Design Guidelines, April 2006, as at Attachment 1, subject to the resolution of certain issues outlined in this report; and 1.2. inform the Committee of key submissions received as a result of the public exhibition of the document. Recommendation from Management 2. That the Planning Committee: 2.1. endorse, in-principle , the draft Maribyrnong River Valley Vision and Design Guidelines subject to resolution of the following issues, to the satisfaction of the Acting Manager City Strategy: 2.1.1. clarification of the extent of land that will be subject to the Environmental Significance and Floodway Overlays and associated planning permit triggers; 2.1.2. identification of affected City of Melbourne land and the potential costs of acquisition arising from the modification of the existing Public Acquisition Overlay to require a continuous 15m public access/open space corridor along the Maribyrnong River; 2.1.3. modification of the ‘strips of activity nodes’ along the river corridor from Hobsons Road to Dynon Road, to be replaced with a small ‘area of activity’ for the site at 1- 89 Hobsons Road; 2.1.4. revision and refinement of the river character statements, including provisions which allow landscape screening of industrial uses adjacent to the river; and 2.1.5. agreement on the resourcing required for the proposed Maribyrnong River Coordinating Committee; Page 2 of 133 2.2. advise the Department of Sustainability and Environment of Council’s in-principle endorsement of the Guidelines, subject to resolution of the issues outlined above; and 2.3. support the preparation of a draft Planning Scheme Amendment, subject to resolution of 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 above, which comprises an Environmental Significance Overlay, Floodway Overlay and new Public Acquisition Overlay. The draft Amendment is to be developed in consultation with affected landowners. Key Issues 3. The draft Maribyrnong Valley Vision and Urban Design Guidelines is a document prepared by the State Government which contains a vision, broad objectives and strategies for the entire Maribyrnong River valley from the Port of Melbourne to the Organ Pipes National Park. 4. The area of the City of Melbourne addressed by the Guidelines is the river corridor adjacent to Flemington Racecourse, Riverside Park; Business zoned land along Hobsons Road, and the industrial land fronting the River between the rail bridge, Dynon Road, Sims Street and Footscray Road. 5. The draft Guidelines were completed in April 2006 and released by the Minister for Planning for public consultation purposes until the end of May 2006. 6. The draft Guidelines recommend the following actions which have implications for land within the City of Melbourne: 6.1. that Councils and agencies commit to ongoing coordination along the Maribyrnong River and agree to a joint investigation of the potential for a formal Maribyrnong River Coordinating Committee; 6.2. that a Planning Scheme Amendment be prepared to rationalise the existing planning provisions along the river by an Environmental Significance Overlay (“ESO”) based on the design guidelines. The ESO would be applied to all areas of biological, habitat or landscape significance; 6.3. that certain areas (where the depth of flooding exceeds one metre in a 1 in 100 year flood event) covered by the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (“LSIO”) are now to be covered with a Floodway Overlay (“FO”), which will prohibit further subdivision; 6.4. that changes to the Council’s Municipal Strategic Statement (“MSS”) are to be made to support cooperative planning along the river; 6.5. a 15 metre corridor of open space along the river, a provision which has been supported by Council’s open space planners; and 6.6. guidance on the location and orientation of buildings (including the visibility and screening of buildings), heights and setbacks of buildings from the river, and access points to it, the location of vehicle access and roads, filling of land and landscaping works. 7. Whilst the vision and principles of the Guidelines are supported by Council officers, some of the above matters require further work and resolution before the Guidelines are able to be finalised and adopted by the State Government and partner Councils, as outlined below. It is also noted that for land administered by the Port of Melbourne Corporation, the above requirements are not proposed in the draft Guidelines. 2 Page 3 of 133 Environmental Significance Overlay 8. The Guidelines recommend applying a common ESO to the length of the River based on the design objectives and guidelines set out in the document. Different design standards would apply to the different lengths of river, depending on the preferred character, as further outlined below. 9. The exact extent of the ESO has not been determined and it is unclear where it would apply to public and private land along the River. The Guidelines recommend applying the ESO to: “all areas of biological, habitat or landscape significance on private land abutting the river and on private land adjacent to public land where development has the potential to impact on significant habitat or the landscape quality of the river valley and on riverside public land where appropriate”. 10. Land in the City of Melbourne located along the Maribyrnong River is generally within the Business 3 Zone, Industrial 1 Zone or Public Park and Recreation Zone and affected by the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (“LSIO”). Planning permits are required for buildings and works (with some exceptions) under the zones and also through the LSIO. 11. The proposed ESO would entail additional requirements on development. However given the provisions of the ESO have yet to be developed, its precise impacts are difficult to assess. ESOs applied to other waterways across Melbourne including the Yarra River, Merri Creek and Darebin Creek; vary considerably as they are tailor-made for each circumstance. 12. The ESO can be used to control the construction of buildings and works as well as the removal, lopping or destruction of vegetation, but cannot require a permit for subdivision. In the case of the Maribyrnong River it is unclear whether a permit would be required to remove, destroy, or lop vegetation, however, ESOs usually include exemptions such as the removal of non-indigenous plants or trees of less than a specified circumference. In most cases, works by the public land manager (such as Council) are also exempt from requiring a planning permit. 13. The ESO would also include performance standards to manage built form impacts on the river corridor, including controls on the siting, scale and massing of development. The proposed height and setback controls could cause additional constraints to development on narrow sites fronting the river. The performance standards would seek to ensure that development improves natural surveillance, general safety and public accessibility of public space, enhances the vegetated river corridor and waterway quality and guides earthworks. 14. The full extent of the area to be subject to an ESO and the associated planning permit triggers need to be determined by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (“DSE”) to Council’s satisfaction, with appropriate consultation with affected landowners once this area is known. The development of any such Overlay would be subject to the normal process of preparing a Planning Scheme Amendment, with formal consultation and review by Planning Panels Victoria. Floodway Overlay 15. The Guidelines provide for an adequate floodplain capacity to carry floodwaters and minimise any damage. There are existing controls already in the Planning Scheme that require permits for buildings and works within flood prone areas through the LSIO. 3 Page 4 of 133 16. Melbourne Water recommends use of a FO for areas where flood depths are more than 1m in a 1:100 year event (that is, areas that are severely affected by flooding), instead of a LSIO. The Guidelines recommend that for these areas a FO be developed and applied. The main purpose for a FO is transparency, so that land owners and developers are aware of the severe flooding constraint and any further subdivision wholly within a FO is prohibited. However it is unclear where the FO would apply. 17. The LSIO and FO both trigger planning permits for buildings and works, including fences and roadwork and subdivision. The Overlays provide for exemptions such as flood mitigation works and other infrastructure. All applications are referred to the floodplain management authority. However the main difference is that under the FO, the creation of new lots (that are located entirely within the overlay) is prohibited. Exceptions include land which will be transferred to the floodplain authority or if a floodplain development plan is incorporated into the Planning Scheme. 18. If the FO applied to private land in the City of Melbourne, landowners will be unable to further subdivide their land. This would have significant impacts on land such as the site at 1-89 Hobsons Road and other industrial land. 19. As in the case of the ESO, the full extent of the FO area should be established by DSE and this should be consulted on before Council formally adopts the final Guidelines. Urban development and nodes of activity 20. The draft Guidelines identify parts of the river frontage between Hobsons Road and Dynon Road as possible sites for ‘intensive urban development’. This means intensive mixed use activity along the river and the guidelines specifically mention opportunities for “cafes, pubs, retail outlets, recreation facilities and boat clubs” in this regard.