Maribyrnong River Valley Vision and Design Guidelines April 2006 Consultant Report to the Maribyrnong River Valley Project Steering Committee Consultants: IUM – Lester Townsend, Pia Herbert David Mayes Urban Design Project team The Project Steering Committee: City of Maribyrnong Jules Griffith and Robin Dunstone City of Moonee Valley Simon Cotterill/Rebecca Jenkins City of Melbourne Cletus Kweifio-Okai City of Brimbank Michael Mielczarek City of Hume Kim Giaquinta Dept. Sustainability & Environment Sue Hadden (Flora and Fauna) Dept. Sustainability & Environment Rhonda Boyle (Melbourne 2030) Parks Victoria Paul Dartnell Melbourne Water Peter Rankin The project consultant team: IUM – Lester Townsend & Pia Herbert David Mayes Urban Design – David Mayes Key stakeholders consulted: Port of Melbourne Corporation Port Phillip and Westernport VicUrban Catchment Management Authority Heritage Victoria Local and peak interest groups Environment Protection Authority including Friends groups, Victoria Environment Victoria, Green Department of Victorian Wedge Coalition, Bicycle Victoria Communities Recreational and boating clubs Tourism Victoria Commonwealth Dept of Defence Department of Infrastructure Melbourne Airport VicRoads Major developers with an interest in the study area. Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, April 2006 © The State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2006 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. Printed by Documents On Call, Footscray ISBN 1 74152 453 9 For more information contact the DSE Customer Service Centre 136 186 Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Page ii SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW WELCOME! This report has been produced for consultation purposes and it should not be assumed that the content necessarily reflects the views of the Minister for Planning, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water or relevant municipalities. The Maribyrnong River Valley Project Steering Committee is keen to receive submissions addressing any of the following issues: o The extent to which the proposed vision, objectives and strategies reflect previous strategic work including former concept plans, current policies (such as Melbourne 2030 and the draft River Health Strategy) in addition to stakeholder input during the project. o Whether the proposed design objectives and guidelines adequately reflect the vision and broad objectives. o The suggested priorities for strengthening planning controls. o Suggestions as to how the proposed design objectives and guidelines could be translated into planning scheme provisions – including fine-tuning of performance standards, and whether performance criteria should be mandatory or subject to discretion. o Priorities for acquiring open space or negotiating access to the river. o Any of the recommendations. o Suggestions for improved mechanisms for State and local government to work together on issues affecting the Maribyrnong River, in consultation with key stakeholders and the community. Submissions will be collated by DSE and copies provided to the relevant councils, Parks Victoria and Melbourne Water, plus other Government agencies where appropriate. Outcomes of the consultation will be reported back to stakeholders. DSE will continue to work with the councils and agencies to come up with final agreed recommendations and will support implementation, including the preparation of future planning scheme amendments. Submissions should be posted, faxed or emailed by Wednesday 31 May 2006 to: Rhonda Boyle Project Manager, Urban Management Branch Department of Sustainability and Environment Level 9, 8 Nicholson Street East Melbourne 3002 Phone: 9637 9232; Fax: 9637 8108 Email: [email protected] Page ii Page iii Contents Project team....................................................................................................... ii List of maps ....................................................................................................... v List of Guidelines ............................................................................................. vi Definitions........................................................................................................ vii Executive summary.......................................................................................... ix Planning visions for a better river................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 3 1.1 The purpose of this study....................................................................... 3 1.2 Why has this study been undertaken?.................................................... 3 1.3 What is the study area for the guidelines? ............................................. 5 1.4 Study method and outputs...................................................................... 5 1.5 The structure of this report..................................................................... 6 2. Vision and broad objectives........................................................................ 7 2.1 Government policy................................................................................. 7 2.2 Previous studies ..................................................................................... 7 2.3 Community consultation........................................................................ 8 2.4 Vision................................................................................................... 11 3. An overview of the river valley................................................................. 13 4. Understanding the river............................................................................ 17 4.1 Valley physiography ............................................................................ 19 4.2 Flooding............................................................................................... 23 4.3 Open space........................................................................................... 25 4.4 Natural assets ....................................................................................... 29 4.5 Heritage................................................................................................ 31 4.6 Urban settlement .................................................................................. 33 4.7 Urban activity....................................................................................... 35 4.8 Trail network........................................................................................ 39 4.9 Valley access........................................................................................ 41 5. Preferred character ................................................................................... 43 5.1 The potential of the lengths.................................................................. 43 5.2 Preferred character............................................................................... 45 5.3 Developing guidelines to achieve preferred character......................... 46 6. Open space corridor .................................................................................. 47 6.1 Public acquisition of open space.......................................................... 47 6.2 Open space contributions..................................................................... 51 7. Design objectives and guidelines .............................................................. 53 7.1 Open space management – landscape.................................................. 53 7.2 Open space management – access ....................................................... 57 7.3 Landform ............................................................................................. 60 7.4 Urban development interface............................................................... 61 7.5 Site layout and building visibility ........................................................ 63 7.6 Building design .................................................................................... 67 7.7 Infrastructure design ............................................................................ 70 8. Site and precinct plans and capital works............................................... 73 8.1 Where are site and precinct plans needed? .......................................... 73 8.2 Capital works ....................................................................................... 74 Page iv 9. Governance .................................................................................................75 9.1 Coordinated planning............................................................................75 9.2 What planning controls are needed?.....................................................78 Bibliography.....................................................................................................84