Infrastructure Library METUNG · LOCAL STRUCTURE PLAN Adopted by Council on 14th December, 1993 . 711. 4099 00/06214 456 MET:T Metung : local structure plan CONTENTS PREAMBLE PART A: BACKGROUND 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 BACKGROUND AND CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT 2 3 STRUCTURE PLAN OBJECTIVES 7 PARTB: RECOMMENDATIONS 4 LOCAL STRUCTURE PLAN CONCEPT 11 5 GUIDELINES 14 - GUIDELINES SUMMARY 27 6 STATUTORY IMPLEMENTATION 32 7 INDUSTRIAL LAND USE 35 8 BOAT SLIPPING FACILITIES 36 APPENDIX 1- INDIGENOUS PLANT SPECIES. APPENDIX 2 -TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT STUDY. APPENDIX 3 - BEACH ROAD CLOSURE REPORT. APPENDIX 4- BOAT SLIPWAY REPORT. PART A BACKGROUND PREAMBLE The preparation of a Local Structure Plan for Metung is a challenging exercise. There will be those who believe that the settlement's charm lies in its past and that recent development and proposals for the future do nothing but threaten that charm. In fact this view has been expressed to the consultants during the conduct of this study and is borne out in attitudes that have been expressed toward some of the preliminary ideas and previous proposals. There will be others, however, who see opportunities to enhance the area and to make it more accessible to a greater number of people. The challenge, therefore, in the preparation of plans such as this, is to respect the views of all those who care about the area. Responsible planning must seek to find ways to maximise the use of the area, in a manner which does not threaten the very features that make the area .so attractive. In undertaking this work, the Consultant team and the Council has sought to inject objective views about the settlement and its future.· It has attempted to do this in a manner which respects and enhances· the area's ll;llique character. PAGE 1 1 INTRODUCTION The town of Metung offers a lakeside environment unique amongst urban settlements in the Gippsland Lakes region. The undulating, well treed landscape is in sharp contrast to the generally flat alluvial plains which surround the Metung district and it is largely this unique landscape quality which has attracted settlement to the area. Importantly, the protection of this landscape quality and the adjoining lakes will require the careful management of future development pressures at Metung. The Gippsland Lakes Strategy (1990) and the Shire of Tambo's Draft Metung District Strategy (1987), both highlight the need to appropriately control new development within the existing township area. This Local Structure Plan acknowledges the limited capacity of the study area to absorb new development and sets down in detail the way in which this aim can be achieved. The Local Structure Plan details development guidelines and planning scheme mechanisms to encourage site responsive development in Metung. It analyses the factors which contribute to the special character of Metung and recommends controls to protect and enhance that character. The document is not intended to be an inflexible or prescriptive blueprint of Metung's future. Clearly, such an approach would not be possible, nor appropriate. Rather, the Structure Plan aims to identify the preferred framework for the future planning of Metung and to encourage imaginative solutions to future planning issues within the guiding parameters of that framework. Undoubtedly, the special attributes that attracted growth and development to Metung in the past will continue to generate new pressures in the future. Whilst some of this pressure for growth will be able to be directed to neighbouring areas such as Tambo Bluff and Storth Ryes, this Local Structure Plan will provide the planning mechanisms to guide and control any future development at Metung to ensure that it remains a unique settlement for residents and visitors alike. PAGE 2 2 BACKGROUND AND CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT The background stages of the Metung Local Structure Plan study included site inspections, a review of relevant data, planning studies and policy, and discussions with representative of the local area ·(including residents, business operators and public authorities). These preliminary investigations highlighted a number of opportunities and constraints to future planning in Metung and provided the necessary information to enable a preliminary structure plan option to be prepared and presented to the Steering Committee in September, 1991. Following discussions with the Committee and receipt of the Council's comments, the preliminary option was modified to arrive at the Local Structure Plan detailed in Part B of this report. 2.1 "Village Character'' The local community and visitors to Metung are generally agreed that the town environs have a unique quality that can perhaps best be described as its "village character". The concept may mean slightly different things to different people and some claim that this special quality has already been substantially lost due to recent development activities. However, the special local attributes enjoyed by residents and visitors to Metung will continue to attract attention to the town as a popular permanent and holiday destination. It is necessary, therefore, to identify the characteristics of the town responsible for this village atmosphere and to incorporate guidelines in the Metung Local Structure Plan to protect and enhance them. Perhaps the most obvious influence is the position and topography of the town, being situated on a small peninsula of land formed by the waters of Lake King and Bancroft Bay. The Metung peninsula contains a series of ridges and valleys with a generous cover of native vegetation. Views from Metung to the lakes, and from the lakes to Metung, are both significant in aesthetic terms and in contributing to the special character of the town. PAGE 3· In addition to its beautiful landscape setting, there are a number of additional factors which can be readily identified: • · the water-based, maritime focus of the town centre; .. the primarily residential nature of the town's land use; .. the outlook and activity opportunities offered by the town centre "village green"; .. the ·generally clustered residential development nodes separated by significant stands of mature trees; .. the generally high tree canopy; .. the single "loop road" access to the town which effectively . distributes vehicle traffic without cross-town movements; • · the town's undulating land form; .. the "domestic" scale of buildings in the area; · the town's "isolated" location .. These factors should generally be regarded as fortunate responses to the initial siting and historic growth of the town which, although not originally the result of deliberate planning decisions, should now be acknowledged, .protected and strengthened by planning policy guidelines for Me tung's future. 2.2 Topography The topography of Metung has played a particularly important role in the towns development. The .settlement has developed incrementally over a long period, initially following ~ form of grid road layout which bears little relationship to the topography of the area. Simply, the town's roads reserves were drawn In a survey. office and are located in places ·where natural land grades often rendered their construction impractical. PAGE 4 Roads have only been constructed on those areas where development is possible with the perhaps fortunate consequence of creating a pattern of discreet residential clusters or precincts. separated by natural valleys. In many areas, significant stands of mature trees remain between developed precincts, further defining the major ridge lines and gUllies which subdivide the study area. Parts of the Metung township area have topographic and environmental constraints that pose particular difficulties to building development. Land identified in Plan 1 as being "Class 5" in the Metung District Strategy present the most severe difficulties to new development works due to such factors as steep slopes, tree cover and poor soil capability. A series of additional plans illustrating the existing conditions in the study area were prepared. They illustrate the physical constraints and opportunities to future development in Metung and include the general topography (Plan 2), significant tree cover (Plan 3) and road network (Plan 4), primary activity nodes, existing development and zoning. Together these plans present a picture of the suitability and capability of land in the town to be developed. Land which is generally free from the development constraints imposed by steep slopes, significant tree cover and so on, was then identified as "unencumbered land" and is illustrated on Plan 5. 2.3 Building Design One of the most pleasing aspects of Metung is the quality and "character" of the design of much of its new development. There is a distinct feeling that many houses and uruts have been designed to respect their natural setting and. lakeside environment. This is not the case of all new development, but certainly is of much of the development which enjoys a "public exposure". __ ,..w ~-'­ 'io.oo--•••• ::-,:;-~-· lllllllllllllllllllllllllll ,.,.u,_,_ , .. t-UOMJ1 PERROTT LYON MATHIESON ·'· . "·. .. ' . '. ( . I ' r .~ '- • • • f .• ' • . :. ... .. ; .· ... ' . \ . ' . ' ) . I • ' . ' . ' .· . .. ' . UNaOO SAl . 1 . .·, . •' ~ • . ' ' r : '·. > • ~ • . , . ' . ~-· .,... ·. ' - . ' . / .. ·. ' ; . ' ..'.. ... ,. .. ' ~-. .1/qk.f~~UO:~). ' ' •• . ' ..··' i' : . .. .... : ·. .' . 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