The Panel report which considered the reformed residential zones proposed by Frankston City Council in Amendment C95 to the Frankston Planning Scheme has just been released, ahead of the deadline for finalisation of the residential zones on 1 July 2014.
The Panel was appointed to consider the three residential zones; the Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ), General Residential Zone (GRZ), and the Residential Growth Zone (RGZ). The Panel found numerous concerns with Frankston’s application of the zones, which was described as “skewed, confused and absent”.
While the Panel concluded that the Frankston Housing Strategy is a generally strategically sound basis for the introduction of the reformed residential zones, criticism was made where zones were applied with schedules restricting height and built form using boundaries not derived from the Housing Strategy, and which confuse and work against the provisions of the existing Design and Development Overlay (DDO) and other provisions already applying to land in Frankston.
For example, the existing DDO5 overlay covers all land currently identified as being inside the Frankston Central Activities District and directs a maximum (discretionary) building height of 20m. However, this conflicts with the 12m mandatory height proposed in the Residential Growth Zone which Frankston Council is seeking to introduce.
Submissions were made regarding the limited application of the Residential Growth Zone. The Panel is concerned that the substantial change and opportunity areas have not been clearly translated into the new zones to give greater certainty about where more intensive built form is sought and to meet projected housing demands to 2031. This indicates there may be insufficient land nominated for the Residential Growth Zone in Frankston’s new zones.
Recommendation:
The Panel determined that Amendment C95 in its current form should be abandoned, with the default General Residential Zone without schedules applied as a transition measure until a new amendment can be prepared to introduce the new residential zones.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Perry Town Planning team if you have any questions on how these new residential zones may affect your property.