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Council has made a broad-ranging submission to a Victorian Parliament inquiry into whether current planning legislation is capable of tackling the affordable housing crisis and provides adequate protection for our heritage and environment.

The Inquiry into the Protections Within the Victorian Planning Framework was carried out by Parliament’s Environment and Planning Committee. The committee has now delivered its interim report, which calls for a full inquiry including public hearings to be carried out at the beginning of the next parliament.

Our submission to the inquiry covered a broad range of issues including:

• The high cost of housing.
• Environmental sustainability and vegetation protection (including impacts of climate change, sea level rise, bushfire exemptions, biodiversity conservation, and vegetation management overlays).
• Delivering certainty and fairness in planning decisions for communities (including mandatory height limits, minimum apartment sizes, protecting Green Wedges and the urban growth boundary, and community concerns about VCAT appeal processes).
• Protecting our heritage (including the adequacy of current criteria and processes for heritage protection).
• Ensuring residential zones are delivering the type of housing that communities want.

The recommendations in our submission suggest potential changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987 as well as the Victorian Planning Provisions.

The submission also outlined ways in which the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) could improve the management of planning, environment, and heritage controls in planning schemes.

Council’s submission to the parliamentary inquiry can be found at:

Quotes attributable to Mayor Anthony Marsh

“Planning affects every aspect of our daily lives and it’s important we get the balance right. Our submission to the inquiry looks at a whole range of current planning issues and suggests improvements.”

“The Peninsula’s housing market is out of balance, with rents and property values rising fast and affordable housing in very short supply. ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾lessness is a growing problem, yet we have no crisis accommodation. This issue requires coordinated action at the state and federal level.”

“Issues such as protecting our native vegetation, mitigating and adapting to climate change, protecting neighbourhood character and preserving our heritage affect us all. Improvements in legislation are needed across each of these areas to ensure we can achieve the best outcomes for our community.”

“I urge everyone to read Council’s submission to this inquiry and contact our local state election candidates to let them know how important these matters are to you.”