Amendment C231 to the Whitehorse Planning Scheme proposes to rezone three properties located at 34-40, 37-43 and 42-50 Moore Road, Vermont from the General Residential Zone Schedule 5 to the Neighbourhood Residential Zone, Schedule 3.
The three properties are located at the southern end of Moore Road, Vermont and were formerly part of the Healesville Freeway Reservation (HFR) owned by VicRoads. In 2009, the HFR land between Springvale Road and Boronia Road was declared surplus to the road network requirements. While most of the land in the HFR will become public open space, these three properties were sold by VicRoads and are now privately owned.
In 2014, the Minister for Planning rezoned the three properties to the General Residential Zone Schedule 5 (GRZ5). This occurred as part of the wider introduction of new residential zones across Victoria that replaced the previous residential zones.
The residential land outside the HFR and surrounding the three properties was identified by Council as an area for limited change under the Whitehorse Housing Strategy 2014. Residential areas classified as limited change represent the lowest scale of intended residential growth and have specific valued characteristics, such as environmental and heritage, that are to be protected. In accordance with this classification, the surrounding land outside the HFR was rezoned to the Neighbourhood Residential Zone in 2014.
The three properties mentioned above, and all other land in the HFR was excluded from the Whitehorse Housing Strategy 2014 and associated Neighbourhood Character Study 2014, due to the separate State Government process that was being undertaken at the time for the HFR land. The State Government has advised that these properties will not form part of the future public open space corridor that will be delivered along the majority of the former HFR. As a result, Council has initiated this Amendment to ensure that the residential zone applying to these three properties aligns with Council’s vision for housing in this area.
What happens next?
The Amendment was placed on public exhibition from 19 August to 20 September 2021. At a Council Meeting on 22 November 2021, Council considered the submissions and decided to request the Minister for Planning to appoint an independent planning panel to review the Amendment and hear all submissions.
A Directions Hearing occurred on 17 December 2021 and a Panel Hearing took place on 8 February 2022 and 9 February 2022. The Panel Hearing was conducted via MS Teams.
Council has received the Panel's report ( PDF 978.19KB) on 17 February 2022 and the amendment and Panel Recommendations were considered by Council on 11 April 2022. Council adopted Amendment C231 as exhibited and has requested the Minister for Planning approve the amendment.
If you have any questions about the amendment please contact Council’s City Planning and Development Department on 9262 6303.