[+] Councils Offer Olive Branch in Victoria’s Housing Reform Battle

Despite a change of leadership at the top, the dust is yet to settle in the wake of Victoria’s Housing Statement. The statement outlines considerable planning and housing reforms and was the last policy by the now-former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews before he stepped down . While he was succeeded by current premier Jacinta Allen, the reform plans have not changed and local government appears as frustrated now as they were in September after the announcement. Many of the councils agree reform is needed and that the housing crisis needs to be addressed. But eqaully, many oppose reforms that give the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning and its minister Sonya Kilkenny the right to determine applications for projects, taking that power from councils. And now, the Municipal Association of Victoria has put forward another option: a memorandum of understanding. What’s on the table The association baord put forward a motion at its October State Council meeting confirming that councils wanted more housing, endorsing the broader vision of local government in Victoria and calling on the government to sign a memorandum of understanding. This MOU would create a partnership between federal and local governments to achieve planning reforms and resolve the housing crisis. It follows association’s belief that all levels of government need to work together, says president Cr David Clark. “Put simply, the housing crisis cannot be solved by one level of government,” Clark says. “Just as the states have signed up to a National Housing Accord, the association’s call for an MOU with the Victorian government reflects the fact it is going to require all three levels of government to work together in a genuine partnership if planning reforms are going to work.” ▲ Municipal Association of Victoria’s president David Clark. Clark confirmed that the motion recognises already gazetted reforms and recommendations from the ICAC’s Operation Sandon report and the Housing Statement. “The association has long been calling for reform to the Planning and Environment Act,” Clark says. “It’s more than 35-years-old and while it’s been tinkered with around the edges, it needs to be reimagined to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.” But most importantly, the association is arguing that councils are crucial due to their proximity to communities. “Including local government knowledge and expertise is an opportunity to bring all communities in Victoria along for the journey with these changes,” Clark says. “We are every bit as ambitious as the state on boosting housing supply and affordability.” Continued advocacy That ambition is echoed by the City of Stonnington Council, which recently voted unanimously to urged the state government to work with councils to achieve housing targets. City of Stonnington mayor Jami Klisaris says the council has historically worked closely with the state government to create housing. “The council mobilised years ago to meet the state government-imposed growth targets and our plans are already sufficient to deliver a forecasted 12,950 homes needed to accommodate an additional 25,860 residents by 2036,” she says. Klisaris agrees local knowledge is key, as is connection to the communities in the middle ring where housing is sorely needed. “The council’s expert planners have sound strategies, with a strong evidence base of local knowledge that has been developed in close consultation with our community to deliver on growth targets,” she says. ▲ City of Stonnington mayor Jami Klisaris believes councils should not be cut out of the planning process. The City of Stonnington is advocating to be involved in consultation on proposed reforms before they are gazetted, anxd that third-party appeal rights be preserved to give communities a voice, ensuring that the council is still able to provide vital infrastructure and protecting the rights of the more vulnerable community members in Stonnington with quality housing and amenities. Councils respond Other councils were also disappointed by the Housing Statement. The Yarra City Council said that it had approved around 10 per cent of the housing in the Greater Melbourne area during the past financial year with 98 per cent of all planning applications approved. That council also argued that while it had been advocating a timed period of more than 60 days to assess a planning application, the state government’s streamlined planning process was expected to take 120 days—or four months. A council statement said the situation presented a rare opportunity for state and local governments to work together to reform the planning system. “Any changes should be co-designed with local governments, who have extensive and nuanced knowledge of their area’s and community’s needs,” the statement said. Like other councils, the City of Yarra says it is keen to work with the state government. ▲ A render of the development planned for the Jam Factory, which was recently approved by the Yarra City Council. The City of Port Phillip also published a statement in response to the reforms. “The council supports many of the key aims of the Victorian government’s Housing Statement, however, we are concerned that many of the reforms and their implementation to facilitate the targets have been actioned in the absence of any consultation with our city,” the statement said. “We believe that local governments are best placed to make decisions about local matters, in consultation with residents.” Changes that council is not pleased about include some applications being exempt from public notification, some applications not needing a planning permit, and the decision-making on some applications being given to the Victorian planning minister, “The bid to streamline the decision-making process for applications must not be at the expense of consultation with our community, conserving the unique characteristics of our activity centres, residential areas, heritage buildings and precincts,” the City of Port Phillip’s response said. Before the Housing Statement was released, rumours circulated of potential planning reforms. ▲ City of Melbourne deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece. At the time, City of Melbourne deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece made his views clear during a council meeting. “We are the level of government closest to the people and therein lies the strength of local government,” Reece said. “We recognise the broad challenges we face as a growing city, but we can respond to that in a fine-grained way, in a fine-tuned way, which achieves the overall objective and hopefully most of the time, it brings the community along with us. “If the Victorian government was looking for areas to reform in the planning system, it would do well to look at the duplication that currently exists.” The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)’s Operation Sandon report was used to justify some of the changes after it recommended measures to help prevent corruption at the local government level. Developers have neem more welcoming of the changes as many have struggled with delays in the planning process. Those delays are often down to a lack of planners due to the pandemic and higher pay in the private sector, according to Samuel Group managing director Illan Samuel, who had pulled out of talks with the City of Ballarat Council due to significant delays. ▲ Illan Samuel walked away from a Ballarat project due to delays. “Local town planners are under-resourced—I have not dealt with a council yet that has a bunch of town planners who can turn around applications quickly,” Samuel says. “Most of them are failing to deal with applications in the response time required and they are generous—it’s 60 days—yet a lot of them can’t turn that over.” Developers are also keen to avoid the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal where appeals can be made but at significant cost. It affects feasibility for developers and draws on taxpayer funds for the councils. But handing all control over to the state government is not a viable option for the councils. Which is why the association is proposing the memorandum of understanding. “Our call is a straightforward one: let’s reform the system together,” Clark says. “A system with integrity, accountability, transparency and community input is a system that will command public support.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

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Marisa Wikramanayake
Thu 16 Nov 23

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