PLANNING FOR THE PEOPLE THE GREENS PLAN FOR SUSTAINABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, DEMOCRACY, AND CERTAINTY IN OUR PLANNING SYSTEM

Transcription

1 Fr t lng, big prperty develpers with t much influence have been allwed t shape Victria s planning system. The Greens will transfrm planning t help deliver mre affrdable and sustainable hmes, create thriving neighburhds, give cmmunities mre certainty and put peple back at the centre f decisin making. Victria s land use and planning system is delivering unaffrdable, unsustainable, and pr quality urban develpment, with less transparency and accuntability in decisin making. As Victria grws we need a planning system that puts the interests f peple first. Our planning system shuld be fcused n delivering high-quality affrdable and sustainable husing in thriving cmmunities. Instead we are seeing lcal cmmunities ignred and develpers put first. Peple are being left with huge uncertainty abut their neighburhds as develpers cntinue t make ambit claims and flut the visin and will f the lcal cmmunity. While the ultimate slutins t address these issues will take a careful and cmprehensive rethinking f hw and where key decisins are being made, it is essential that changes are intrduced immediately t imprve the affrdability and sustainability f new urban develpment. OUR PLAN The Greens want Victria s urban planning system t place affrdability, sustainability, demcracy and certainty back at the centre f every planning decisin. We want ur neighburhds t be well designed s they enhance cmmunities. We want ur neighburhds and cities t have pen spaces, plenty f trees, be pwered by renewable energy and cnnected thrugh active and sustainable frms f transprt like walking, cycling, and public transprt. We want certainty fr cmmunities in all decisin making with genuine pprtunities fr cnsultatin. The Greens plan t fix the planning system will: Mandate affrdable husing (inclusinary zning) in all new develpments. Fr big develpments 30% f new dwellings will be set aside fr public and cmmunity husing r ther frms f affrdable husing. Encurage mre affrdable, sustainable and cmmunity led husing by creating a new fast track pririty applicatin stream t accelerate deliberative husing prjects. Prvide certainty by ensuring cnsistent cntrls, including, Mandatry height limits and minimum apartment sizes; Prtecting Green Wedges and the urban grwth bundary; and Ensuring residential znes are delivering the type f husing ur cmmunity needs and wants. Rapidly increase the sustainability f all new urban develpment by: Requiring all new residential and cmmercial develpment t achieve a minimum 8 star rating; Requiring all apartment buildings f 5 streys and abve t prvide 50% f their rf space fr either slar panels r a green rf; and Taking strng actin t cmbat the urban heat island effect by ensuring minimum garden areas and tree cver in areas designated fr mre husing. Restre the rights f the cmmunity in lcal decisin making by: Refrming the VCAT appeal prcess t stp develpers gaming the system; Re-intrducing third party appeal rights (where they have been stripped); and Requiring that all Ministerial call-ins need a legislated prcess f exhibitin and cnsultatin befre decisin. PAGE 1

2 THE BROKEN SYSTEM New husing is becming mre unaffrdable and unliveable. Successive State Gvernments have refused t include affrdable husing in all new apartment buildings. The prperty industry has fught against minimum standards fr apartments which has resulted in smaller and mre unliveable new dwellings being built. New mdels f affrdable husing (like deliberative and Baugruppen mdels) cannt cmpete in a market that favurs big develpers wh want nly t maximise their prfits. Cmmunity and Lcal Cuncil pwers are being watered dwn and stripped away. Residents are spending tens f thusands f dllars a year fighting bad planning decisins at Victria s civil and administrative tribunal (VCAT) because big develpers game the system t get the utcmes that will deliver them the biggest prfits. Anther factr driving pr utcmes is the amunt f discretin in Victria s planning system. Withut certainty in planning rules, land banking and speculatin is thriving. Land is sld at inflated prices because develpers gamble n hw much height and density they can get n each site. They then pressure lcal cuncils and Planning Ministers t get what they want. Victria s planning system has been designed as a perfrmance based system that uses discretinary cntrls rather than mandatry cntrls. Lcal cuncils and cmmunities spend hundreds f thusands f dllars and thusands f hurs develping plans fr hw they want their lcal areas t lk and wrk. But in a system that vests ultimate decisin making cntrl in the hands f the Planning Minister f the day, many f these cntrls and rules are watered dwn at the last stage f their apprvals. Climate change is already starting t impact lcal neighburhds by increasing temperatures in highly built up areas, smetimes t extreme levels. Hwever, preventing and mitigating the impact f climate change and the urban heat island effect are nt incrprated int the urban planning system. There are few incentives fr new develpments t be envirnmentally sustainable r efficient. Successive State Planning Ministers have refused t include minimum envirnmental sustainability standards in Victria s planning rules. CREATING AFFORDABLE HOMES The Greens will mandate inclusinary zning in all new develpments in all activity centers, mixed use areas, urban renewal precincts and residential grwth znes. This will result in: I. 30% f all new dwellings in large husing cmplexes (100+ dwellings) will be set aside fr affrdable husing. II. 20% f all new dwellings in husing cmplexes with between dwellings will be set aside fr affrdable husing. III. Fr apartment and twnhuse develpments f 15 r less dwellings, either 15% affrdable husing r the cntributin f an affrdable husing levy in lieu. This affrdable husing prvisin will be met thrugh a mix f public, cmmunity and ther affrdable husing. Our inclusinary zning mdel will make it a cnditin f planning apprval that all new develpments include a minimum number f affrdable hmes. i Recgnising that smaller multi-husing buildings (less than 15 dwellings) may face additinal barriers t prviding a minimum number f affrdable dwellings, develpers will be liable fr an affrdable husing levy that can be payable in lieu f cnstructing 15% affrdable husing. Inclusinary zning has been recgnised as an imprtant and effective mechanism by which mre affrdable husing can be delivered. Inclusinary zning has been trialed and intrduced internatinally in New Yrk, Lndn and San Francisc. In Australia, inclusinary zning has been intrduced in varied frms in Suth Australia, New Suth Wales and the Australian Capital Territry. PAGE 2

3 FACILITATING AFFORDABLE DEVELOPMENT Mst f the urban develpment thrughut Victria is based n a speculative mdel. This mdel results in develpers speculating n the type and amunt f husing that can be built n a site. Develpers can then explit the discretinary cntrls in Victria s current planning system t push fr greater yield and greater prfits. The system als creates additinal csts fr prspective hmewners such as fees and charges fr develpers, real estate agents and marketers, which further pushes up already inflated and unaffrdable husing prices. Alternatively, deliberative frms f develpment bring tgether grups f peple, friends, families and netwrks wh wrk cllabratively t build mre affrdable hmes fr themselves. In Eurpe, these frms f deliberative develpment have been knwn as Baugruppen (building grups) mdels. Deliberative develpment has the ptential t reduce the cst f husing by eliminating develper fees, real estate agent fees and ther advertising and marketing csts that inflate the cst f buying a huse. It is estimated that this frm f husing can reduce the cst f this frm f husing by 15-25%. ii As these hmes are designed and built by the peple wh will live in them, the hmes tend t be f higher quality and are better designed t meet peple s husing needs. The result is mre affrdable, mre sustainable and mre liveable hmes that peple can live in lng term. Hwever, there are significant challenges and barriers t deliberative frms f develpment in Victria. Obtaining finance t fund prjects is difficult fr prjects that dn t guarantee the minimum prfit margin required by banks. The planning applicatin prcess prvides little supprt t nntraditinal develper-led prjects and prvides little incentive fr these frms f develpment ver mre expensive speculative prjects. In rder t facilitate mre affrdable, sustainable and cmmunity led husing, the Greens will create a new fast track pririty applicatin stream administered by lcal cuncils that will accelerate these deliberative husing prjects. Delivering mre f these types f husing prjects will imprve the affrdability f ur husing system and will help mre f us affrd a hme. CREATING MORE CERTAINTY The design f the Victrian planning system as a perfrmance based system versus a cntrl based system has resulted in discretinary planning cntrls becming the default type f planning rule used fr mst decisins. Successive reviews f Victria s planning system have fund that the system is verly cmplex, unclear and difficult t administer. The Victrian Auditr General fund in its 2017 review that because f pr uptake f system imprvements recmmended by previus reviews, planning schemes are difficult t navigate and cstly t administer, which delays decisin-making. iii Residents wh have had t battle a planning applicatin where a Cuncil r VCAT has apprved a develpment that breaches a planning cntrl (such as height) will see the value in intrducing mandatry cntrls acrss the entire scheme t increase certainty in the system. We acknwledge that a number f situatins arise where sme flexibility and variability is required t achieve a better utcme. Hwever, the prblem is that mre ften than nt it is develpers wh explit the discretinary cntrls t increase their yields and prfits. There needs t be a balance f certainty and flexibility and the planning system needs t be reviewed hlistically in rder t deliver this. The Victrian Planning system needs t intrduce cntrls that mean what they say. The Greens will review and refrm the Victrian Planning Prvisins (VPP) and lcal planning schemes t include cnsistent cntrls that achieve the utcmes that are intended acrss the varius layers f the scheme. This wuld be achieved by: - Mandatry height cntrls fr areas that have cmpleted and submitted strategic justificatin thrugh a planning scheme amendment prcess. Fr areas where mandatry height cntrls are PAGE 3

4 cnsidered less suitable, mandatry maximum density ratis can be applied fr. Placing height and rati cntrls n areas that are nminated fr mre intense urban develpment will reduce speculatin, put dwnward pressure n land prices and deliver a built envirnment that has been agreed t by the cmmunity. - Any Cuncil that has submitted strategic justificatin t the Planning Minister within the last 2 years fr mandatry height cntrls in their planning scheme amendments can reapply t have these included fr immediate effect. - Cuncils and the Minister fr Planning will need t prvide bi-annual reprts abut the perfrmance and use f planning cntrls with detailed analysis and ratinales fr decisins where discretin has been used and cntrls have been varied. - Medium Density Design Cde - Review and update the Residential Cde t intrduce a new building cde fr 3-4 strey buildings, and develp new cntrls fr medium density husing. Intrduce minimum standards t imprve sustainability, affrdability and liveability. - Review the VicSmart assessment prcess prir t any further rllut what was suppsed t be a streamlined prcess fr imprving the efficiency f decisin making has resulted in a system that has added mre prcedural cmplexity t an already verly cmplicated system. System streamlining fr minr matters is better achieved thrugh simplificatin and increased certainty f the cre planning cntrls. - Review the General Residential Zne height prvisins The heights in the GRZ were increased by Minister Wynne and are prducing mre intense develpments than were riginally intended. Given hw Cuncils have chsen t apply these znes, the GRZ nw needs t be reviewed. - Minimum apartment sizes - mandate minimum apartment sizes fr all new apartment develpments: 37 square metres fr studi 50 square metres fr 1 bedrm; 65 square metres fr 2 bedrm; 90 square metres fr 3 bedrm. Prtecting ur green wedges and lcal fd prductin The area surrunding Melburne is knwn as ur fdbwl highly prductive agricultural land that grws a wide variety f fresh fds. It is estimated that ur fdbwl has the capacity t prduce arund 41% f the city s fd needs, leading t sustainable fd prductin and a thriving agricultural industry. iv These areas are als knwn as ur green wedges and cntain many areas f envirnmental significance. Hwever, these areas, and therefre ur ability t prduce ur wn fd, is under increased threat frm urban sprawl. This is placing pressure t release much f ur fd prducing land fr husing instead f prtecting it fr fd prductin and envirnmental cnservatin. While an urban grwth bundary was intrduced in 2002, it has been varied several times leading t increasing speculatin and land banking driving up prices and reducing the availability f fd prductin areas. The Greens want greater prtectin f ur green wedges and fd prductin areas. We will achieve this by limiting any review r change t the urban grwth bundary t nce every 8 years (with an exceptin t review it earlier shuld land supply fall belw an agreed level). We will als ensure that the urban grwth bundary can nly be changed with the apprval f State Parliament These mechanisms t prtect green wedges and fd prductin areas have been used in internatinal cntexts with psitive results. Intrducing an 8 year review perid will bring mre certainty int the system and reduce the speculatin, land banking and incremental change that is threatening ur green wedges. BETTER SUSTAINABILITY Climate change is already having significant impacts n the health f ur cities and rural and reginal areas. We are increasingly experiencing the urban heat island effect in ur suburbs, because f the lack f clear rules in the planning PAGE 4

5 scheme t help ur neighburhds adapt t a changing and warmer climate. - Minimum garden areas will be required at grund flr level in residential znes. This requirement cannt be remved in these znes. Cmbatting the Urban Heat Island Effect Figure 2: The effect f urban heat island effect in the City f Mreland Imprving the sustainability f new urban develpment will nt nly imprve ur respnse t climate change but help husehlds reduce their energy use and save utility csts. The Greens want t rapidly increase the sustainability f all new urban develpment by: - Mandating that all new residential and cmmercial develpment achieve a minimum 8 star NatHers and best practice BESS ratings. v - All new residential and cmmercial develpment must have an urban heat island mitigatin statement that includes hw the develpment will increase pen space and tree cver. - Intrducing new pririty planning streams fr new residential and cmmercial develpment applicatins that include 8+ star NatHers rating, affrdable husing and deliberate develpment. - All apartment buildings f 5 streys and abve t prvide 50% f their rf space fr either slar panels r a green rf (garden). - Mandatry minimum building separatins in activity centers.and mixed use znes. All activity centres, mixed use and residential grwth zne precincts need t prvide 20% green pen space and a minimum number f canpy trees. Currently there is n minimum garden (permeable) space requirement fr the precincts earmarked fr the mst intense density such as activity centres. Hwever, these precincts are experiencing mre intense urban heat island warming especially during heatwaves. The lack f minimum permeable space, maximum site cverage r minimum tree prvisin has resulted in many activity centres becming cncrete jungles. Intrducing a 20% green pen space requirement in these areas will help cl the precinct in heatwaves and prvided much needed pen space fr cmmunities. Cmbatting the urban heat island effect will als require effrts t retain tree cver n private lts and a significant investment in street tree planting. T help achieve this, the Greens will require a prtin f all funds cllected via the develper cntributins plan (DCP) t cntribute t a significantly bigger scale f lcal street tree planting. RESTORING DEMOCRACY The pwer f cmmunities t be cnsulted and heard in urban planning decisins is steadily being erded by an increased centralisatin f decisin making and pressure t weaken the pwer f elected lcal Cuncillrs t make urban planning decisins. PAGE 5

6 Develpers are gaming the system by aiming fr their prjects t be apprved by VCAT instead f seeking t negtiate an utcme that a lcal Cuncil will prefer. This is ccurring because VCAT currently has the pwer t undertake a full merits review f every planning applicatin. This has weakened the pwer f lcal cmmunities t shape decisins via their elected representatives. The Greens will revert VCAT int an administrative appeals bdy nly, and reduce its discretin by: - Requiring parties t first seek leave f the tribunal t hear an appeal, which must nly be granted if the respnsible authrity has erred in law; - Reducing the number f permit applicatins it cnsiders due t failure f the respnsible authrity t make a determinatin within the timeframe set ut in the Planning and Envirnment Act 1987, by increasing this timeframe fr very large sites; - Ensuring VCAT remains accessible and affrdable t all; and - Ensuring VCAT hears and rules n appeal cases in a timely manner. There are an increasing number f prjects where the rights f residents t bject t a planning applicatin are being remved. While acknwledging that a number f ther States have stripped back cmmunity bjectin rights t a much greater extent, it is vital that the rights f citizens t bject and be cnsulted is nt weakened further in Victria. The Greens will restre the rights f the cmmunity in lcal decisin making by: - Re-intrducing third party appeal rights where they have been stripped away - Amending the planning law t allw fr third party bjectr rights in all planning scheme amendments, design and develpment verlays (DDO) and Develpment Plans. Ministerial Call-Ins The planning system currently allws fr the Minister fr Planning t verride the rdinary decisin making prcess and decide n a range f applicatins if the matter is f particular significance. Hwever, successive planning ministers have used this discretinary pwer fr plitical purpses and have failed t justify the grunds upn which they have used this extrardinary pwer. On a number f ccasins, this has led t decisins that the cmmunity have either nt been cnsulted n r have expressed a clear bjectin t. There needs t be strnger checks and balances t this extrardinary pwer f the minister. The Greens will imprve the accuntability f future Ministers by legislating fr all Ministerial call-ins t have a prcess f exhibitin and cnsultatin befre decisin. SYSTEM TENSIONS & SOLUTIONS Victria s planning system is cmplex and bureaucratic. Currently, despite a requirement in legislatin that planning applicatins must be decided within 60 days f ldgement, n average nly 60% f applicatins are reslved in this timeframe. The ne-size-fits all apprach has set up unrealistic expectatins, reduced the quality f decisin making and set the system up t fail. N planning minister has had the curage t tackle genuine and systemic refrm f the system. Instead, the respnse has been t reduce cmmunity cnsultatin rights, favur wealthy develpers, centralise the system and frame lcal cuncil decisin makers as hindrances t the prcess rather than viewing them as a genuine and imprtant part f ensuring demcracy within the system. The Planning and Envirnment Act has nt been mdernised in decades and the result is a system that des nt reflect the mdern day challenges f urban planning in Victria. The Greens will initiate a parliamentary inquiry int the Planning and Envirnment Act t undertake a whlescale review ff the Act. This will result in cntrls that mean smething, mre accuntability and transparency, and a PAGE 6

7 planning system that is driven by prducing mre affrdable and sustainable husing t meet Victria s needs fr the generatin t cme. SOURCES i See ii See: iii See Land-Use.pdf at p.11. iv See Carey, R., Sheridan, J. and Larsen, K. (2018) Fd fr Thught: Challenges and Opprtunities fr Farming in Melburne s Fdbwl v See PAGE 7