Northcote planning needs an independent voice

I've written a lot about climate change on this blog, but voters should know that I started campaigning back in 2003 with Save Westgarth Village to fight planning changes that were being forced through with too little community say.

Fast-forward to 2010, and the electorate of Northcote is under the same threat from big developers, and a Victorian Labor Government that has received large political donations from the industry. That's why I am calling for political donation disclosures on applications for all major developments. Voters deserve to know, and good developers will have nothing to hide.

But there's a lot more than that to the question of development in our community. As we go to the election, uncertainty looms over at least three large developments where locals have so far had only a small voice in shaping the future of their communities.

Amcor's Fairfield plant will give way to large-scale development when it closes in 2012. A development of more than 90 units and townhouses at the Northcote Bowl site is hanging over locals' heads, and the Arthurton Road site will see a massive development overshadow local residents.

A number of common themes emerge from these proposals - firstly, the lack of community say. The Northcote Leader reported that in August the Labor-dominated Darebin Council moved to exclude third-party appeal rights to VCAT for the Arthurton Road site. Why, when this will exclude the right of residents to have a proper say on a development that will profoundly affect them?

The unreliability of planning laws also features among resident concerns. As many as 12 storeys have been proposed for the Arthurton Road site, and residents are made to feel as if they should be grateful it has been scaled back to five, when even that height may well be excessive for a development of that scale.

Running through each of the proposals is the fear of locals that the traffic implications of large-scale development simply haven't been thought through. Heidelberg Road, Victoria Road and Arthurton Road are already stretched and pressured, yet the Government's approach seems to be that the traffic will look after itself.

If elected as an independent MP for Northcote, I would fight for all of these issues to be robustly addressed, and for better protections for residents living with developments that are already underway.

There is more that could be done to resolve disputes between developers and residents, and more to ensure that developers make good any impacts they impose on their way to profiting from the sale of their apartments - this includes cracking of neighbouring buildings, exposure to potential hazards during demolition, loss of solar generating capacity through overshadowing, and loss of amenity due to the presence of developers and their machinery.

It's not a choice between no development and over-development. We can achieve a balance that will meet economic, social and environmental needs by including the community's voice. No-one wants endless urban sprawl that will bring more cars (with their emissions) through Northcote from outside the city. On the other hand, no-one wants excessive development driven only by developer profits.

Voters in this election need to ask what sort of advocacy they are going to get on planning issues from Northcote MP Fiona Richardson, who is part of the Government that set the planning policies leading to such poor outcomes. An independent with sound planning policies can offer a voice that is not beholden to the development industry, or to a political party - an independent voice whose only task is to represent you in the Parliament.

Richardson's lip-service on planning

Here's the unedited version of a letter published in today's Melbourne Times Weekly in response to a 3 November article that spoke of Fiona Richardson's muted approval of the Brumby planning approach as "dissent" ("Dissent in ALP camp not part of the plan").

Fiona Richardson's tepid defence of the Brumby Government's planning record was too lukewarm to warrant the description of "dissent" in your headline. It's easy to call for community input, but quite another thing to allow local communities to actually influence the outcome of big planning decisions.

How far do voters think Richardson will stray from the ALP party line, as Planning Minister Justin Madden evades scrutiny of the planned sham consultation on the Windsor Hotel project, and big planning decisions are made in the shadow of the election care-taker period?

With Amcor's Fairfield plant and the Arthurton Road site just two big potential developments that are up in the air as we go to the State election, voters should suspect reassuring future commitments to consultation from the Northcote representative of a Brumby planning system that too often excludes a community say.

The planning equation needs to include more than profits for developers. We need sustainable communities, where housing is more affordable and provision is made for the disadvantaged.

The way we build these communities is through the democratic participation of the people who live in them. That's not happening. Lip-service is not enough, Ms Richardson. True dissent will not come from an MP within Government.

What I might also have said is that developers have been among the biggest donors to the Victorian Labor Party. That's why I've called for developer donation disclosures as part of the planning application process for big developments.

If you're concerned about planning and live in the electorate of Northcote, please consider my planning policies (and the others!).

Planning on the web in Darebin

This week's Northcote Leader reports that, by the end of the year, the City of Darebin will offer a web service to track local planning applications. I agree with the quoted comments of DADA spokesperson, Terry Scully. This is a strong idea, but the success of the proposal will depend on how it improves the ability of residents to genuinely participate in decisions about developments. That, in turn, depends crucially on what information the service offers, and the timeliness of its appearance on the web.

I am unaware of any consultation by Council with residents regarding the features they'd like to see in the service, and it would be interesting to see the brief for its development. Here, however, are a few ideas that I think would make the service better.

Firstly, updating the information online must be built into Council's procedures to process applications. Residents should be able to track who the applicant is, the date of first application, what is being proposed, the advertising period and deadline for resident submissions, the dates of meetings at which an application will be considered, its approval or otherwise, and whether an application is subject to a planning panel or appeal at VCAT. The ability to view planning applications by date, year, location and applicant would also be valuable.

This is not a comprehensive list, but these and similar features would improve the transparency of planning in Darebin. While the service cannot compensate for bad planning laws that allow inappropriate development to occur, a timely, regularly updated service would enable better participation by residents in planning decisions.

Finally, I also agree with Terry Scully regarding more conventional methods of informing residents about developments. There should be broader notification of surrounding residents – especially for larger developments. Terry's idea of listing proposed developments in ward newsletters is also a good idea, again depending on timeliness. To this I'd like to add a way to inform residents whether particular developments are supported or opposed by their local councillor. Whether print or online, this would be a good way of holding councillors accountable for their role in what is built in our local communities.

Labor set to crowd the Northcote skies

Here's a media release that went out this morning to all major media:

Some of the worst impacts of Melbourne 2030 are set to play out post-election for residents of Northcote, said Darren Lewin-Hill, an independent Lower House candidate, today. He said that, if elected, Labor's Fiona Richardson would carry forward the State Government's disastrous planning blueprint for crowding the skies of Northcote and other inner suburbs.

Residents adjoining Northcote railway station and large tracts of factory land on Arthurton Road ear-marked for rezoning are facing development of up to eight storeys. In an area of densely packed one and two-storey homes, the proposed rezoning will allow development that threatens overshadowing and a marked worsening of the already stressed traffic and parking situation. It will also inevitably heighten the danger from cars faced by children from the nearby Helen Street (Northcote) Primary School.

Read the full media release