Amendment C231 – Rezoning of 34-40, 37-43 and 42-50 Moore Road, Vermont

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.

Where does Amendment C231 apply?

What does the Amendment do?

The Amendment rezones 34-40, 37-43 and 42-50 Moore Road, Vermont to the Neighbourhood Residential Zone, Schedule 3. The Amendment also makes minor changes to the Housing Framework Plan to include the entirety of these three properties in the limited change area and to the Neighbourhood Character Precincts plan to include the three properties in the Bush Suburban 9 precinct. The Bush Suburban 9 precinct is one of the municipality’s 26 neighbourhood character precincts, and is characterised by an area that features tall canopy trees and native shrubs, informal and open streetscapes and modest dwellings that are set within bushy landscaped surrounds.

What are the key differences between the existing and proposed controls?

The key differences between the existing controls (General Residential Zone Schedule 5) and the proposed controls (Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 3) are summarised below.

In Whitehorse, land in the General Residential Zone is within a natural change category, while land in the Neighbourhood Residential Zone is within a limited change category. The limited change areas represent the lowest degree of intended residential growth in the municipality and the natural change areas allow for modest housing growth and a variety of housing types that meet the preferred neighbourhood character.
New development in a limited change area should generally be in the form of detached dwellings and semi-detached dwellings, while new development in natural change areas may include townhouses, units and row or terrace houses.
The General Residential Zone has a mandatory maximum dwelling height of 11 metres (3 storeys), while the Neighbourhood Residential Zone has a mandatory maximum dwelling height of 9 metres (2 storeys).
Schedule 3 to the Neighbourhood Residential Zone seeks to reinforce the bush suburban character of the area by requiring planning permit applications to provide substantial space for landscaping together with modest building footprints.

Where can I view the amendment documents?

The proposed amendment documents can be downloaded below.

Panel Hearing Information and Documents

A Panel Hearing was held via MS Teams on Tuesday 8 February 2022 and Wednesday 9 February 2022.

The documents circulated prior to the Panel hearing are available for viewing below:

Council received the Panel’s report ( PDF 978.19KB) on 17 February 2022. A copy of the report will be sent to all submitters to the Amendment and all parties who presented at the Panel hearing.

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.

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Amendment C231 – Rezoning of 34-40, 37-43 and 42-50 Moore Road, Vermont

What happens next?