A copy of the letter recently sent to the Minister for Planning, The Honourable Justin Madden.
31 January 2010
The Honourable Justin Madden
Minister for Planning
LEVEL 17
8 NICHOLSON ST
MELBOURNE 3000
cc
The Honourable Christine Campbell, Member for Pascoe Vale
The Honourable Kelvin Thomson, Member for Wills
The Honourable Robin Scott, Member for Preston
State Planning Service, Department of Planning and Community Development
Mayor and Councillors, Moreland City Council
Mayor and councillors, Darebin City Council
Dear Mr. Madden
RE: Community Consultation in relation to the proposed Development Plan for the former Kodak site, 173-199 Elizabeth Street, North Coburg (30 November 2009)
I am writing firstly to advise you about a concerning omission in relation letters distributed to local residents advising them about the consultation process associated with the above Development Plan.
Residents living along the east side of Elizabeth Street did not receive the letter and therefore are unaware of the opportunity to make submissions in relation to the draft Development Plan. Essentially, residents of the City of Darebin appear to have been excluded from commenting on the Plan.
These residents will be directly and significantly impacted by the proposed Plan, particularly given the projected increase in traffic volumes, relocation of street lights and the proposed maximum height limits of three storey residential and four storey commercial built form currently proposed along the west side of Elizabeth Street. These residents deserve and an equal opportunity to comment on the proposed Development Plan.
Residents along the east side of Elizabeth Street also do not receive the Moreland Leader and therefore will not have noticed any advertisements relating to the deadlines for submission.
Secondly, the letters that were distributed to local residents in select neighbourhood streets were received on Christmas Eve. As you will be aware, many people take annual vacation over the January period and therefore have not had a ‘fair and reasonable’ opportunity to comment on the Development Plan. This is especially concerning given the large number of young families residing in the Newlands area who rely on existing community facilities and local amenity, such as safe walking access to and from the Newlands Primary School. The proposed Development Plan will have a marked impact on local amenity and access to community facilities and therefore it is appropriate the all residents have a ‘fair and reasonable’ opportunity to provide input into this significant 400 dwelling development located within an existing residential community. Another point to mention in relation to distribution to ‘select’ neighbourhood streets was that streets that will have significantly higher traffic volumes, namely Outlook Rd and Jackson Pde, were also exempt from the distribution of leaflets.
Thirdly, the letters that were distributed were addressed to the ‘owner’ of the property. This has a disempowering impact on people who rent. Residents who rent make an active and valued contribution to our local community. People who rent have a strong knowledge about and reliance on existing community infrastructure. It is both respectful and appropriate to invite comment from renters whose neighbourhood will be significant impacted by the proposed development.
Given the exclusion from the advertised consultation process of residents living on the east side of Elizabeth Street and renters, as well as the inappropriate submission deadline set during a known summer holiday period, we formally request an extension to the submission deadline. We also request that residents on the east side of Elizabeth Street, Outlook Rd and Jackson Pde receive the letter relating to the Development Plan.
We also note that not all residents, particularly the elderly, have access to or skills to use email or internet. A ‘fair and reasonable’ consultation process would not exclude these people from having an input into their local community, including comment of such a significant development.
Given the obvious omissions in the current consultation process, the Newlands Community Alliance is facilitating a community meeting in relation to the proposed Development Plan. This meeting will be held at the Newlands Community Centre on the 7th February 2010 and will provide the local community with an opportunity to both understand and discuss, as a community, the proposed Development.
This meeting will provide an opportunity for all affected residents, regardless of whether they are technology savvy or in immediate residential location to the development site, to be given a ‘fair and reasonable’ opportunity to access, understand and comment on the potential impacts of the proposed Development. We would expect that an extension to the submission deadline would allow this to occur, past the Newlands Community meeting on the 7th of February.
To assist the community to understand the Development Plan, we also invite representatives from the Department of Planning and Community Development to brief the community on the proposed Plan at a community meeting scheduled for 7th February 2010. We would not expect representatives to answer questions from the floor. We do believe, however, that a presentation overview would help residents that are not skilled in reading such a document and therefore cannot understand the potential impact on their local community
We look forward to prompt response to this letter and a revised consultation process. Please do not hesitate to contact me on 0404 043 010 if you would like to discuss any aspects of this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Melissa Alexander
Newlands Community Alliance
www.newlandscommunityalliance.org
29 Peterson Ave
Coburg North 3058
