STALLING developments is the prerogative of the State\u2019s planning rules according to the Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan.<\/p>\n
Across regional Victoria, Mr Riorden said that landowners hoping to develop are being obscured by zoning and planning changes and are finding the process problematic.<\/p>\n
Now he\u2019s launched a campaign to determine how many people in the regions have been negatively impacted by Victoria\u2019s planning overlays and guidelines.<\/p>\n
Rules concerning the state\u2019s bushfire overlay, environmental management overlay and township boundary modifications are the three issue predominantly at play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a bushfire comes through and people lose their homes, they might actually find that they can\u2019t rebuild their house,\u201d Mr Riorden said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross South West Victoria there are a lot of people that sadly don\u2019t realise that they could be left worrying about their home after a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bushfire overlay recommended by the Royal Commission after the Black Saturday bushfires were specifically designed to protect people and prevent deaths.<\/p>\n
Minister for Planning Richard Wynne said the aim of these planning policies is to prioritise the protection of human life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Victorian government has implemented all planning recommendations from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission to protect people from bushfires,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese reforms ensure that all new construction in areas subject to bushfire risk are designed and built with materials that help to save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, these regulations have made it increasingly financially difficult for some owners to continue construction on their land.<\/p>\n
After purchasing a block of land in the Otways in 2017 complete with a permit to build, Damian Costin and his family found that the new fire safe regulations stood in the way of constructing his house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were all these other fine print clauses as well that made it impossible to build,\u201d Mr Costin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been told by consultants to not even go to VCAT, to not waste my money and effectively that I can do nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese planning laws have ruined people\u2019s economies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Riordan has put a call out for stories like Mr Costin\u2019s to come forward to form a united front.<\/p>\n
The Member for Polwarth said he wants to gain a sense of how many people have been disadvantaged by these rules and raise it with State government as a larger issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a section on my website for people to submit their stories,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m calling for a review of the rural and country zoning laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shires either have to front up and give a huge rate reduction to thousands of people and revalue a whole bunch of land to zero or the state has to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STALLING developments is the prerogative of the State\u2019s planning rules according to the Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan. Across regional Victoria, Mr Riorden said that landowners hoping to develop are being obscured by zoning and planning changes and are finding the process problematic. Now he\u2019s launched a campaign to determine how many people in the […]<\/p>\n