THE Point Lonsdale Civic Association (PLCA) will add its voice to a public hearing about town boundaries in the Bellarine Peninsula Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) program, and believes its stance is shared not only by neighbouring community groups but also the councils of the two municipalities involved.<\/p>\n
There are divided views on the settlement boundaries laid out in the DAL\u2019s draft Statement of Planning Policy (SPP), and Planning Minister Richard Wynne referred the relevant submissions earlier this month to an independent Standing Advisory Committee for further advice.<\/p>\n
In an update recently sent to members after consultation with members from the Combined Bellarine Community Associations (CBCA), PLCA president David Kenwood said Mr Wynne\u2019s decision was \u201can unexpected surprise as all indications were that the final decision was to be made by the Minister in 2021 \u2013 based on submissions and without a Planning Panel\u201d, allowing for a slight delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome felt the decision to appoint a Planning Panel, was due to the publicity campaign waged by developers (and others), which included large advertisements in local press, or the possibility of a future legal challenge,\u201d Mr Kenwood said.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most prominent ad from a developer was the \u201cOpen Letter to Daniel Andrews\u201d in early September authorised by Melbourne planning and property consultancy Dominion Property Group and signed by representatives from 13 businesses.<\/p>\n
Mr Kenwood said the SAC\u2019s terms of reference to only consider settlement boundaries was also a surprise, but the PLCA\u2019s submission was among the 131 referred to the SAC so it intended to speak to its submission at the public hearing, which begins on April 26.<\/p>\n
He said the City of Greater Geelong\u2019s Amendment C395 to its Planning Scheme had nearly the same settlement boundaries as the draft SPP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Borough of Queenscliffe, we believe, also is on the \u2018same page\u2019 as COGG, in regards to settlement boundaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should be noted, the borough does not have the same pressures on Settlement Boundaries, due to its geographical position.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis might mean, that COGG (and possibly the Borough) will appear at the Panel Hearing and make \u2018our\u2019 arguments for us – perhaps using highly skilled legal counsel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been mentioned anecdotally in discussions already.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, we cannot really be sure of this until it actually occurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be very unusual that developers would make their arguments without utilising highly qualified legal counsel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe use of legal counsel by community groups would not be expected by the panel, and for that matter may be disadvantageous to our position.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said there was strong agreement among the CBCA on the \u201cpressure points\u201d on settlement boundaries in the DAL, which are the western border of Point Lonsdale, the western border of Barwon Heads, the entire boundaries of Drysdale and Portarlington, and in Ocean Grove to the west, east and north.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Point Lonsdale Civic Association (PLCA) will add its voice to a public hearing about town boundaries in the Bellarine Peninsula Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) program, and believes its stance is shared not only by neighbouring community groups but also the councils of the two municipalities involved. There are divided views on the settlement […]<\/p>\n