Colac Otway council briefed on farm lot rezoning

COUNCILLORS at Colac Otway Shire have been briefed on the potential of rezoning small farm lots to Rural Living Zone land.

The briefing follows a request in March by Cr Jason Schram for a report from officers, which documented the process, timeframes, costs and challenges of undertaking a planning zone change.

The report’s findings emphasised the importance of protecting farming land for agricultural use in line with existing state and local government policy.

The report stated such an amendment was unnecessary as it was already possible to build homes on small rural allotments subject to a planning permit process, and compliance with the council’s decision making criteria.

The process of rezoning farming land to the Rural Living Zone requires significant strategic justification in regard to state planning policies.

The process could potentially cost up to $200,000 and could take 12 to 18 months to complete, with no guarantee of a favourable outcome despite following a planning scheme amendment process.

Colac Otway chief executive officer Peter Brown said the council’s planning scheme recognised rural living as a legitimate housing choice, but the existing planning strategies adequately catered for this type of living choice within the shire.

“In the past five years the planning department has approved 19 permits from a total of 20 applications for dwellings on small farm lots (less than four hectares), where the circumstances of the site have justified a permit being issued.”

Every application submitted to develop a small lot in the Farming Zone with a dwelling is assessed on its individual merits, having regard to matters such as the character of the surrounding area, any agricultural use proposed on the subject land and the potential to consolidate the lot with neighbouring agricultural land.

Cr Schram said the council was keen to address the community perception surrounding the challenges of building in a rural zone, and encouraged land owners to discuss their property circumstances with the planning team.