Prominent planner Stephen Rowley, author of The Victorian Planning System, published diagrams on his website on Wednesday to provide a sense of the scale of buildings possible under the new code.
“The entire point of such controls is to provide clarity to developers and the community. Visualisation of the outcomes should therefore have been part of the preparation of the code,” Rowley wrote.
On Friday afternoon, after The Age sent questions, the state government released a 90-page document with guidelines for applying the new townhouse and apartment code.
They include diagrams for applying different aspects of the standards but not examples of the scale of buildings to be green-lit without appeal rights.
Developers can still apply to exceed the new standards, but this will trigger a longer process and allow residents to object at the state planning tribunal.
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Whitehorse Mayor Andrew Davenport warned the code would erode suburb character and lead to bulkier buildings with less greenery.
He said the removal of neighbourhood character assessments and appeal rights made this the most significant of the government’s planning reforms.
“It allows, and in many ways encourages, generic responses to comply with standards that do not reflect any local characteristics of an area – and could be the same response to a suburb anywhere in Victoria,” Davenport said.
Boroondara Council director of urban living Scott Walker said the new “tick-the-box” approach was a return to a planning method of the ’60s and ’70s that produced the monolithic walk-up flats.
“Given the poor outcomes, planning shifted to a performance-based approach in the 1990s which took into consideration the local context,” Walker said. “Now, the clock is being turned back to an antiquated [approach].”
A Brimbank Council spokesman said the erasing of any real consideration of whether a development fit with an area’s character was disappointing.
“Character is made up of much more than simply setbacks, site coverage, trees and front fences, yet this is all that the new provisions have narrowed it down to,” he said.
City of Manningham planning and liveability director Andrew McMaster said the decision to switch off the council’s local policies and schedules in planning decisions would have far-reaching consequences for neighbourhood character.
“Over the years, significant investment has been made in developing strategies ... It is disappointing that these efforts are now being effectively undone without consultation or any right of reply,” McMaster said.
“Better planning outcomes are achieved by involving communities in the planning process and considering local needs and aspirations.”
City of Glen Eira director of planning and place Rosa Zouzoulas said the new planning code did not encourage increased housing density because it did not include a requirement to consider if an application was an under-development.
Municipal Association of Victoria president Jennifer Anderson said the government’s consultation for the new planning code was constrained, with detail provided to councils in early March. “This is not an efficient way to pursue planning system reform,” she said.
The new planning controls did not resolve bigger problems, Anderson said, such as labour shortages and construction costs. Analysis from the association shows more than 120,000 homes have been approved by councils but not built.
Planning Institute of Australia state president Patrick Fensham said the new deemed-to-comply standards were permissive and risked leading to developments that appeared jarring in local contexts, with potential impacts on neighbours.
He also said that while the government’s priority had been to build more housing in transport hubs, these changes were “spatially blind” by applying to residential areas statewide.
“We could see an unintended consequence of more ad hoc development outside well-located areas,” he said.
An Allan government spokeswoman said Rowley’s diagrams did not accurately show what developments would look like because they excluded features such as windows, balconies and greenery. “The townhouse code is much more than heights and setbacks,” she said.
“[It] lays out clear, common-sense rules for well-designed homes up to three storeys so more Victorians can find a place to rent or buy a place close to what matters to them and their loved ones.”
She said the “deemed-to-comply” approach would cut approval times down by 60 per cent and prevent developments being held up at the state planning tribunal.
She said the standards were developed in consultation with more than 140 representatives from councils and the development and planning sector.
The deemed-to-comply approach does not apply to single dwellings and buildings of four storeys or more.
Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said the changes were important to the sector because they made certain types of homes more straightforward to approve and build.
“This is especially important in the townhouse and dual-occupancy types of homes which are likely to play an important part of boosting supply in established areas, particularly while market conditions for apartments are very challenging,” she said.
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