REPORTS SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT 11 MAY 2015 ORDINARY COUNCIL MEETING OF COUNCIL

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1 REPORT NO: 0.0 REPORT TITLE: SOURCE: DIVISION: FILE NO: POLICY: - STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Planning Scheme Amendment C202: Western Avenue, Westmeadows Gareth Edgley, Senior Strategic Planner City Sustainability HCC14/ Facilitate appropriate urban development while protecting and enhancing the City s environment, natural heritage and rural spaces. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Draft Westmeadows Employment Precinct Comprehensive Development Plan 2. Surrounding land use context 3. Difference in developable area 4. Clause of the Hume Planning Scheme - Local Areas 5. Map 4.2 Mickleham Road South from draft Hume Corridor Integrated Growth Area Plan: Spatial Strategy (Oct, 2014) 1. SUMMARY OF REPORT: Council has received a request to undertake an amendment to the Hume Planning Scheme by Transpacific Industries Group Ltd for the land at Western Avenue, Westmeadows. It is proposed to amend the Hume Planning Scheme by rezoning the subject land from Farming 3 Zone to Comprehensive Development Zone, removing the Environmental Audit Overlay, adding a Comprehensive Development Plan to the Incorporated Documents, and amending the Heritage Overlay HO384. The Comprehensive Development Zone will require a Structure Plan for the subject land to be submitted to the satisfaction of Council. It is recommended that Council seeks authorisation from the Minister to prepare and exhibit the planning scheme amendment. 2. RECOMMENDATION: That Council: 2.1 seeks authorisation from the Minister for Planning to prepare and exhibit Planning Scheme Amendment C202 in accordance with Section 8A of the Planning and Environment Act subject to Ministerial authorisation, exhibits Planning Scheme Amendment C202 to the Hume Planning Scheme to rezone the subject land to Comprehensive Development Zone, removes the Environmental Audit Overlay, adds a Comprehensive Development Plan to the Incorporated Documents, and amends the Heritage Overlay HO384, pursuant to Section 19 of the Planning and Environment Act, LEGISLATIVE POWERS: Planning and Environment Act Page 1

2 REPORT NO: 0.0 (cont.) 4. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS: A condition of the proposed development would be to improve the quality of open space in the Moonee Ponds Creek environs, and for this land to be opened to the public under the ownership of Melbourne Water. 5. COMMUNITY CONSULTATION: 5.1 The amendment would be exhibited in accordance with the requirements of Section 19 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 for a period of one month. This would include: a notice in local newspapers circulating in the local area notices to all affected and adjoining land owners a notice in the Government Gazette; and notices to the relevant referral authorities and Ministers prescribed under the Act. 5.2 The planning scheme amendment would introduce a Comprehensive Development Plan for the subject land. The plan provides context on how the land would be developed and would help the community understand the likely outcomes of the proposed changes (see Attachment 1 for a current draft of the Comprehensive Development Plan). 6. DISCUSSION: 6.1 Subject Land The subject land is made up of part of Western Avenue, Westmeadows and part of two road reserves - Victoria Street and Western Avenue. The subject land is also known as part of the Buffer Land, as it forms part of the buffer between the former Tullamarine landfill further to the west, and the Westmeadows residential area to the east. The subject land is approximately 24.1 ha in area, made up of 21.7 ha from Western Avenue, 1.0 ha from Victoria Street and 1.4 ha from Western Avenue. The Moonee Ponds Creek environs runs along the northern boundary of the subject land and the Tullamarine Freeway forms the southern boundary, with Melbourne Airport on the southern side of the Freeway Western Avenue is currently vacant. Western Avenue is used to access offices, industrial land and the closed Tullamarine landfill to the west. Victoria Street is an unmade road The balance of the Buffer Land is made up of two properties, and Wright Street, Westmeadows, located between the subject land and Wright Street, and the northern part of Western Avenue that is zoned as Public Use Zone 1, adjacent to the Moonee Ponds Creek. This land is not part of the proposed planning scheme amendment Attachment 1 shows the subject land and the surrounding land use context. 6.2 Background This is the fourth planning scheme amendment request submitted to Council for the subject land. The first was submitted in November 2009, and the second was submitted in May Both proposals included the landfill and adjacent industrial land, as well as the Buffer Land. Both requests were not supported by Council due to the ongoing assessments of contamination and management of landfill obligations, and did not progress to authorisation or exhibition. Page 2

3 REPORT NO: 0.0 (cont.) The third request was received in July 2012 and submitted to Council for authorisation in April 2013 (Planning Scheme Amendment C160). This time the proposal excluded the landfill and industrial land to the west, and focused on the Buffer Land the same subject land as this amendment request After public exhibition, Council determined to abandon amendment C160. The exhibition process resulted in 73 submissions to Council, one of which was a petition with 167 signatures. Of the 73 submissions, 66 objected to the proposal, including the petition The main issues raised by submitters and Council officers for C160 were: (a) (b) (c) concerns related to the traffic impacts of the proposal (around 75% of submissions). During the planning scheme amendment process the Business 3 Zone was changed by State Government to Commercial 2 Zone. Commercial 2 Zone allowed a greater scope of uses than the Business 3 Zone and did not allow the level of control necessary to manage traffic impacts. Zoning - a Comprehensive Development Zone would be more appropriate to manage the unique conditions of the subject land, including: (iii) developing an appropriate response to the steep topography to the north managing the impact on the Moonee Ponds Creek environs ensuring that measures are in place to protect the groundwater monitoring bores in accordance with the Tullamarine landfill s Post Closure Management Plan. concerns related to contamination (around 80% of submissions) After considering submissions, Council determined to abandon the amendment. 6.3 Proposed Planning Scheme Amendment The current proposal is to rezone the buffer land currently zoned as Farming 3 Zone to a Comprehensive Development Zone (CDZ). The CDZ would allow the subject land to be used for warehousing, industrial and up to 3,000 sqm of office uses. The cap on office uses is a response to the traffic constraints of Western Avenue/Mickleham Road. The CDZ requires the proponent to submit a Structure Plan for approval by Council at a later date. The Structure Plan must be generally in accordance with the Comprehensive Development Plan (see Attachment 1) The current proposal responds to issues raised for C160 in the following ways: (a) Zoning - Council s preferred zoning for the subject land was CDZ following the change to the zones by State Government in The CDZ enables Council to develop a site specific response to a site with complex conditions, including: (iii) (iv) measures to safeguard the groundwater monitoring bores a process to manage the interfaces with residential land to the east, the Tullamarine Freeway and Moonee Ponds Creek environs a process for coordinating the bulk earthworks required to prepare parts of the site for industrial development a cap on office development to control traffic generation Page 3

4 REPORT NO: 0.0 (cont.) (b) (c) (v) requiring the proponent to consider the potential alignment of the Attwood Connector in a subdivision layout. Contamination further information provided to Council since C160 includes the following: (iii) (iv) (v) Traffic The Statement of Environmental Audit has been reviewed by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and outstanding questions were resolved satisfactorily in January The document is now publically available and is due to be published on the EPA s website. The Auditor has proposed specific wording in the schedule to the CDZ to protect the monitoring bores and make it explicit that groundwater should not be extracted by operators. Advice from the Auditor and EPA that easements created on titles would be an appropriate mechanism to secure ongoing access to the monitoring bores post subdivision of the subject land. Advice from the Auditor that the groundwater monitoring bores could be accessed from road reserves in a future subdivision, via a metal cover flush with the road pavement. Advice from the Auditor that the depth of proposed excavation (up to 2.5m) to create land suitable for industrial development would have a negligible effect on vapour intrusion risk. Council and VicRoads agreed the traffic mitigation measures required to Western Avenue and Mickleham Road prior to exhibition of C160 in early The current planning scheme amendment would have less traffic generation than land uses associated with the previous amendment C160, due to its lower net developable area and restrictions on office development. The proponent has agreed to enter into a section 173 agreement that will require the construction of the traffic mitigation works in advance of development Other issues relevant to the current proposal include: (a) Retarding basin in the Tarnuk Reserve (also known as the Willowbrook Reserve) The current proposal involves the construction of a new retarding basin in Tarnuk Reserve. This land is owned by Melbourne Water and maintained by Council. The proponent has commissioned a Flora and Fauna Assessment, Cultural Heritage Management Plan and an Historical Cultural Heritage Assessment to cover the land that would be affected by the proposed retarding basin. Melbourne Water considers the proposal to offer social and environmental benefits and has approved in principle to the proposed retarding basin at Tarnuk Reserve. (iii) The proposal is subject to the agreement of the landowner of and Wright Street, Westmeadows, as infrastructure would need to be constructed through that land to convey the water. Page 4

5 REPORT NO: 0.0 (cont.) (b) (c) (iv) If agreement with the neighbouring landowner is not reached, the contingency would be to treat the stormwater at retarding basins within Western Avenue. Interface to the Moonee Ponds Creek environs (iii) The developable area in the planning is different to that requested by the proponent. The proponent proposed to develop the land to the north of the subject land, as the land slopes steeply down towards the creek, up to the limits of the current Farming 3 Zone. This is not supported by Council as it is not considered to be an appropriate response to the landscape or the site conditions. The northern limit of the developable land in this planning scheme amendment is set by the contour 109m AHD between Western Avenue and Wright Street. This would result in up to 3m of fill at the northern edge and enable a graded slope to be constructed down to the Moonee Ponds Creek environs, consistent with the existing landscape (the slope would become 1:6 rather than 1:7). Attachment 2 shows the difference between the proponent s request and the northern limit of development agreed to by Council. The steep land accounts for approximately 4.3 ha. The proponent has advised Council that it will object to the limit of development as set out in the current planning scheme amendment at exhibition. In the likely event that Council does not resolve their objection, it would become a matter for Panel to mediate and adjudicate. Heritage Overlay HO384 Farm hedges and dry stone walls (iii) (iv) The 2003 Hume Heritage Study recommended that Council protect the boxthorn hedges and dry stone walls off Victoria and Wright Street, Westmeadows with a Heritage Overlay to the Hume Planning Scheme. The complex of hedges and walls was considered to be of; local historical significance as a now rare and the best remaining fragment of the once ubiquitous fencing types which were the first farm enclosures in the Broadmeadows district. (p673) Following this advice, boxthorn hedges that marked the boundary between Wright Street and Western Avenue (the subject site) were protected by Heritage Overlay HO384 in Planning Scheme Amendment C55 of Unfortunately there was an error in the mapping process, as H0384 only protects the boxthorn hedge on one side of the property boundary (land within Wright Street), whereas the hedge extends into both properties as it acts as the boundary marker. As part of this planning scheme amendment, it is proposed to correct this error and extend HO384 into the subject site, Western Avenue. The impact of the proposed development on HO384 would then be considered by the Structure Plan under the Comprehensive Development Zone. Page 5

6 REPORT NO: 0.0 (cont.) 6.4 Strategic Justification 7. CONCLUSION: Under Clause of the Hume Planning Scheme (Local Areas), the subject land is identified as an area for which a long term use must be found, see Attachment 3. The draft Hume Corridor Integrated Growth Area Plan (HIGAP): Spatial Strategy (October, 2014) identifies the subject land as an area of change and a site for potential employment (long term) use, see Attachment The draft HIGAP Spatial Strategy sets out a strategy for the future development of the subject land: Require that any revised proposal for development at Western Avenue is for light industrial or office development and: adequately addresses the land contamination does not cause adverse traffic conditions on Mickleham Road and Western Avenue delivers necessary upgrades to Mickleham Road, Western Avenue and local roads mitigates the visual and amenity impacts on adjoining residential properties protects views from publically accessible areas to the north and east provides a high quality interface to the Tullamarine Freeway delivers or safeguards the alignment of the Attwood Connector through the site. (p48) The proposed planning scheme amendment provides an appropriate response to these requirements. A mixture of industrial, warehousing and office development is proposed rather than the light industrial and office development originally envisaged in the draft HIGAP Spatial Strategy. It is recommended that Council requests authorisation to prepare and exhibit Hume Planning Scheme Amendment C202. The amendment will rezone the subject land from Farming 3 Zone to Comprehensive Development Zone, remove the Environmental Audit Overlay, and amend the Heritage Overlay HO384. The issues and concerns associated with the previous amendment C160 have now been resolved. The Comprehensive Development Zone will require a Structure Plan for the subject land to be submitted to the satisfaction of Council. Subject to authorisation it is recommended that Council exhibits the amendment as set out in this report. Page 6

7 Attachment 1 - Draft Westmeadows Employment Precinct Comprehensive Development Plan

8 Attachment 2 - Surrounding land use context

9 Attachment 3 - Difference in developable area

10 Attachment 4 - Clause of the Hume Planning Scheme - Local Areas

11 Attachment 5 - Map 4.2 Mickleham Road South from draft Hume Corridor Integrated Growth Area Plan: Spatial Strategy (Oct, 2014)