Subdivison guidance for SE Melbourne

Hi property gurus,

I purchased my house in 2015 with no intention to develop due to the odd shape of the land. But from what I have gathered around the forum that it might be possible to subdivide so I would like to get some guidance to have the best chance of getting council's approval.

• Location: Noble Park, Vic
• Council: Greater Dandenong
• Land size: 638 sqm (including easement)
• Estimated value of current property: $560-580K
• Zoning: General Residential Zone - Schedule 1 (GRZ1)
• Overlays: None
• Planned development: 3/2/2 townhouse at rear

I would like to keep existing residence as it is in good condition (was renovated right before I purchased it) and I think knocking it down to develop 2 townhouses would not be profitable.

There are few concerns:

• My existing residence was built on a slope (about 2m higher than the street)
• There few trees in the back yard, especially one 8m tall tree (not sure if protected)
• Easement running along the back fence may limit available land for new development

So just to get things started, I would like to get some recommendation for town planner. Any guidance and comment is appreciated.

Please let me know if you would like more information.

Tony.

 

@MTR - this is the go to gal to answer these questions.

 

@tonyvooz

Council is going thru few changes:

Look out for C182 of council and state planning charges (35% landscaping requirements)

We just lost an application with council as they were "seriously entertaining c182" well after we lodged application. We are off to vcat with that application.

Generally, I find transition time is really difficult for developers.

In your case - First engage an surveyoer and arborist. Survey and arborist repor will be key for permissible building envlope!

 

Sound too tight to get 3 townhouses and retain existing house
Talks to Estate Agent about likely values. Find planner or architect who can determine building envelopes and likely yield. Avoid preliminary discussions with the Council until you have done that

 

Hey mate,

Isn't C182 Garden requirement only applicable to NRZ's as opposed to GRZs

 

State zoning/residential provisions changed yesterday - a revisit and check is warranted

 

Thanks Xenia, I will reach out to her.

 

Hi Tufan, thanks for your comment. I definitely need to talk to an EA about potential value as my rough calculation over the weekend says that my profit margin will be very slim or nearly none.

 

I had a look at VIC Reformed Residential Zones booklet and it says that GRZ subjects to minimum garden area requirement of 30% (lot size 501-650 sqm). Since I'm going to subdivide my lot into 2, are you aware of any further guidance on how to allocate the garden area between the 2 new pieces of land?

 

Tony, looks like it applies to both GRZ and NRZ

(Pro Urban Summary, 2017)

 

I can see perfect brewing storm for development application approvals.

Some of C182 requirements conflicts with new state planning rules.


Developers will have to go thru lot more hurdles with council to get things moving.


More pressure on housing stock.

 

C182 was considered in our recent VCAT decision and yes it does conflict with the current planning scheme. Amendment - Planning Schemes Online

The problem is that the councillor actually visited the site in Noble Park, and it was quite evident that the existing "neighbourhood character" was that in summary, there is no landscaping on recent approvals so you can compare that to the character of the existing neighbourhood.

When you engage a TP ensure you seek guidance from the council, they are ultra conservative and absolutely irrational. In summary they suck. Ensure your landscape plan is designed effectively - the council are still giving us grief as Mr Keane is a sore loser.

Avoid VCAT, it is costly and these clowns spend a week preparing for the hearing - i have all their submissions including c182 - if you need it later on i'll show you.

Good news - since 2015, your land is worth significantly more than what you bought it for!

Cheers Ivan