Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

RESCODE: NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS

News Release - Tuesday, 14th August, 2001

The State Opposition has called on the Minister for Planning to urgently announce the starting date for the Government's new residential planning code, ResCode, and make public the official ResCode documents.

The Minister announced in May that ResCode would commence "in August", and announced in July that ResCode would commence "in late August", but almost half way through August no official starting date has yet been made public.

The official text of ResCode and the necessary planning scheme amendments and Building Act regulations to give legal effect to ResCode are also not publicly available.

The Shadow Minister for Planning, Robert Clark, said that to date the Government had failed to provide answers on many key questions and concerns about ResCode, including:

• the rules which will apply where a developer applies to a Council to depart from ResCode standards for a single home not requiring a planning permit

• how long neighbours will have in which to make submissions on such applications, given that the Government is requiring Councils to decide these applications within 15 days

• what details of the application neighbours will be entitled to receive

• what the Government's final decision has been on overshadowing northern facing windows, and on disability access, two issues on which the Government has been reported to be considering last minute changes

• whether the Government has made any other last minute changes

• whether proposed local standards which are part way through the approval process when ResCode commences will be allowed to continue under ResCode. Bayside and Yarra Councils are amongst Councils with such amendments in progress.

• what procedures the Minister will require Councils to follow, and what tests the Council must meet, in order to convince the Minister that a neighbourhood is "special" and thus entitled to a Neighbourhood Character Overlay

• what tests the Minister will apply in deciding whether or not to agree to the measures the Council wants to include in the Neighbourhood Character Overlay, and

• what procedures will apply for Councils seeking to vary the ResCode schedule of standards for their municipality.

"With time fast running out, Councils, planning professionals, home builders and residents all need to know where they stand.

"Once again, good planning is suffering because Victoria has a part-time Planning Minister who concentrates on media events rather than on actually getting his changes to work," Mr Clark said.