HOW DOES OUR PLANNING SYSTEM WORK?

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THIS IS HOW IT WORKS

Before you can build you need a planning permit.

Planning can be complex, and planning decisions can attract a lot of attention and controversy.
Planning is a state government responsibility delegated to your Maribyrnong council to implement through their planning department.
Planners are skilled professionals working in the interests of your community through managing change in a predictable and orderly way.
Their role includes accommodating the required increase in population density while maintaining the amenity of residents and preserving our urban environment. This is no easy task. Conflicts between community and development pressures often place them in an unenviable position.

Planning follows both local and state-wide rules.

These rules are set out in your local Maribyrnong Planning Scheme. Planning rules determine what you can and can’t do with your property through:

• Local Planning Policies
• Planning Zones
• Planning Overlays
• Rescode

Planning policies

Planning policies help you understand how planners will consider your proposal, including heritage and neighbourhood character issues. A planner must take polices into account when deciding on your application.

Zones

Zones control how you can use your land (residential, industrial etc). Zones are uniform across Victoria, but your council can add a schedule to the zone. Schedules modify details in the zone to reflect local circumstances. This piece of land at No 31 is zoned Neighbourhood Residential Zone – Schedule 1 (NRZ1). NRZ1 means that you can build a dwelling, but it must have 25% garden area, it can only be 2 storeys and no more than 9 meters high. The Schedule 1 in this case has no other special requirements.

Overlays (this is where heritage issues come in)

Overlays impose requirements additional to your zoning. This property has a Heritage Overlay HO Schedule 15 (HO15) which is the Yarraville Residential Heritage Area. A Heritage Overlay is very important as it significantly affects what you can build and how it must look. Its purpose is to ensure that your extension does not adversely affect the significance, character and appearance of the heritage place. A Heritage Overlay requires a permit to externally alter or demolish a building.

How does a heritage overlay work in practice?

Once submitted your design is assessed by specialist trained heritage architects. You must gain the heritage architects approval to proceed further. Maribyrnong planning have detailed heritage guidelines for alterations and additions like this one. New work should be located and scaled so that the significant parts of the heritage building (front, roof form) as seen from the street are retained. High quality contemporary design is encouraged; however, additions should be in a sympathetic style whilst being clearly identifiable as a 21st century change.

• The existing roof form should not be simply extended, to ensure that the old is separated from the new.
• Period details should not be replicated as copying historic styles misrepresents history.
• New materials should be similar to the original and in keeping with their character.
• The new roof form should be kept to the rear, made distinctive and contemporary and have an appropriate scale.

How does this design respond to the heritage guidelines?

Although this design carefully follows these guidelines there is no “one size fits all” solution. Instead, it was a process of crafting the design in detail with the planners and heritage architects to achieve a resolution, including:

• Using materials that are appropriate to the modest character of the original house.
• Keeping the new roof form to the rear and making it contemporary and distinctive.
• Giving the new work an appropriate scale that does not dominate the original house.
• Making the design considerate of adjoining houses and not allowing it to overwhelm them.
• Reinstating corrugated roofing and weatherboards on the original house.
• Ensuring that the original roof form as seen from the street is retained.
• Using flat and skillion roofs so that they are lower and less dominant.
• Using timber windows in the new work but with different proportions.
• Continuing weatherboard cladding on part of the new work to tie the new and the old together.

Rescode

Rescode is a set of detailed design requirements in the planning scheme. All planning permits must comply with Rescode which contains 13 design standards covering:

• Street setback  
• Building height
• Site coverage
• Permeability
• Side and rear setbacks
• Walls on boundaries
• Daylight to existing windows
• North facing windows
• Overshadowing open space
• Overlooking
• Daylight to new windows
• Private open space
• Front fences

Rescode also covers neighbourhood character, requiring your design to respond to the elements of the surrounding area that contribute to the neighbourhood character, including:

• Street setback
• Building height
• Side and rear setbacks
• Site coverage
• Private open space
• Front fence height

Once the planners and heritage architects have signed off on your proposal and your planning permit is issued you have two years to complete the works.