PADD and City of Nedlands Correspondance
Paola Lovi - 15 May, 2008
Subject: PUBLIC ADDRESS TO DALKEITH STEERING
PUBLIC ADDRESS TO DALKEITH STEERING
COMMITTEE MEETING HELD 15 MAY 2008
BY PAOLA LOVI (CHAIRPERSON, PADD)Dear Mayor and Councillors,
I would like to address this meeting on the issue of heights for the existing commercial strip along Waratah Avenue in my capacity as Chairperson of PADD.
At the moment, under the current town planning scheme which is TPS2, the commercial landowners are not permitted to build anything other than a commercial use building with an overall height of 10m and 3 storeys.
The commercial landowners of the parcels of land from and including the Dalkeith Service Station to the Dalkeith Hall (but not including the Hall) have got together and have agreed to do a consolidated development. The total land area that we are talking about is approximately 5,000 sqm. It's a large parcel of land in anyone's terms and if it is developed it has the probability of permanently altering the Dalkeith streetscape - for better or worse.
We obviously want to ensure that it is for the betterment of Dalkeith and that the essential character of Dalkeith is not destroyed in the process.
To date, the commercial landowners to which I refer have not developed because they want the Council's permission for increased heights, densities and importantly, a rezoning to mixed use which will allow a mix of commercial, retail and residential to be built.
We have no objection to a mixed use rezoning provided that strict mandatory development controls are put in place as regards heights, provision of car parking, bulk of building, front, rear and side setbacks, plot ratio, landscaping and open spaces. Mandatory development controls remove any council discretion and make it clear to everyone what the rules are.
We are very concerned about heights. John Davies has addressed this Committee a number of times now on behalf of the commercial landowners and has given us his vision for the land in question. He tells us that he wants to build "something great for Dalkeith" that will stand the test of time. He tells us that the landowners want permission to build 30 plus units at 4 storeys and at a height of 15m. He tells us that he is not a property developer and whether or not that is true we know that the likelihood is that the project will be handed over to a property developer who will ultimately decide what is built within the parameters of the law.
At first glance, Mr Davies' vision might seem attractive to some of you.
But is it good planning based on sound planning principles to put this type of development in the midst of a largely R10 residential area? NO it isn't.
Added to that, an overwhelming majority of the residents through their written submissions to Council said that they did not want any development in Waratah Avenue over 3 storeys. More than 80% of the residents said this. They also said that they didn't object to mixed use. So this then begs the question, who are the landowners that John Davies represents wanting to build this 4 storey high development for? The residents have said they don't want it. Who then is left in the equation?
What John Davies hasn't told this Committee is that before the landowners were shown the Dalkeith Concept Plan and Guidelines last year which were largely based on the reports of Koltasz Smith and the release of which caused a furore in the community and the formation of PADD, the same landowners were pushing Council to adopt development guidelines drawn up by Allderling Burgess. Now this is a very important point that we cannot and should not gloss over.
Council publicly advertised the Allderling Burgess guidelines in 2006 but they did not become law.
I have now read the correspondence going between the commercial landowners and the Council and can tell you that up until the Council/Koltasz Smith Guidelines were released in 2007 proposing 4 and 5 storeys with high densities, there is no doubt that the landowners were pushing for changes in line with the Allderling Burgess recommendations. Once they saw what the Council and Koltasz Smith was proposing, the landowners wanted more.
What Allderling Burgess recommended is this-
a) if a commercial landowner builds a purely commercial building (not mixed use), the height should be restricted to 10m and 3 storeys;
b) if a mixed use building is to be built, the heights may increase to 12m but only if Council is first satisfied that there is to be no undue adverse impact on the adjoining sites, streetscape and amenity of the locality in general;
c) any building whether purely commercial or mixed use should be restricted to 10m at the street boundary to reduce the overall building bulk as viewed from the street;
d) no greater than R60 density.Allderling Burgess made it clear and I quote "whilst there is the consideration for the need to provide some flexibility in height controls to allow for mixed uses to occur, it should be at a level that is sensitive to its residential interface".
What John Davies is proposing be built is at about R65/R70 density and seeks a whopping 5 metre increase from the current allowable heights under the current town planning scheme.
To avoid any confusion, PADD is not proposing that the Allderling Burgess Guidelines be adopted. There are positive and negative things for Dalkeith in those guidelines. For one thing, we do not support an R60 zoning on the basis that that density is too high given that the rear neighbouring properties are zoned R10.
Also, to avoid any confusion, we are not slamming John Davies' vision altogether. There are probably some acceptable things in his development plan. What we are saying is that his proposed heights and densities are far too excessive for Dalkeith and need to be scaled back. We are suggesting a compromise. Whilst Mr Davies seeks an increase in the current allowable heights by 5 metres, we are saying increase it by no more than 2 metres and do not allow any more than 3 storeys.
So, in summary, what we are asking Council to do with respect to heights is to set a mandatory limit so that no commercial landowner can build at a height greater than 12m and no greater than 3 storeys including above ground car parking . We are also asking for some mandatory development controls to be set in relation to provision of car parking, plot ratio, bulk and scale of building, landscaping, open spaces and mixed use.
At the end of the day, what the residents of this historic suburb of ours are entitled to is good planning based on sound principles. It is not good planning to allow a monolithic structure to be parachuted into the middle of Waratah Avenue where it does not belong and when it would destroy the very nature of our suburb. Added to that, an overwhelming majority of the residents (some 80% of them) DON'T WANT a 4 storey development in Dalkeith and have said so.
We are all worried about the State Government's push to increase densities in our suburb and we are here tonight going through this process because we have been told that we have to find ways of allowing for some increased density in our suburb to placate the Government's push. The Government wants to achieve an infill target of 4,800 dwellings in the City of Nedlands - that is, an additional 4,800 dwellings. Let's not forget that this Council put Dalkeith at the forefront of this infill debate in the City of Nedlands by drawing up a now abandoned redevelopment plan for Dalkeith and setting the boundaries for a redevelopment precinct. We have had nothing to do with setting the boundaries. I am asking each of you to think outside the square as we are going through this process and not to blindly accept the redevelopment boundaries that have been pre-set for us.
There are other areas in the City of Nedlands which could be developed and infilled but no one is bringing those areas into the debate. There is the Sunset Hospital site laying vacant. There is the land all along the railway line which is vacant and there are large parcels of Council owned land on the Floreat side of the City of Nedlands which nothing has been done with. That land is very close to Floreat Florum shopping centre, public transport and is supported by major roads including Underwood Ave.
Please keep that in mind and keep any high density, multi-level development in Dalkeith to a bare minimum.
Thank you.