Resident action groups rate Moreland Council Design Excellence Scorecard a FAIL

Although Moreland Council’s recently approved Development Excellence Scorecard seems like a worthy program to improve the design of too rapidly built buildings – in reality it fails residents and deserves a low-score says Brunswick Residents Network’s (BRN) Ms Jo Stanley and Fawkner Residents Association (FRA) Mr Joe Perri.

The first failing in a litany of many was the omission of both the Brunswick and Fawkner resident groups, together with Protecting Moreland in the development of the Scorecard.  Over the three-year journey since the concept was announced – no input was sought or requested from the three high profile community-based groups.

“The second (but strongest) failing is that the Scorecard will open up a unique avenue of permit approval for multi-unit developments with decisions on contentious issues such as height – made behind closed doors by non-elected representatives”, said Jo Stanley.

According to the Council Report, industry professionals such as planners, architects, developers, builders, engineers, ESD consultants, access consultants and academics were consulted – with the obvious omission being the representatives from the resident groups of Brunswick, Moreland / Coburg and Fawkner.

Even the input of buyers was another obvious omission.

Joe Perri said, “February 2020 will be earliest opportunity for residents and neighbourhood associations to have a voice, express concerns and input into the program at a public meeting”.

“Efforts by Councillors Bolton and Tapinos at the February Council Meeting to have a community information event to present the concept to residents were overruled in the haste to enact the program.

“Even the efforts of the two Councillors to ensure that Moreland’s height restrictions were not compromised in order to accommodate subjective ‘design’ excellence were rejected”. 

The Scorecard first came before Council in 2017 as the Fast Track program and its objective was to fast track development projects of ‘architectural and environmental’ merit.  The benefit to developers being fast tracked construction without the need to reference or seek approval from Councillors. 

The fast track development program was again before Council in early 2018 as the Quality Design Scorecard and finally the Design Excellence Scorecard that was approved at Council’s meeting on February 13.

Jo Stanley continued, “The Scorecard by-passes the elected representatives.  No other councils in Victoria have such avenue, so again as we have seen in the past Moreland becomes the guinea pig.  The trap when the community is excluded from political decisions is that we see a ‘council trade-off’ of features of design (such as height that is important to objectors)”.

“I envisage most appeals to VCAT on height (if any) will have to be funded by the objector.  A consequence may be the shifting of appeal costs from the developers to the community.  With cost in the tens of thousands, this Scorecard will put off objectors from participating at all in the approval process”.

“Because of the discretionary heights in the planning scheme, the Scorecard is void of real definitions of what heights are in accordance with the planning scheme, for each site”.

“Moreland has now recently approved a development that is three-levels above the preferred height of the planning scheme.  The Scorecard will inevitably become attractive for eight-level building applications.  If this becomes the acceptable height at a pre-planning (or a pre-pre-meeting) between the developer and council staff – then there‘s no way back from that, because the Councillors do not get a say”.

“For example, if the building should be 6-level, or seven level according to a councillor or community, the objectors have to either put up with the 8-level decision or raise the tens-of-thousands of dollars needed to appeal”. 

At a time of headlines filled with stories about the Spencer Street high rise cladding fire, the Opal Tower disaster in Sydney and predictions that far more examples of construction failures are ahead – Council will reward and ‘incentivise’ developers to do the right thing in Moreland with the Excellence Scorecard that will fast track their projects and further supress community objection to development.

ENDS

Issued by Brunswick Residents Network & Fawkner Residents Association

Media enquiries:                 Ms Jo Stanley     Mob:  +61 425 735 715

Mr. Joe Perri      Mob:  +61 412 112 545