NEW residential zones which will change development possibilities for land were revealed to the nation’s developers last week.
Residential zones one, two and three will be replaced by a neighbourhood residential zone, residential growth zone, and general residential zone. Local governments have 12 months to nominate land for those zones before the new zoning automatically kicks in
The neighbourhood zone limits building heights to eight metres and is intended to protect neighbourhood character.
The general residential zone has a nine-metre discretionary height limit and planning documents show it encourages development that maintains neighbourhood character.
Residential growth zone has a default variable height limit of 13 metres.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy announced the new zones at an annual conference of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, saying the plan was “unashamedly one that will seek built form change”.
Mr Guy used his speech to announce a new land supply target of 60,000 housing lots within Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundary over the next two years, up from 50,000 lots previously stated.
Whittlesea council’s manager of established areas planning, Maria Cooke, said residents could still comment on the council’s draft housing strategy which sets out new residential zones in the established suburbs of Lalor, Thomastown, Epping, Mill Park, Bundoora, South Morang and Whittlesea township.
