PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT LIST
PNPE9 FORM B – STATEMENT OF GROUNDS
NOTICE OF AN AMENDMENT OF AN APPLICATION
To:
The Principal Registrar
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Ground Floor, 55 King Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
Re:
1 Florida Avenue BEAUMARIS VIC 3193
VCAT Reference No: P1684/2015
Please tick appropriate box

I intend to appear and present a submission at the hearing, if I am available on the allocated date.
I am unable to attend the hearing, but wish my statement of grounds to be considered.
Estimate of time to present my case to VCAT, including any expert witnesses: - hours
30 mins
Set out a concise summary of grounds; attach additional sheets as required.
The Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc. (BCS Inc.) grounds for objection to the proposal are:
1. The proposal to construct 2 New Dwellings Construction of two double storey dwellings and
removal of native vegetation in Vegetation Protection Overlay 3.

Is an over-development of the site having regard to planning policy, Bayside Planning Scheme
provisions and sound land use planning principles.

Is incompatible with the low residential density and informal garden character of the site and
adjoining land as well as the wider context of the identified vegetation character of Beaumaris
detailed in the Bayside Planning Scheme.
2. In particular the proposed development is inappropriate and unacceptable to BCS Inc. and its
members who reside in Beaumaris because it:

Is inconsistent with and does not support the State Planning Policy Framework including clause
11.02-1 Supply of Urban Land, clause 15 Built Environment and Heritage and clause 16.01-2
Location of Residential Development.

Is inconsistent with and does not support Bayside Planning Scheme Local Planning Policy
Framework specifically Clause 21.02 Bayside Key Issues and Strategic Vision, Clause 21.04
Environmental and Landscape Values, Clause 21.06 Built Environment and Heritage 21.06-1
Character and Identity and Clause 22.06 Neighbourhood Character Policy – Precinct H4.
3. The objectives of the BCS Inc. constitution include encouraging the protection of natural
landscape, foreshore and seascape and ensuring there is sufficient private and public land held to
provide suitable habitat for the many trees and other plants, particularly those indigenous to
Beaumaris, that give Beaumaris throughout its distinctive treed and leafy character. Specifically
the proposal to construct an additional dwelling and associated works and to remove large and
mature site vegetation will most directly impact on BCS Inc., because of:
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
Administrative Division: Planning and Environment List
55 King Street , Melbourne VIC 3000
Website www.vcat.vic.gov.au
GPO Box 5408, Melbourne VIC 3001
Email
vcat-admin@justice.vic.gov.au
Ausdoc DX 210576 Melbourne
Telephone
Facsimile
03 9628 9777
03 9628 9789

The over development of the site will significantly detract from the complementary vegetation
character that Florida Avenue homes and streetscape provides to the significant vegetation
character of the Coral and Point Avenue precinct. Recent medium density development in and
near to Florida Avenue highlights the detrimental impact excessive built form and insufficient
vegetation has on this character.

The proposal lacks supportable evidence of compliance with a key objective of Clause 55.0308. Landscaping Objectives that seeks:
To encourage development that maintains and enhances habitat for plants and animals in
locations of habitat importance.
In support of meeting the requirements of Clause 5.03-08 the proposal states “Retention of
native trees in good health at the rear of the site in addition to plenty of opportunity to plant
mature trees at the front and rear of the property… The Standard can be satisfied”.
A background to the BCS Inc. Statement of Grounds is detailed in the two attached objection
letters for 1 Florida Avenue Beaumaris sent to Bayside Council in July and September 2014.
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
Administrative Division: Planning and Environment List
55 King Street , Melbourne VIC 3000
Website www.vcat.vic.gov.au
GPO Box 5408, Melbourne VIC 3001
Email
vcat-admin@justice.vic.gov.au
Ausdoc DX 210576 Melbourne
Telephone
Facsimile
03 9628 9777
03 9628 9789
THE FOLLOWING MUST BE COMPLETED:
I certify that I have served a copy of this Statement of Grounds:


(tick box) on
(tick box) on
19 / 09 / 2015 on the Applicant (Lowe Design Pty Ltd)
19 / 09 / 2015 on Bayside City Council
Failure to serve a copy of your Statement of Grounds on BOTH the Responsible Authority and the Applicant
may result in you being unable be heard at the hearing or have your objections considered.
Name of objector or
referral authority:
Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc. (BCS)
Address for service:
PO Box 7016
BEAUMARIS VIC 3193
Address for service of documents must be in Victoria
(Please see Rule 4.08, VCAT Rules 2008)
Phone (B/H)
9589 5194
Mobile
n/a
Signature
Fax No (B/H)
n/a
Date
19/09/2015
Email address (see important note on back of form)
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decision via email please provide your email address.
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access to your email address, do not provide your email address.
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may receive it after other parties have received the decision by email and after the decision has
been published.
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firewall or other security measures that may be attached to your email account.
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
Administrative Division: Planning and Environment List
55 King Street , Melbourne VIC 3000
Website www.vcat.vic.gov.au
GPO Box 5408, Melbourne VIC 3001
Email
vcat-admin@justice.vic.gov.au
Ausdoc DX 210576 Melbourne
Telephone
Facsimile
03 9628 9777
03 9628 9789
Email: enquiries@bayside.vic.gov.au
PO Box 27
SANDRINGHAM VIC 3191
T (03) 9599 4444 F (03) 9598 4474
www.bayside.vic.gov.au
S57 FORM -
OBJECTION TO GRANT A PLANNING PERMIT
Planning and Environment Act 1987
To submit an objection complete this form and lodge it with the Responsible Authority – forward
to: enquiries@bayside.vic.gov.au or at the address above.
Details – (please use BLOCK letters)
Please refer to privacy statement below
We: Beaumaris Conservation Society Incorporated (Association Number A00348878)
Address:
PO Box 7016, Beaumaris
Email:
info@bcs.asn.au
Telephone: 9589 5428
Postcode: 3193
Mobile:
0429176725
Details of Application:
Application Reference Number:
Address of Land:
Permit application No: 58/2014
1 Florida Avenue, Beaumaris, 3193
Reasons for Objection:
1. The proposal to construct 2 New Dwellings Construction of two double storey dwellings
and removal of native vegetation in Vegetation Protection Overlay 3.

Is an over-development of the site having regard to planning policy, Bayside Planning
Scheme provisions and sound land use planning principles.

Is incompatible with the low residential density and informal garden character of the
site and adjoining land as well as the wider context of the identified vegetation
character of Beaumaris detailed in the Bayside Planning Scheme.
2. In particular the proposed development is inappropriate and unacceptable to BCS Inc.
and its members who reside in Beaumaris because it:

Is inconsistent with and does not support the State Planning Policy Framework
including clause 11.02-1 Supply of Urban Land, clause 15 Built Environment and
Heritage and clause 16.01-2 Location of Residential Development.

Is inconsistent with and does not support Bayside Planning Scheme Local Planning
Policy Framework specifically Clause 21.02 Bayside Key Issues and Strategic Vision,
Clause 21.04 Environmental and Landscape Values, Clause 21.06 Built Environment
and Heritage 21.06-1 Character and Identity and Clause 22.06 Neighbourhood
Character Policy – Precinct H4.
3. The objectives of the BCS Inc. constitution include encouraging the protection of natural
landscape, foreshore and seascape and ensuring there is sufficient private and public land
held to provide suitable habitat for the many trees and other plants, particularly those
indigenous to Beaumaris, that give Beaumaris throughout its distinctive treed and leafy
character. Specifically the proposal to construct an additional dwelling and associated
works and to remove large and mature site vegetation will most directly impact on BCS Inc.,
because of:



The over development of the site with built form and excessive driveways and its effect
on local amenity and neighbourhood character. In particular this over development will
significantly detract from the complementary vegetation character that Florida Avenue
homes and streetscape provides to the significant vegetation character of the Coral and
Point Avenue precinct. Recent medium density development in and near to Florida
Avenue highlights the detrimental impact excessive built form and insufficient vegetation
has on this character.
The proposal is non-compliant with the objectives of Clause 55.03-1 Street Setbacks and
Clause 55.04-1 Side and Rear Setback. The neighbourhood character objectives for
Precinct H4 seek to create the appearance of space between buildings and to
accommodate substantial vegetation. The non-compliance with these two key Clause 55
objectives highlights that the excessive scale of proposed built form will crowd out the
necessary unencumbered space required for substantial vegetation to satisfy existing
and preferred neighbourhood character objectives.
The proposal lacks supportable evidence of compliance with a key objective of Clause
55.03-08. Landscaping Objectives that seeks:
To encourage development that maintains and enhances habitat for plants and animals
in locations of habitat importance.
In support of meeting the requirements of Clause 5.03-08 the proposal states “Retention
of native trees in good health at the rear of the site in addition to plenty of opportunity to
plant mature trees at the front and rear of the property… The Standard can be satisfied”.
The term “plenty of opportunity” is a spurious and unsubstantiated basis to claim that the
landscape objectives of Clause 55.03-08 can be satisfied. This proposal requires the
removal of a substantial number of trees including the large tree number 23 which makes
a significant contribution to neighbourhood vegetation character and habitat. The
sprawling vegetation of varying states of health which is proposed for removal,
quintessentially typifies the very Beaumaris vegetation character that the VPO3 and the
Neighbourhood Character Policy seek to protect and promote.
The considerable loss of trees from the front and rear setback of dwelling two cannot be
replaced due to the loss of space to significant built form, decking and duplication of dual
driveways.
To adequately assess that this proposal meets the objective of Clause 5.03-08 the
proposal must quantify how the loss of space currently provided for trees is adequately
compensated by sufficient space for the growth of medium to large replacement trees.
This proposal provides considerable justification for removing vegetation but only
provides the wholly inadequate words “plenty of opportunity” to justify the replacement
vegetation.
The proposal provides no study on what impact the proposed loss of vegetation will have
on resident and transient native birds and animals. It is unacceptable to propose
removing a considerable amount of vegetation without assessing the impact which
habitat loss will have on native birds and animals and providing a plan to manage this
loss. This proposal should not be approved in any form until such a management plan is
Document1
provided.
To satisfy the objective of Clause 5.03-08 and Neighbourhood Character Policy that
seeks to minimise loss of front garden space, this proposal should combine the access
to both dwellings using a central shared driveway and provide only a single garage to
one dwelling.
A loss of trees in the front setback required for a combined driveway will be
compensated for by the realistic prospect for more medium to large replacement
vegetation to grow in the front setback than is currently proposed.
The proposal should also be re-designed to reduce the extent of built from in the rear
setback of dwelling two to provide space for the retention and/or replacement of existing
vegetation.
4. The proposal states that it complies with State Planning Policy Clause 16.02 Medium
Density Housing by improving housing choice. The Bayside Housing Strategy shows the
greatest dwelling need in Bayside in the coming fifteen years is housing for singles and
couples without dependents. A proposal comprising one three bedroom dwelling and a
smaller two bedroom dwelling with a single garage could provide a proposal that responds
to neighbourhood character and provide housing diversity that addresses demographic
change identified to occur in Bayside.
For the above-specified reasons, BCS Inc. lodges and maintains an objection for the
proposal at this site.
Ron Morris
President
Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc.
Cc Bayside City Council Mayor, Cr Laurie Evans
Bayside City Council Deputy Mayor, Cr Heather Stewart
Document1
4 September 2014
Mr Stuart Caldwell
Group Manager Planning
Bayside City Council
PO Box 27
SANDRINGHAM VIC 3191
Planning Permit Application No. 58/2014
1 Florida Avenue, Beaumaris
Dear Mr Caldwell,
Beaumaris
Conservation
Society Inc.
Association Number
A00348878
PO Box 7016
Beaumaris VIC 3193
95895428,
0429176725
info@bcs.asn.au
www.bcs.asn.au
Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc. (BCS Inc.) has received amended plans from Lowe
Architecture Pty Ltd for the above planning permit application at 1 Florida Avenue,
Beaumaris.
BCS Inc. note the following listed revisions provided with the amended plans:

The whole building has been pushed to the back of the site; increasing the front
setback and enhancing the landscaping opportunities

The driveways have been reduced in size, to lessen the impermeable surfaces

The decks to the rear and sides were reduced and deleted, respectfully; providing further garden
to both sides of the building

The hard paved areas have been brought to a minimum, only paving in the service area

Unit 2 garage and Bedroom 1 were pulled 1.5m from the boundary

Unit 1 garage has been further reduced increasing the setback from the boundary varying from
1.84m to 2.34m

The visual and physical separation is achieved to both boundaries

While there are areas of non-compliance regarding the ground floor setbacks most of it is over
compliant, being 3-3.4m

By undertaking all these changes the site coverage has been reduced from 50% to 48.2%

The site permeability has increased to 44.7%
The external garage wall was moved 300mm to west, changing the side setback to 1.54m at the
narrowest and 2.04m at the widest point.

The amended plans and listed changes do not adequately address the key concerns
detailed in the original BCS Inc. objection to provide adequate area of space around the
dwellings for the growth of medium to large vegetation necessary to balance built form and
compensate for the proposed considerable loss of existing vegetation. A proposed 1.8%
reduction to site coverage in the amended plans representing a 14 square metre increase to
space possible for vegetation is not a substantive response to our concerns.
While we appreciate the efforts of the applicants to modify their proposal in response to our
objection we do not believe the requisite balance of space for vegetation against built form
necessary to satisfy neighbourhood character objectives for Beaumaris has been achieved.
On this basis BCS Inc. maintain our objection to the proposal to construct 2 New Dwellings
Construction of two double storey dwellings and removal of native vegetation in Vegetation
Protection Overlay 3 at 1 Floirda Avenue Beaumaris.
Yours sincerely,
Ron Morris
President
Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc.
Cc Mr John and Mrs Pam Willis
Bayside City Council Mayor, Cr Laurie Evans
Bayside City Council Deputy Mayor, Cr Heather Stewart
Lowe Architecture Pty Ltd