REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
BOROONDARA PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C210
The Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act), the Heritage Act 1995 and the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 provide for the intervention of the
Minister for Planning in planning and heritage processes.
In exercising the Minister’s powers of intervention, including action taken under
delegation from the Minister for Planning, the Minister has agreed to:

Make publicly available written reasons for each decision; and

Provide a report to Parliament at least every twelve months detailing the nature of
each intervention.
REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION
1. Boroondara City Council has requested the Minister for Planning (Minister) to prepare,
adopt and approve Amendment C210 to the Boroondara Planning Scheme and
exercise his powers to exempt himself from all the requirements of sections 17, 18
and 19 of the Act and the regulations.
WHAT POWER OF INTERVENTION IS BEING USED?
2.
Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exercise
the power to exempt the Minister from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Act and the regulations in respect to Amendment C210 to the Boroondara
Planning Scheme.
3.
Section 20(4) of the Act enables the Minister to exempt an amendment which the
Minister prepares from any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act
or the regulations.
4.
In seeking to exercise this power, section 20(4) of the Act requires that the Minister
must consider that compliance with any of those requirements is not warranted or
that the interests of Victoria or any part of Victoria make such an exemption
appropriate.
BACKGROUND
Interim controls protecting the Yarra River corridor
5.
Extensive work has been undertaken on the development and implementation of
policies and controls to protect the Yarra River corridor. In June 2005 the Review of
Policies and Controls for the Yarra River Corridor: Punt Road to Burke Road, June
2005 report was released. In 2007, the then Department of Sustainability and
Environment (DSE) released draft controls in response to that report. Boroondara City
Council officers provided comments on the controls in 2007 and 2010. Throughout
this process there has been detailed opportunities for interested parties to be
involved, including community members, affected councils and government agencies.
6.
On 15 October 2013, the Minister for Planning prepared, adopted and approved
Amendment VC96. Amendment VC96 introduced changes to the State Planning Policy
Framework and specific changes to the Boroondara Planning Scheme to introduce
interim controls to protect the Yarra River corridor. The interim controls consisted of
Clause 42.01 – Environmental Significance Overlay Schedule 1 (ESO1) and Clause
43.02 – Design and Development Overlay Schedule 31 (DDO31). These controls
expired on 31 October 2014.
Introducing permanent controls to protect the Yarra River corridor
7.
Amendment C210 will effectively revive the controls in the ESO1 and DDO31, making
the controls permanent. In addition it makes changes to the ESO1 to improve the
operation and clarity of the controls.
8.
The amendment will enable implementation of previous strategic work intended to
enhance protection of the Yarra River Corridor, and supports objectives of the Act to
protect natural resources and ecological processes, and to conserve areas of
aesthetic or special cultural value.
9.
The amendment will provide immediate permanent controls to manage built form
outcomes within the Yarra River Corridor, and will reduce the risk of development
that may have a detrimental impact on the environmental, open space, landscape
and waterway management objectives of the corridor.
Further consultation leading to the proposed permanent controls
10. Between 14 April 2014 and 9 May 2014, Boroondara City Council undertook a
community consultation process with property owners and occupiers affected by the
interim controls to gauge their effectiveness and to seek the community’s views on
whether the controls should be implemented on a permanent basis. A total of 2400
letters were sent to affected property owners and occupiers. There were 35
responses received and support for permanent controls was strong.
11. On 11 July 2014, Boroondara City Council notified affected property owners and
occupiers that it would be considering the controls at its next Urban Planning Special
Committee meeting and invited affected owners and occupiers to address Councillors.
12. On 21 July 2014, Boroondara City Council’s Urban Planning Special Committee met to
further consider the proposed permanent controls. Ten community members spoke at
the meeting and one written response was received. The committee resolved that the
Yarra River controls should be made permanent, and to request the Minister for
Planning to prepare, adopt and approve the Amendment to introduce the permanent
controls and to exempt the Amendment from the usual notice requirements. On 15
August 2014, the Boroondara City Council wrote to the Minister for Planning
requesting this.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
13. The exemption will enable a prompt decision to be made on the adoption and
approval of the amendment, without any further statutory processes. The
amendment is required urgently as the interim controls have recently expired and
without those controls there is potential risk of development that may have a
detrimental impact on the environmental, open space, landscape and waterway
management objectives of the section of the Yarra River corridor that lies within the
Boroondara Planning Scheme.
14. Substantial consultation has already occurred and exemption of the amendment from
notice would avoid unnecessary duplication of the consultation process.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
15. Exempting this amendment from the usual notice requirements will remove the
opportunity for affected property owners and occupiers to be formally notified of the
permanent controls, and to have their submissions considered by a Panel.
16. However, affected property owners and occupiers have been provided an opportunity
to comment on the operation and effectiveness of the interim controls and upon
introducing the controls permanently. The submissions made through the informal
process have been considered by Boroondara City Council, and taken into account in
the preparation of the amendment.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH
EFFECTS ON THIRD PARTIES
17. Boroondara City Council has undertaken a consultation process with affected property
owners and occupiers and third party views have been heard and considered by the
council.
18. The proposed controls are consistent with State and local policy, in particular the
policy to protect and enhance the Yarra River corridor. Given that Boroondara City
Council officers have considered submissions and have made revisions to the
proposed controls in response to submissions, it is unlikely that a different outcome
would occur if this amendment were to proceed in accordance with the usual
notification requirements of the Act.
19. Accordingly I, acting under delegation from the Minister, consider that the benefits of
exemption from sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the
exemption on third parties.
DECISION
20. Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exempt
myself from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the
regulations in respect of Amendment C210 to the Boroondara Planning Scheme.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
21. I provide the following reasons for my decision under delegated authority to exercise
the power under section 20(4) of the Act.
22. I am satisfied that Compliance with any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the
regulations is not warranted because:
 the views of affected property owners and occupiers have been considered;
 Council has made revisions to the proposed controls in response to
submissions; and
 it is unlikely that a different outcome would occur if the amendment were to
proceed in accordance with the usual notification requirements of the Act.
The interests of Victoria or any part of Victoria make such an exemption appropriate
because:
 the amendment is required urgently to protect the Yarra River corridor in
accordance with State policy given the expiry of the ESO1 and DDO31 controls
on 31 October 2014.
SIGNED BY THE DELEGATE
JIM GARD’NER
Executive Director
Statutory Planning and Heritage
Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure
Date: 19 December 2014