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Amendment C219morn: Housing for the Peninsula

Planning Scheme Amendment C219morn was adopted by Council on 6 August 2024. The amendment provides a sustainable approach to housing on the Peninsula by:

directing future growth to areas close to shops, jobs, schools and public transport
ensuring all types of housing can be accommodated (homes, units, apartments and residential aged care facilities), and
protecting the Peninsula’s special values and character.

Amendment C219morn meets the State Government’s draft housing targets under its long-term housing plan for Victoria. The amendment will provide for about 1,200 new homes per year to house our growing population which is expected to reach 180,000 - 200,000 residents by 2036.

Amendment C219morn changes existing residential zones and planning controls to ensure housing growth occurs in appropriate locations within our major activity centres and townships, and away from areas of landscape and environmental significance or subject to bushfire, flooding and erosion risks.

Our Green Wedge will be protected – the Urban Growth Boundary will not change.

The amendment ensures new development respects the Peninsula’s special values and character by introducing new controls relating to things like building height, siting, landscaping and fencing. It keeps existing mandatory subdivision controls and introduces new subdivision controls in the hillside area of Dromana.

Amendment C219morn also simplifies existing planning controls to make them easier to understand and reduces red tape, particularly to build or renovate on house on a lot. This means more applications can be processed under the Building Regulations, without needing a planning permit.

Meeting the housing challenge

The amendment proposes changes to the existing residential zones to ensure changes to housing occur in appropriate areas:

Minimal change area: Minimal housing change occurs in smaller townships or areas prone to environmental risks (e.g. bushfires, flooding and sea-level rise) or areas with special neighbourhood character (such as The Avenues in Rosebud or Ranelagh Estate in Mount Eliza).

Incremental change area: Incremental housing change occurs in all other areas.

Substantial change area: Substantial housing change occurs in major townships (Mornington, Rosebud and Hastings) and in some of our other township centres like Baxter, Somerville, Dromana, Rye and Sorrento where there are more jobs, services and facilities and Council already has an adopted structure plan supporting three or more storey development.

How the residential zones will apply

The amendment will apply the residential zones as follows:

The General Residential Zone (GRZ)will apply in substantial change areas.
The Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ)will apply in incremental or minimal change areas.
The Low Density Residential Zone (LDRZ)will apply in minimal change areas.

The amendment will rezone the existing GRZ in incremental or minimal change areas to the NRZ.

Protecting the Peninsula's special values and character

The amendment proposes to update the local planning controls that affect residential development. These controls relate to, for example:

building design
siting
landscaping
fences.

Future housing development will then respond better to the neighbourhood's preferred character.

Reducing the red tape for one dwelling on a lot

The amendment will remove several existing planning permit triggers so more single dwelling developments can go ahead without needing a planning permit (and therefore will only need a building permit). Some of the permit triggers being removed relate to dwellings that:

are located within 10 metres of a shared boundary with a public park, conservation area or certain types of road zones
have a wall height exceeding a specified height
have external wall cladding that’s less than 50% made up of brick, masonry, timber, or simulated weatherboards
have cladding and trim of muted tones of green, brown or beige.
have an external finish that has a level of reflectivity greater than 40%.

Strategic work

The changes proposed under this amendment are supported by the following strategic work:

Land affected by the Amendment

The amendment applies to:

all land in the GRZ
all land in the LDRZ
all land affected by Schedules 1 to 7, 11, 17 to 20, and 22 to 24 to the DDO.

Why is the Amendment needed?

The amendment is required to:

ensure the character of the Peninsula’s residential areas is protected and enhanced as the Shire’s population continues to grow
improve the operational efficiency of the Planning Scheme so that more applications for one dwelling on a lot can be processed under the Building Regulations without needing a planning permit.

Where can I view the Amendment documentation?

You can inspect all documents relating to the amendment free of charge on the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) website: Amendment C219morn.

When was the Amendment publicly exhibited?

The amendment was publicly exhibited from 12 August 2021 until 29 October 2021.

You can view the following supporting documents which were placed on exhibition alongside the amendment to help explain what the amendment is about:

FAQs(PDF, 902KB)

FAQs (additional)(PDF, 427KB)

FAQs about Building and Planning Permits(PDF, 211KB)

Brochure(PDF, 5MB)

Planning and Building Permits Flowchart(PDF, 204KB)

Simple Roof Forms(PDF, 17MB)

Single Dwelling on a Lot(PDF, 693KB)

Built Form and Open Space(PDF, 662KB)

Heights and Triggers(PDF, 614KB)

Multi-units NRZ3 Backyard Character(PDF, 3MB)

Practice Note 27 (ResCode) with Notes(PDF, 7MB)

Ellerina Road Exemption(PDF, 3MB)

Multi-units Existing and Proposed (NRZ3)(PDF, 6MB)

How many submissions did Council receive?

Council received a total of 316 submissions. You can view all submissions below, which have been redacted to protect submitters’ privacy:

What was the response to each submission?

You can read the response to each submission here:

Submissions Reviews and Officers' Response(PDF, 19MB)

Did Council refer submissions to a planning panel?

Yes. Council decided at the Council meeting on 24 October 2022 to refer submissions to an independent planning panel for review and recommendations. The panel was appointed by the Minister for Planning.

Was there a public panel hearing?

Yes. A Directions Hearing was held on 21 November 2022. The Panel Hearing was held on 14 February 2023 until 7 March 2023.

Where can I view the Panel-related documents?

The panel delivered its report to Council on 8 May 2023. The following panel-related documents are available for download:

What has Council decided to do with the amendment?

Council considered all submissions and the planning panel’s report and decided to adopt Amendment C219morn with changes at its meeting on 6 August 2024. You can view the adopted amendment documents in the attachments to the meeting minutes.

What happens next?

Council will send the adopted amendment to the Minister for Planning for final approval.

The Minister will decide whether to approve the amendment with or without changes.

If the Minister approves the amendment, a notice will appear in the Victorian Government Gazette and the amendment will come into effect. The planning scheme will be updated on the day of the gazettal notice.

If the Minister refuses the amendment, the planning scheme will not change.

We will notify all submitters to Amendment C219morn of the Minister’s decision as directed by the Minister.

The Minister’s decision on the amendment can’t be appealed.

What does this mean for my planning permit application?

Because Amendment C219morn has been adopted by Council, all new planning permit applications received after the 6 August 2024 will be assessed against both existing planning controls and the new planning controls proposed by the amendment.

Some current planning permit applications may also be considered against Amendment C219morn, depending on what stage the application is at and the nature of development proposed.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will also have to consider the amendment for planning permit appeals.

Importantly, Amendment C219morn does not have any transitional provisions. This means, if the Minister decides to approve Amendment C219morn, any planning permit application still under consideration by Council at that time will need to comply with Amendment C219morn, otherwise Council may not be able to support it. Any applications that don’t comply with the mandatory controls of Amendment C219morn (such as new building height limits) will not be supported.

Therefore, if you lodge a planning permit application that doesn’t comply with Amendment C219morn between now and when the Minister decides whether to approve the amendment, you run the risk of your application being refused.

If you’re unsure how Amendment C219morn might impact your application, please contact our Statutory Planning department by:

calling (03) 5950 1010, or
emailing planning@mornpen.vic.gov.au

The Shire also has a pre-application service where you can book an appointment to speak to a planner to discuss a specific planning permit application proposal.

I already have a planning permit for my house. Will the amendment affect this permit?

No. If you already have an approved planning permit you have rights to develop the land in accordance with that permit. If you want to change your planning permit, Council will need to consider any change you propose against Amendment C219morn. If you have any specific questions about changing your existing planning permit, please contact our Statutory Planning department by:

calling (03) 5950 1010, or
emailing planning@mornpen.vic.gov.au

I already have a building permit for my house. Will the amendment affect this permit?

No. If you already have an approved building permit you have rights to develop the land in accordance with that building permit. However, if you were required to amend your Building Permit, your Relevant Building Surveyor would need to consider if the changes to the planning scheme under Amendment C219morn would require a planning permit. If a provision of the planning scheme would now require a planning permit, you would need to apply for a planning permit. Council will need to consider any change you propose in context of the changes to the planning scheme under Amendment C219morn. If you have any specific questions about changing your existing planning permit, please contact our Statutory Planning department by: