Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Greater Geelong City Council Held virtually by Zoom and broadcast on the City's website on 28 July 2020, commencing at 7:00pm.
Vicki Perrett
Jennifer Bantow
Harry Pascall
Sally Fisher
Councillors:
S Asher (Mayor)
A Aitken
K Grzybek
B Harwood
E Kontelj
S Mansfield
J Mason
P Murnane
P Murrihy
R Nelson
T Sullivan
M Cutter (Chief Executive Officer)
R Leonard (Director Governance, Strategy and Performance)
The Mayor declared the meeting open at 7:00pm.
Council acknowledges Wadawurrung Traditional Owners of this land and pays its respects to all Elders past and present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who are part of the Greater Geelong community today.
Nil.
Nil.
Councillor Grzybek moved, Councillor Murnane seconded -
That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 30 June 2020 be confirmed.
Carried.
Councillor Murrihy moved, Councillor Mason seconded -
That the minutes of the Special Meeting held on 21 July 2020 be confirmed.
Carried.
Nil.
The following questions were submitted prior to the Council meeting from Vicki Perrett, Jennifer Bantow, Harrison Pascall and Sally Fisher. Responses addressing their concerns have been provided via email.
Vicki Perrett submitted the following:
In a recent ABC story about the impact of sea level rise on the Bellarine, Councillor Sullivan commented that Council’s action to implement an inundation overlay was about "taking a proactive attitude towards protecting our coastal areas and communities" and that it “is an added layer of protection for our residents”. I can appreciate Council’s intention to mitigate their risks and to forewarn potential buyers. However, I am wondering how such an overlay offers any protection for existing residences. My home on The Esplanade at Indented Head now has an inundation overlay on it. After calling my home insurer, I was advised that my property is not covered for ‘any action from the sea’ and that this was a general exclusion in their policies and those of similar insurers. So, I am in invidious position of not being able to insure my biggest asset against its greatest threat.
Thank you for your questions Vicki:
The newly introduced LSIO 2 Overlay is not intended to protect properties, but has been adopted with the aim of ensuring that any future development of properties covered by the overlay are appropriate for the life expectancy of the dwelling and the expected sea level rise planning benchmark, set by the Victorian State Government.
What plans does the City have to educate the community especially affected residents about the risks from sea level rise?
The City through the OurCoast Program has a strong record of engaging with coastal communities in the Geelong Region. Numerous open houses and community forums have been held to inform residents on the results of the Geelong Queenscliffe coastal hazard assessment, risk assessment and adaptation planning. The OurCoast Web site communicates much of the work that has been undertaken in this area. Within the OurCoast Program’s website ‘Resources’ tab, there are multiple documents that relate to various aspects or phases of the program.
Council has also recently adopted the Sustainability Framework which includes the development of a new Climate Change Response Plan. Community engagement will be an important part of this work.
Will the City undertake to liaise with stakeholders and affected ratepayers regarding future adaptation works?
The City will be undertaking further investigations of effected areas and modelling of potential adaptation responses. Before acting on results of the investigations and modelling, the City will engage with the community to seek further feedback.
Will Council set region wide emission reduction targets in response to the climate emergency?
The City recognises the global climate emergency and aspires to be a carbon neutral city-region by 2047. The City is also proud to have taken the Take2 pledge as part of the Victorian State Government’s Take2 campaign. This involves working towards achieving a region wide zero-net emissions target by 2050.
Jennifer Bantow submitted the following:
Re Agenda Item 3 - Draft South Geelong Urban Design Framework Consultation Planning for future housing needs must consider maintaining the existing particular residential character of Geelong’s older inner suburbs. Geelong West, Newtown, Drumcondra and Rippleside are distinctively all different and real estate values reflect this character. South Geelong and East Geelong, also both have residential features and distinctive qualities with precincts of traditional single storey detached housing of a particular style and era that must be conserved. South Geelong was the earliest residential area being close to the Barwon River bridge.
On page 12 of the South Geelong UDF the objectives and recommendations of a Heritage Character Study November 2019, by Dr David Rowe Authentic Heritage Services, are described, but no detail is provided specifically identifying the heritage character areas, and individual properties, for potential inclusion as heritage overlays in the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme, in addition to the existing heritage overlays shown on pages 16 and 17.
Under section 5 Analysis on page 25, a map legend says, ‘Other heritage character areas outside existing heritage overlays identified for further heritage assessment’, but these areas could not be found on the map.
Should the places recommended for further heritage assessment be shown, and need to be protected by heritage overlay, before the development proposals in the rest of the UDF are implemented?
Thank you for your questions Jennifer:
The map on Page 25 will be amended to show the “other heritage areas outside existing heritage overlays identified for further heritage assessment” on the map and will also be uploaded on the website as a separate page of the map.
The consultation for the South Geelong UDF is to include community consultation on the areas identified for further heritage assessment. After considering submissions, the draft South Geelong Urban Design Framework will be finalised and will include details on proposed planning scheme changes. It is important that there is community consultation on the areas identified for further heritage assessment with the community, prior to undertaking a detailed heritage study or commencing a planning scheme amendment to include these areas within a Heritage Overlay. Planning applications will continue to be assessed against existing zone and overlay controls until the UDF and potential heritage study are completed and implemented into the planning scheme through an amendment. The potential changes to the Heritage Overlay or heritage planning clauses are at too early a stage to define, and any changes would be subject to a consultation. This can include a discussion with the HAC if desired.
Re Agenda Item 3 Draft South Geelong Urban Design Framework Consultation. This is a very long complex ambitious document that attempts to cover many things at once. When reading the detail, the formatting of the footer giving the page numbers is almost illegible, with white page numbers on a pale blue background. This makes referencing difficult.
Could the footer please be improved?
Yes, this change can be made and uploaded on the website as a new version.
Re Agenda Item 3 Draft South Geelong Urban Design Framework Consultation Requests have been made by community members at meetings of the City of Greater Geelong Heritage Advisory Committee (H A C), for the South Geelong Urban Design Framework, and other Projects, such as the Saleyards, being undertaken by the Strategic Planning Urban Design and Heritage Unit, to be brought to H A C meetings for consultation and input whilst they are being prepared, rather than being shown the Plan when it's finished. The Draft Geelong Town Hall Conservation Management Plan was brought to the H A C for comment resulting in a positive collaboration.
Could Projects being considered by the strategic planning Urban Design and Heritage Unit, please be brought to H A C meetings for consultation and input whilst they are being prepared?
The draft South Geelong Urban Design Framework is in its early days and any feedback will be considered in preparing the final Urban Design Framework. The draft Urban Design Framework will be out for consultation in time for the next HAC meeting and included on the agenda. Future strategic plans can be brought to the HAC meetings as appropriate
Harrison Pascall asked would there be a possibility of getting the promenade open for fishing in winter for the younger generation that don’t have access to a boat or watercraft? Is there a reason for it not being fishable?
Thank you for your questions Harrison :
Unfortunately, no, the promenade is not for fishing. This has been the case for many years and there are public signs in place on the Promenade. There have been occasions where people have ignored the signs and have cast lines amongst swimmers. In the past Council has also received complaints of fish hooks injuring people.
The good news is that the soon to be completed wave attenuator adjacent to the marina will be designated for recreational fishing. This provides an easily accessible platform conveniently located on the edge of the CBD. The Geelong Waterfront Safe Harbour Masterplan also identifies an additional recreational fishing opportunity with Stage 2 of the development by the Yacht Club. The wave attenuator is over 440m in length with fishing available either side of the floating pontoon structure.
Sally Fisher submitted the following:
It is encouraging to see that the revised Sustainability Framework has been updated to include the Encouragement and Support of Local Food Production. The Food System is a critical area to address as the Food system spans all three areas of Sustainability: Environment, Economy and Health and Wellbeing.
However, the Framework and Action Plan currently mentions only Food Production. Strengthening local production and consumption of healthy sustainably produced food addresses these issues holistically. Promoting Plant Based Diets and Reducing Food Waste are critical to reduce community emissions. Both require modifying consumers’ choices and behaviours hence, it is critical to include the breadth of the food system, not just food production. Building healthy local food production and distribution systems also helps to build community social wellbeing, providing multiple co-benefits and making it a vital investment for local government.
Many Councils invest in supporting local Food Systems as it is recognised as being critical to sustainability and much small scale, innovative work is already occurring within the municipality to sustainably and holistically address both production and consumption of food.
Will supporting both sustainable local food production and consumption be addressed within the Action Plan and proposed Food Policy?
Thank you for your question Sally:
Our current Council Food Policy is under review and we are planning for its draft to be released for community feedback later in the year. We believe that the next Council Food Policy will address and support both sustainable local food production and consumption holistically.
To date, the following work has commenced in informing the reviewed policy:
An extensive literature research on food systems and the role of Council at a state, national and international level has already been conducted. Benchmarking with local government food policy including City of Melbourne, City of Frankston, Cardinia Shire City Council, Greater Bendigo City Council and the City of London (UK) has formed part of this review, as well as consultation with academics from Deakin University, Associate Professors from GLOBE and the Food and Mood Centre. The officers involved in the review of food systems also attended different conferences/ seminars directly related to the topic;
Linkages to Council’s policies, frameworks and strategies have been analysed to ensure the Council Food Policy is integrated. This is also timely as we start planning for the review and development of the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan. Considering this policy in this context also takes into account the new Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (2019-2023) which prioritises ‘tackling climate change and its impact on health’ as one of the four key state priorities; and
The information collected and analysed to date has suggested that the City’s food system should include four interrelated pillars: Health and Nutrition, Sustainability, Safety and Socially inclusive.
Councillors Mason and Sullivan presented a petition from Geoff Baulch of St Leonards to re-open the Public Reserve in Turnberry Close.
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