Victorian Government to Change Subdivision Planning Permits Process

The days of the most popular backyard subdivision are coming to an end following sweeping land zoning reforms set to be the biggest planning legislation reform in 20 years.
The new legislation was announced on 11, July 2012 by Planning Minister, Matthew Guy, who stated that the overhaul is the state government’s attempt to “keep the backyard.” The proposed reforms would change planning permits and limit the number of backyard developments in well-established, traditional residential areas and encourage higher density development in new areas.
There are three new zones proposed:
•    Neighborhood residential zones – Areas where backyards are to be conserved and further subdivision generally discouraged.
•    General residential zones – subdivision of suitably large sites will be permitted.
•    Residential growth zones – minimal control on subdivision size.
The zoning reform will give developers and Councils clearer guidelines on suitable densities for new residential areas, however, it constrains the traditional infill developments that have made property owners financially independent over the last ten years. The proposed changes will not take effect until October 2012, to allow people who have already subdivided or who are about to subdivide time to complete their project. If you want to subdivide your property get your planning applications in now! This is the time to act! If you delay, the process for obtaining planning permits will be much more difficult and you risk missing the window and losing out on a huge financial reward.
Backyard subdivisions are ideal for people who:
•    Intend to stay in their current house and would benefit financially from the opportunity their backyard presents. 
•    Do not need or want a large backyard due to the maintenance involved.
•    No longer need a sizeable backyard now that the family has grown up and moved out.
•    Can see the financial befits of dividing their property in two.
There are a number of perceptions and misinformation surrounding backyard subdivisions and the planning permits to obtain them. The most frequently asked questions include:
•    Can the Council refuse to let me subdivide even after spending a lot of money on a subdivision planning applications? It is true that the Council will not permit an unsuitable subdivision and that there are criteria that a property must first meet for a subdivision to be approved. It is best to contact a professional who has experience subdividing in your area and within your council to assess whether or not your property is suitable for a subdivision.
•    I’ve heard subdivision takes a long time… Submitting planning applications for a subdivision is largely an administrative process with very little work actually being undertaken onsite. The subdivision process is never held up by external factors that can prevent the process moving as swiftly as possible. This is a major advantage to the construction industry where factors such as the weather or a developer going bankrupt can severely damage a project’s viability. It is true that a subdivision can be held up, but having an expert town planner managing your planning applications ensures it can be completed in the quickest possible timeframe.
•    Can I subdivide my property without having approved planning permits for a new house on the property? Councils prefer that when you subdivide your property you also submit plans in your planning permits for the new dwelling. However, through Council you are able to subdivide your property with a “building envelope” or “building exclusion zone” on the new block. This is essentially an outline of where the new house can be sited on the block.
•    How much does it cost to subdivide from start to finish? A minimum of $15,000 and a maximum of $20,000 for a two-lot subdivision, including planning applications and planning permits costs.

Using Planning Consultants for the Planning Application Process

With advances in society, health care aid and better personal hygiene, humans nowadays live longer than ever. As a matter of fact, the typical lifetime has doubled within the past 2,000 years. This can be a positive reflection on our society; but, the speedy population growth combined with the increasing age expectancy presents inevitable issues. Food and water shortages are becoming more prevalent in crowded areas of the globe, making overpopulation a growing concern. With a lot of humans on the world, there merely aren’t enough resources to go around. World leaders and plenty of organisations are initiating and supporting efforts to conserve natural resources and create vehicles, homes and cities that are economical. In conjunction with these efforts comes a movement pushing for planning consultants to make more sustainable homes and better planned cities and suburbs which will withstand the population flux. Property developers are currently putting importance on sound planning application and counting on planning consultants to lead in the effort to produce better cities with an increased economical use of space.

Town planning is often an extended and complex method. The work before development can occur involves negotiations on the developer’s behalf, and working with the planning consultants to decide what the land is going to be used for. There are various loopholes to jump through and many division laws and national laws and ordinances to abide by. Due to its complexness, developers usually work closely with planning consultants from begin to end throughout the planning application process.

Planning consultants will play several roles within the planning application method. Property developers sometimes contact planning consultants within the very early stages of the development process. The property developer can scope out an alluring location and choose what they think is best suited to build on the land. They will then draft up a proposal outlining the present state of the land, the pictured development method and projected budget and advantages that the development will yield. At this time within the planning application, the developers can contact planning consultants to review and assist with the proposal.

The planning consultants can review the proposal and provides feedback to the developers. Planning consultants generally focus on 2 main areas; residential development planning and industrial/commercial planning. For the residential sector, planning consultants valuate the projected use of the land and verify whether or not it's economically sound. This might involve increasing house sustainability, evaluating current and future infrastructure and determining how residents and perspective customers will respond to the event. Planning consultants additionally offer recommendations on ways to maximise land efficiency. 

For commercial and urban planning application, the main role of a planning consultant is to see whether or not the commercial development is going to be profitable or not, and to what extent. Within the case of all businesses, the final goal is to maximise profitability. Urban planning consultants can create recommendations on the best locations to build stores using marketing research, current store locations and economic forecasts.

Fighting Planning Appeals with Urban Planners

The city of Melbourne is proposing new zoning reforms that will greatly affect the way Melbourne residents subdivide and influence the planning application process for many urban planners and land developers. The proposed zoning reforms announced by the state government are not just limited to subdivision. They will have a great effect on town planners in all industries and the way planning applications are submitted in the future. The proposed changes are far reaching, with the deletion of nine categories of traditional land use zoning from planning schemes across every Council. There is the creation of an additional five land use zones and the amendment of 12 existing zones. The proposed reforms are so far reaching that they will undoubtedly affect your site if you are a landowner. The state government are accepting public feedback on the proposed zoning reforms until September 21^st, 2012. Now is the time to voice your opinion about the planning objections.

These reforms will affect the value of your site if they limit or prohibit any future development potential. A number of you who have residentially zoned properties have already acted on this and engaged urban planning consultants to deal with the planning objections and planning appeals.

Town planning experts are in the process of submitting planning appeals and planning objections to the State Government on the merits of the proposed zoning reforms so that your property values are protected before the government finalise the changes. You must act now to protect your property from future planning appeals.

Importance of Melbourne City Planning

Not too long ago, before the era of massive cities and overflowing suburbs, there was no need for urban planners. Land was inexpensive and undeveloped space was easy to find. Building restrictions and Melbourne city planning didn’t exist and people could merely build homes and open shops where they pleased. Today, however, the Melbourne city planning landscape has changed. With urban populations growing and vacant land turning scarcer, urban and city planners are becoming an integral part of the Melbourne city planning process.

Within the town of Melbourne and suburbs alone, town planners play an enormous role. In undeveloped areas, urban planners have the opportunity to design a complete town with economical housing subdivisions and sensible infrastructure from the ground up. However, this is often seldom the case in cities that are already established like Melbourne. Here, a town planner Melbourne wouldn’t produce the city from scratch, but instead a town planner Melbourne would be used to decide the most effective locations to create new developments within and outside of Melbourne. Town planners Melbourne are a vital consulting tool for businesses wanting to expand. Once a business is considering opening a new store or retail outlet, they typically consult urban planners to work out whether or not the shop and placement would be economically sound or not. The town planner Melbourne can analyze the present economic scenario of the business in conjunction with the external economic surroundings.  With this data in mind, the urban planners can then create a prediction of the potential profitability a new retail outlet could yield.

Businesses use urban planners due to their experience in building ordinance and Melbourne city planning. Coming up with a city or developing commercial space needs someone with a high level of knowledge concerning building law and local ordinances. It takes years to accumulate all of this knowledge and skill and completely learn and understand the town planning application method, so it is best to always consult a trusted town planner.

Using Urban Planners to Deal With Planning Objections

In the scope of big cities, urban planners play a major role. On a daily basis, pedestrians such as you and me, walk down the street, take the bus somewhere or hop in our car to get to where we need to be. We often put little thought into how all of these transit systems and infrastructure within our city came to be. Without proper roads and public transport it would be nearly impossible to get anywhere, not to mention much more chaotic! The results of city design, roads and neighborhood comes from the hard work of urban planners. Urban, or town planners often represent the backbone of a functioning city, however, their work is rarely acknowledged. Not only do planning consultants decide the best areas to build certain structures and ensure that they will be successful, but planning consultants also work with builders and land developers to help them cope with planning appeals and planning objections.

Planning appeals and planning objections fall into the legal scope of land development. Often, planning objections occur when the public is not happy with the proposed planning layout. This could be due to vacant land becoming developed, a corporation pushing to build a large retail outlet near a quiet neighborhood, or the creation of a new neighborhood altogether. Unfortunately, dealing with planning objections and planning appeals is part of an urban planner’s job. Not everyone is going to be happy about new developments going up, so urban planners aim to educate the public about the benefits of development and negotiate with the parties involved to find the best way to settle planning objections. Eventually, common ground is reached and a solution that aims to benefit all parties is put into place. This is all part of the town planning process and is inevitably going to happen at some point or other during the development of a city.

The Importance of Urban Planners in City Development

Melbourne has been ranked at the top of the Most Liveable Cities in the World list for the past several years now. With hundreds of well-developed and well laid out cities in the world, this is a major feat for Australia. However, underneath the glamour of such recognition lies a team of planning consultants Melbourne who have worked hard to develop Melbourne’s city grid and lengthy infrastructure, two of the key components of a liveable city. Ultimately, how liveable or non liveable a city is depends on the amount of town planning that went into that city. For example town planning Melbourne would have been much more in-depth and rigorous than town planning Cairo. This is revealed in Melbourne’s well developed infrastructure, public transport system and well planned neighbourhoods. 

Planning consultants Melbourne partake in a variety of roles during the development and redevelopment process of the certain areas in the city. Before any new building is constructed planning consultants Melbourne must be contacted. These urban planners review the area, the proposed building, the type of land and economic factors to determine whether the building—whether business or residential—will do well in the proposed area and whether it meets city and state regulations. If one or neither of these objectives are met, the town planning Melbourne committee will give the developers recommendations on better areas to build in and how to modify the structure to abide by local building laws.

Ultimately, town planning Melbourne consultants determine just how liveable a city will be. With the help of these urban planners, Melbourne is an enjoyable city for all!