Greetings from the DCA

Greetings Everybody,

Trust you are all well. April was a big month with Easter, Anzac Day and the start of the AFL season.

DCA Committee added members
I am delighted with the response from a number of members nominating to join the committee. This was in response to a call for nominations following a number resigning due to moving out of Docklands, including our long standing Treasurer Dr Jessie Xin Zu who has taken up a position in Canberra Base Hospital. Such relocations are not uncommon in Docklands due to the transient nature of much of the population. On your behalf I would like to thank Jessie and other members for their contributions. The responses to fill positions means we will be able to continue strongly.

Cage fighting proposed at Etihad Stadium

The online survey of resident opinion resulted in well over 100 responses with the result being 75 per cent against the proposal to hold the event in Docklands. The survey site told us this was a significant response. We had our concerns over staging the event at Etihad Stadium because of the concentrated residential nature of the Docklands area and concerns for safety, security and anti-social behaviour in surrounding places and bars, as well as apartments. Police are already opposed to the activity being staged in Victoria much less Docklands. Etihad Stadium has plenty of events without adding that. We will pass on the concerns and survey result to Etihad Stadium management and authorities.

Short-stay/ serviced apartments panel of enquiry
The panel of enquiry, of which I am a member, set up by the State Government to review short-stay operations in residential apartment buildings in inner Melbourne has met three times and is due to finalise recommendations by end May.

NSW judgements
In relation to apartment buildings, the following, highly interesting, reports of two Court judgements in NSW have been forwarded by our NSW counterpart to the Owner’s Corporation Network of Victoria  (OCNV):

Firstly, the Botany Council took a developer to Court for proposing to build apartments smaller in size than required under the NSW State Environment and Planning Policy. The Court decided in favour of the Council thus requiring the developer to build larger sizes required under the Policy. There are no similar regulations as yet in Victoria, although the issue of small apartments has been raised here.

Secondly, short-term letting has been banned in the Bridgeport apartment building in central Sydney. Managers of the building have been ordered to stop weekend rentals immediately and cease holiday rentals from October this year. The NSW Land and Environment Court has given Australian Executive Apartments, managers in the building until September to stop letting apartments as short-term rentals.  They were also ordered to pay $10,000 costs to City of Sydney who took the action.

The Esplanade

The report in last month’s Docklands News echoed our call for retention of the public open space as originally planned and for proper public consultation. Places Victoria has steadfastly refused to budge from their plan to put a number of buildings along the stretch despite our call for a linear park.

Lorimer Street/ Yarra’s Edge

We support the call by residents of Yarra’s Edge for removal of the planned tram bridge over the river and for consideration to be given to the adequate retention of amenity for Yarra’s Edge residents in the planning of development of Fisherman’s Bend, including overshadowing, traffic and other infrastructure.

Owners Corporation Network Victoria
At the last committee meeting in April it was agreed there needs to be more compliance and better regulatory powers to control strata apartments being developed in Melbourne. Currently developers are able to build apartments of one bedroom 42 sqm and two bedrooms 50 sqm, which is unacceptably small. Council seems to be doing nothing to fix it.

The glut of high-rise development in inner Melbourne is adding to infrastructure problems, which include increased traffic congestion, passenger congestion on public transport, lack of governance with regard to building protocols, with some apartments poorly constructed and with little or no ventilation.

The State Government and Council need to take action in these matters. The OCNV is also raising these issues with the authorities.

Events during May
Scheduled is a Duathlon event of running and cycling May 1 -4

If any reader would like to become a member of the DCA or has any suggestions they wish to put forward regarding activities or issues, they are welcome to contact us on [email protected]. We’re also on Facebook.

If you would like to contact me about any aspect or becoming a committee member you are welcome to email as above.

Regards to All
Roger Gardner
President DCA