By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Neighbours have successfully taken legal action to strike down a four-townhouse proposal in Eumemmerring.
The double-storey townhouses built one behind the other on an 864-square metre vacant lot at 3 Theyer Street had been approved by Casey Council in July.
On an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, two neighbours argued that the project did not suit the predominantly single-storey area.
VCAT member Tracy Watson agreed on 30 June, finding the design was “not a comfortable fit” in Theyer Street or the “broader neighbourhood”.
Ms Watson noted the “minimal” 2-metre spaces between the homes’ upper storeys. Several upper storey walls were visible to neighbours and Theyer Street.
“I do not take issue with the proposed landscaping response of the proposal, and I also support the provision of the proposed single crossover and the one-behind-the-other layout,” Ms Watson stated.
“Rather, it is the intensity of the built form outcome relative to the existing character of the area which I find unacceptable.”
She said other four-dwelling developments in the area were not as intensive. For example, they were single-storey dwellings or hid a double-storey dwelling behind single storey homes.
Ms Watson stated the site was suitable for “some form of increased housing”.
It was in an ‘incremental change’ General Residential Zone 1 – which was the next level up from ‘minimal change’.
The proponent Dayananda Liyanaarachchige and Casey Council argued that the project was an acceptable design response.
The council stated the proposal fit the area’s preferred character of “generous front setbacks, low-scale diverse form and generous landscaping”.
