By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A proposed housing subdivision in the Casey Foothills has been rejected by the state’s planning tribunal.
On 23 June, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal member Dalia Cook refused a second dwelling at the front of the 3367-square-metre triangular lot at 1 Latina Court, Narre Warren North.
The current single-storey home, with a large landscaped, sloped frontage, is part of an “established residential enclave with long range, picturesque views”.
Casey Council did not support a permit, arguing it was contrary to the low-density housing area of 2000-plus square metre lots.
The applicant Valer Pop sought a second dwelling to enable his family to live beside each other.
There were limited opportunities for his family to buy into the area, he argued.
According to Mr Pop, the two lots would be generously sized and fit with the neighbourhood’s varied “subdivision pattern”, Ms Cook noted.
Smaller lots increased housing choice and affordability, Mr Pop’s lawyer argued.
Ms Cook agreed that the 2017 rezoning of the area from Residential 1 Zone to General Residential Zone 1 allowed “more compact” lots.
But the proposal wasn’t consistent with the neighbourhood character of “almost all between 2000-3000 square metres”, Ms Cook noted.
The VCAT member said the proposed second home would be built too close to the street front.
“While I accept that the immediate setting does not exhibit the qualities mentioned in local policy of an open rural landscape character, it still maintains generous lots hosting single dwellings within larger, established gardens.”
A lot next-door to the site was less than 2000 square metres but it was an “anomaly”, Ms Cook stated.
“While the application has the potential to deliver additional housing for the applicant and his family, I consider that the subdivision and development are not consistent with the character of this particular setting.”
