By Ethan Benedicto
A number of residents on College Drive in Narre Warren South have protested against their lack of ability to develop, as the neighbouring school continues to grow.
During the public question time at the Casey Council meeting on Tuesday, 20 May, residents questioned why they could not subdivide their property, citing that the ten homes’ acreages are abundant not just in land, but amenities.
Reto Freihofer, a local resident of College Drive, submitted a question that said the street has “sewage, water, electricity and gas”.
He also added that there was an early learning centre, traffic lights, and a P1-P12 college, so “how come the school can expand year on year but us adding 10 more houses is governed by the DPO1 overlay?”
Another local resident, Kartik, while speaking to Star News, said that Victoria as a whole, and including the City of Casey, is rife with conversations about the housing crisis.
“The State Government is saying we want to release more land so that they can build more houses.
“We’re sitting on one acre, the (LDRZ – Low Density Residential Zone) zoning has changed, and the council still hasn’t figured out how to grant permission to subdivide the area,” he said.
Prepared by Casey’s manager of planning and building, and answered by the acting director of city planning and infrastructure, they responded to Freihofer’s question by saying that the council’s officers are currently reviewing the Narre Warren South development plan, which applies to College Drive and the adjoining school, Waverley Christian College.
This is part of the broader council review of the Development Plans in Casey, where they added that the school has “an approved masterplan enabling it to develop over time until the school is fully developed”.
“College Drive was originally built to cater for the fully developed school and 10 residential 4000 square-metre allotments.
“Further council investigation is foreshadowed to ensure existing infrastructure and services along College Drive can support additional subdivision down to 2000 square-metre allotments,” they said.
College Drive currently sits within an LDRZ zone, which allows for smaller lot sizes.
However, Development Plan Overlay Schedule 1 (DPO1) remains in place and blocks subdivision until a development plan is approved or amended.
Covering the same topic, another resident, Carla Freihofer, noted that Shrives, Pound, Narre Warren-Cranbourne, Fullard and Centre Roads have one-plus acre block sizes, “most of those can subdivide without issue, College Drive can’t”.
The acting director of city planning and infrastructure replied by saying that the area between Shrives Road and Narre Warren South has a “range of lot sizes”.
“Most of the lots were created at the minimum lot size and cannot be subdivided any further under the current planning controls,” they said.
Once more, they reiterated that the Narre Warren South (Part A) Development Plan is to be investigated, but for Kartik, he believes the delays “are more like an administrative issue”.
“We have the road, we have the stop lights, we have the infrastructure in place.
“That’s where it boggles my mind, that there are massive delays; there is no consideration for common sense, that you know, the zoning has changed, the State wants more homes, and the land is there.
“You could easily build a second house and have another family living there, which could ease the (housing) pressure,” he said.
Kartik has brought the topic up to the council for some time, having touched base on it multiple times over the last six years.
He said that it’s frustrating, considering that he considers the matter as a “low-hanging fruit”, and something that can be ticked off right away.
As for now, residents await clarity as the council continues to review the Narre Warren South (Part A) Development Plan.
This story is still developing, with more information to be added in the future once available.
