COUNCILLORS backing a move to rezone parts of Kingston’s Green Wedge insist they are trying to find “an acceptable compromise” to ensure vast tracts of the environmentally sensitive area are protected while freeing up some parts for rural living.
Cr Tamsin Bearsley said she accepted a push to convert parts of the Green Wedge to a Rural Living Zone would face opposition but stressed there would be further expert advice sought and community feedback before any final decision is made.
Cr Bearsley said the land – between Kingston and Heatherton roads and Lower Dandenong Road and on the eastern side of Tootal Rd in Dingley Village – could not be used for “sustainable agriculture”.
“It’s open space that we [council] don’t own and it would be ideal to offer people the chance to own a farmlet and live there.”
Rates and charges earned by council could be used to finance part of the chain of parks trail in the Green Wedge, according to Cr Bearsley.
Cr Gledhill said the majority of councillors were trying to find “an acceptable compromise… that acknowledges the views of all stakeholders.”
“The land in question is privately owned, so rather than berate and belittle the current landowners, I believe superior outcomes will be achieved by seeking their cooperation,” he said.
“You can’t please all the people all the time but it is possible to reach an acceptable compromise if all parties play a positive and cooperative role.”
Councillors opposed to the rezoning proposal note 2012’s Kingston Green Wedge Plan, put together by urban planning specialists Planisphere at a cost of about $300,000 to ratepayers, did not recommend any move to implement a Rural Living Zone.
Cr Bearsley said this option had not been provided to the consultants in their report terms of reference.
“Further advice will determine whether this is viable.”
Councillors narrowly voted last month to seek expressions of interest as part of the process to hire a consultancy firm to look at the Rural Living Zone proposal (‘Councillors’ wedge plan ‘diabolical’”, The News, 30/7/14).
Crs Tamara Barth, David Eden, Steve Staikos and Rosemary West opposed the move at the latest council meeting, while crs Bearsley, Gledhill, John Ronke and Paul Peulich were in favour.
Cr Ron Brownlees was absent but has voted with the four pro-wedge development councillors on previous occasions. The mayor, Cr Peulich, used his mayoral casting vote to break the deadlock at last month’s council meeting.
The expert advice is expected to be available in about six months’ time with costs for the consultancy work to be determined before council proceeds.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy, or his successor should the Coalition government lose government in November’s state election, will have the final say on any Green Wedge rezoning.
