A CONTROVERSIAL plan to subdivide a parcel of land in Kingston’s green wedge has been approved by a majority of Kingston councillors against the advice of council officers.
Council gave the go ahead to the subdivision of land at 2 Leslie Rd in Clarinda into five lots of 907 square metres despite Kingston’s Green Wedge Plan stating the area is “where reserves and public open space are encouraged to be located”.
The plan, adopted in 2012, recommends the land be rezoned to green wedge A zone, where the minimum lot size is 40 hectares. The applicant argued council had effectively changed its policy on the land, having flagged the possibility of the area being included in the urban growth boundary in 2008 before Kingston’s Green Wedge Plan was adopted.
The original planning application made reference to potential future residential development but was later amended to claim the subdivided land would be used for horse agistment. Kingston mayor, Cr Paul Peulich, said he and council officers had met the applicant and denied specifically giving advice to change the application details.
“We advised the applicant the only way any support could be given for this proposal was if it was for horse agistment and not for residential purposes,” Cr Peulich said.
The Defenders of the South East Green Wedge opposed the application. Assistant secretary Diana Donahue addressed Monday evening’s council meeting and said there were “no valid reasons” why it should be approved.
Cr Rosemary West said the site was a former landfill and council could be open to “legal liabilities” if residential development was approved on “unstable ground”.
Cr Geoff Gledhill said councillors should not do “mind reading about what the applicant intends to do”.
“Any further use of the land would be subject to further council consideration,” he said.
Crs Peulich, Gledhill, Ron Brownlees, Tamsin Bearsley and John Ronke backed the application. Crs David Eden, Steve Staikos, West and Tamara Barth voted against the proposal.
Cr West said the approval set “a terrible precedent” opening up the potential for subdivision almost anywhere in the green wedge north of Heatherton Rd.
The council officers’ report had concluded: “Based on a thorough assessment of the application against the relevant provisions of the Kingston Planning Scheme, the proposal is considered inappropriate in this location and should not be supported.”
Cr Staikos said the approval of the application would mean “council will have to justify ourselves at a later date”.
Kingston councillors are bitterly divided over the future of the Green Wedge. Councillors agreed in 2012 to adopt the Kingston Green Wedge Plan as a “framework for action to guide the management of the Green Wedge”.
However, several notices of motion since the Plan’s adoption have contradicted recommendations by Plan consultants Planisphere in a push to subdivide and develop sections of the Green Wedge.
