KINGSTON ratepayers will cover the cost of legal fees incurred by a developer at a VCAT hearing into plans for the Endeavour Cove precinct in Patterson Lakes.
Kingston mayor Steve Staikos says that council and the developer have come to a legal settlement which will prevent the development of some areas at the Cove site. Development in areas where council approved permits in 2018 will be halted for two years.
Council has agreed to pay $60,000 in ratepayer funding towards the developer’s legal fees. Cr Staikos said that paying the fees will “avoid a potentially lengthy, costly and uncertain legal hearing”.
“This two-year hold will ensure that the planned development does not proceed until council and the state government introduce necessary changes to the planning controls to the area,” Cr Staikos said.
The Endeavour Cove precinct is by the Patterson River marina and The Cove Hotel. The saga of the site’s development spans back to 1988 when initial plans were first formed. In 1994 the City of Chelsea approved development plans for the site, which changed considerably in the years that followed. An Ombudsman investigation into planning decisions made at the site found that council approved plans for a three-storey development in 1999, a 40-lot subdivision in 2003, a five storey development in 2005, a four-storey development in 2009, two five-storey buildings in 2011, a rezoning in 2012, a six-storey building in 2013, and three multi-storey developments in 2018 (“Incompetence blamed for council’s Cove decisions” The News 20/10/21).
Earlier this year council undertook public consultation to help shape future changes to the planning controls at the site.
In a statement, Kingston Council says it has made an application to the planning minister for “interim planning controls to protect the area until more permanent planning changes can be made.”
“The interim request seeks to deliver greater clarity for the community, the developer, and the council, and responds directly to council’s internal review of previous planning decisions, and the investigation undertaken by the Victorian Ombudsman into planning matters at Endeavour Cove,” the statement read. “The proposed interim controls will offer greater clarity and certainty for the community around sensitive issues such as parking, height controls and overall development outcomes.
“A permanent planning scheme amendment has also been submitted to Minister Wynne for authorisation, together with this interim request, to secure long-term planning certainty at the site. Council reinforced the importance of undertaking the planning scheme amendment work, which will involve widespread community engagement, in establishing permanent planning controls for the precinct.”
To read more about the process visit yourkingstonyoursay.com.au/endeavour-cove-planning-scheme-proposed
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 13 April 2022
