Amendment C183: Merri-bek Parking Implementation Plan

About Amendment C183

Amendment C183 to the Merri-bek Planning Scheme sought to reduce minimum parking requirements for new developments in Merri-bek’s twelve Neighbourhood Centres by 20 per cent, and remove minimum requirements in the Brunswick, Coburg and Glenroy Activity Centres, replacing them with maximum rates.

Council Decision – Update - December 2020

In December 2020, Council resolved to abandon future changes to the planning scheme that would have allowed the removal of minimum car parking rates in developments and the setting of maximum car parking requirements in activity centres. View the minutes from the 9 December 2020 meeting.

Council had previously resolved in May 2020 to abandon Amendment C183, which sought to make these changes, and begin a new amendment process following further parking survey and modelling work, as recommended by the Planning Panel which considered Amendment C183.

Council’s decision in December 2020 means it now no longer intends to pursue a planning scheme amendment in the future to make these changes to minimum parking requirements in the planning scheme.

Council Decision May 2020

The Panel report generally supported the underlying strategic basis for MITS and noted that the Amendment is supported by state and local policy. The Panel also agreed that supporting lower rates of car ownership through parking controls is a legitimate way to achieve Council’s sustainable transport objectives.

However, the Panel considered that insufficient parking survey and modelling work had been undertaken to inform the Amendment and recommended to Council that further analysis is required to provide a more fulsome assessment of the consequences of the proposed Amendment.

At the 13 May 2020 meeting, Council resolved to:

1. Note the findings and recommendations of the Planning Panel appointed to consider Amendment C183 to the Merri-bek Planning Scheme, documented in the Panel Report dated 1 April 2020, at Attachment 1 to this report.
2. Using its powers as a planning authority under sections 23 and 28 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, abandon Merri-bek Planning Scheme Amendment C183.
3. Write to the Minister for Planning advising of Council’s decision to abandon Merri-bek Planning Scheme Amendment C183.
4. Notify all submitters of Council’s decision in relation to Amendment C183.
5. Undertake further parking survey and modelling work in and around Activity Centres and Neighbourhood Centres to develop a comprehensive car parking plan to fully understand the impacts of revised parking requirements and inform a future planning scheme amendment.
6. Refer the additional expenditure required to undertake survey and modelling work and to undertake a further planning scheme amendment to the annual budget process for the relevant financial year, likely 2022-23, noting the timing of these actions is subject to the duration of the COVID-19 State of Emergency in Victoria.

Panel Report

The report of the Panel appointed to consider Amendment C183 was received by Council on 1 April 2020. You can now view the Panel Report (PDF 787Kb). 

The recommendations of the Panel Report will be considered by Council at its meeting on 13 May 2020 where Council will decide whether to adopt the Amendment (including any final changes) or abandon the Amendment. 

For more information about the conduct of Council meetings during the Covid-19 State of Emergency, including access to the meeting agenda and how to submit questions for public question time, please visit this page.

Panel Hearing

An independent Planning Panel considered submissions on 24 and 25 February 2020.

The following documents are made available as part of the Panel hearing process:

Councils Part A/B Submission (PDF 8Mb)

Councils Closing Submission (PDF 951Kb)

Expert Witness Report - Chris Coath, GTA Consultants, for Council) (PDF 9Mb)

Consultation and Submissions

Submissions closed on Monday, 11 November 2019. Thank you to those who made a submission. Council considered a report on the Amendment at the 11 December 2019 Council meeting and resolved to seek the appointment of a panel to consider submissions to the Amendment.

View the agenda and minutes for the 11 December Council meeting which includes the report on the submissions. 

Copies of the submissions to the amendment received by Council can be viewed under 'Key Documents' on the right hand side of this page.

What will the amendment do?

Amendment C183 seeks to introduce changes to car parking requirements for new developments in designated Activity Centres and Neighbourhood Centres by applying three new Parking Overlays:

• Parking Overlay 1 – Applies to the Brunswick, Coburg and Glenroy Activity Centres so that a minimum car parking requirement is no longer specified in new development, and instead a maximum rate of allowed car parking is specified, above which a permit is required.

• Parking Overlay 2 – Applies to 12 Neighbourhood Centres and reduces minimum car parking requirements by 20 per cent.

• Parking Overlay 3 – Applies to all other land zoned for commercial or mixed use. No change is made to minimum car parking requirements, but guidelines are introduced to incorporate sustainable transport design in new developments.

Download the fact sheet (PDF 916Kb) to find out more about Amendment C183.

Why is Council seeking to introduce changes to car parking requirements in new developments?

Moreland’s population is projected to grow by 50,000 people and about 23,000 households by 2036. To ensure that Merri-bek’s activity centres can accommodate population growth and remain walkable, liveable and economically viable, Council needs to better manage car use and local traffic congestion.

By encouraging limits on car parking and sustainable transport design in new developments, this will encourage future populations in Merri-bek to adopt sustainable travel habits. It will also take the pressure off existing road users by improving car parking and reducing traffic congestion in Merri-bek over time.

Amendment C183 only relates to new development and is just one of several Council initiatives to improve sustainable travel and better manage on-street car parking in Merri-bek through the Moreland Integrated Transport Strategy (MITS).

What land in Merri-bek is affected by Amendment C183?

Enter your address to see if your property is affected by Amendment C183.

View the amendment documents

All of the amendment documents are available to download from the Key Documents section on this webpage.

You may also inspect the Amendment, any documents that support the Amendment and the explanatory report about the Amendment, free of charge, at all of Council's Customer Service Centres and Libraries.

Please be aware that all submissions to Amendments are public documents that must be made available by any person as part of the planning process. This includes all personal names, telephone and address details, unless these are specifically requested to be deleted prior to the submission being made publicly available.

Further information

For future information please phone Council on 9240 1111 or email Strategic Planning on strategicplanning@moreland.vic.gov.au.

Documents on this page are in PDF-only format. If you have trouble opening or viewing a PDF document, please contact Council and we will arrange to provide information to you in a format that meets your requirements. See Council's accessibility page for further details.