Page 2935 - Week 08 - Thursday, 25 June 2009
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Following the restructuring of the territory plan in 2007 and the commencement of the new plan on 31 March 2008, the B11 area-specific policy was renamed the RZ4 medium density residential zone, and the B12 areas became the RZ3 urban residential zone. There was no change to the actual policy context and the section master plans were integrated into the relevant precinct code, the inner north precinct code.
The RZ4 policy provides for a maximum building height of three storeys, with a maximum plot ratio of 0.8. The RZ3 policy provides for a maximum building height of two storeys with a maximum plot ratio of 0.65. The RZ4 building and site control policies also provide for the staging of multi-dwelling housing development in the RZ4 areas north of Macarthur and Wakefield Avenues. A maximum two-storey building height limit and a maximum plot ratio of 0.65 apply until 23.5 hectares of the 25.9 hectares of residential blocks in the RZ4 areas south of Macarthur and Wakefield Avenues, and north of Cooyong Street and Donaldson Street, have been developed for multi-dwelling housing. In other words, RZ4 will be extended north of Macarthur and Wakefield Avenues only once the vast majority of the area south of Wakefield and Macarthur Avenues have been redeveloped for multi-unit housing.
Some areas of the original B1 policy were zoned B13, based on recommendations from the Northbourne Avenue study of February 2000. Since the introduction of the new territory plan last year these areas, together with other former commercial E areas, have been converted to the CZ5 mixed use commercial zone.
In November 2008 ACTPLA prepared a report entitled North Canberra RZ3 and RZ4 residential redevelopment policy monitoring and impact evaluation. It provides a quantitative analysis of this higher density policy. It indicates that the policy has resulted in an increase of 1,500 dwellings in the RZ3 and RZ4 areas. It also indicates that when the policy is fully implemented the net increase in dwellings could be in the order of 4,000.
Further, it indicates that only 51 per cent of the required area south of Macarthur Avenue has been redeveloped for multi-unit housing, although I note this excludes the car parking land in section 13 in Braddon. As you can see from this short history of the policy, this is a complex area. There are no quick fixes to the questions that arise out of the report. This policy, indeed all planning decisions, involve a range of complex and sometimes extremely delicate policy trade-offs. These issues are, however, I believe worthy of serious consideration.
The study and the reality on the ground that it reflects raise a number of important issues that I believe the Assembly should consider. Firstly, the policy which has been in operation for 15 years has resulted in an average addition of 100 dwellings per year. At this rate of development, it would take another 25 years before the redevelopment of the area is complete.
Secondly, the restriction on the intensity of development in the RZ4 areas north of Macarthur Avenue, particularly pertaining to O’Connor, Dickson and Lyneham, has contributed to a low level of redevelopment in these areas. It is also having two other effects, the running down of some properties awaiting the time when the
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