May 31, 2018 in Bayswater, Community, Local Planning Strategy, Planning, Structure Plan

Building Bayswater - Why is the Council Not Listening?

Let's start with the questions first, then read on to get the background details...

WHY?

From the Council Minutes (audio) of 8 May 2018, it was very apparent that the councillors had been briefed on the outcomes of the Building Bayswater Engagement process . Over discussion on an application to rezone the old petrol station site on the corner of King William St and Guildford Road the following statements were made...

"...only last week we were briefed about the outcomes from the comprehensive consultation process that will be used to prepare the LPS" Elli Petersen-Pik

"...and we know from the initial feedback we’ve heard from the LPS that this kind of density is appropriate in this area." Dan Bull

"..we have received a briefing about the LPS....there certainly was after some deliberation some positive support for high density within this area" Giorgia Johnson

Yet not once in the discussion over the Bayswater Structure Plan, neither the outcomes nor recommendations from the Building Bayswater Report mentioned. WHY?

Why was the Bayswater Town Centre Structure Plan considered BEFORE this report was tabled?

The report (summarised below) clearly shows that Bayswater residents have an appetite for increased heights and density in the Bayswater Town Centre.

So, why has this community support for more intensity in the Bayswater Town Centre been ignored?

The City of Bayswater Consults with the Community.

The City of Bayswater recently completed a community engagement process called Building Bayswater. Through online surveys, focus groups and community panels Bayswater residents contributed thoughts, ideas and expectation on ...

"..how Council should respond to the challenges and opportunities of new development with the city."

The Building Bayswater report translates the outcomes to recommendations for the City's Local Planning Strategy and will inform the City's inaugural Local Planning Strategy. ( More on LPS below)

So what did you, the community, say you wanted, ??

Specifically in Bayswater and Meltham?

Let's have a look see...

Key Recommendations for Bayswater Town Centre and Meltham Station Precinct

Some key built form recommendations were made in the Building Bayswater Report related to the Bayswater Town Centre and Meltham Train Station Precinct including the following:-

It is noted that recommendations from the community for the Bayswater town centre precinct included greater height than the heights proposed in the draft Bayswater Town Centre Structure Plan.

In future reviews of the structure plan, it is recommended that the City consider density and height of R100 and 10 storeys in the immediate train station precinct, down to an R60/4-storey height within the 800m walkable catchment.

The independent community panel recommendations included:

Meltham Station Precinct developed in accordance with WAPC approved Meltham Station Precinct Structure Plan
Transition from edge of Meltham Station Precinct Structure Plan within 800m walkable catchment to R50 3-storey maximum
The ongoing approval of a Bayswater Town Centre Structure Plan
Greater density and height of R100 and 10-storeys in the immediate Bayswater train station precinct
Transition to R60 4-storey within 800mm walkable catchment

Background

The City of Bayswater released the Building Bayswater Engagement Outcomes report in May 2018 to provide recommendations to the City relating to residential built form to be adopted into the City’s first Local Planning Strategy (LPS). One of the most extensive community engagement processes ever undertaken by the City was implemented using a variety of methods and techniques to seek the views of all within our community.

Purpose of the Local Planning Strategy (LPS)

The LPS is intended to set the City’s targets for development and planning and a structure for the City to meet those targets. It will impact scheme amendments and zoning for future developments. The LPS must be compatible with the Western Australian Planning Commissions (WAPC) plans and policies Directions 2031 and Beyond, Perth and Peel@3.5million and the Central Sub-Regional Planning Framework. These plans require infill to accommodate an increase in population to 3.5 million by 2050, to reduce the expansion of the Perth Metropolitan Region.

The WAPC has set targets for the City of Bayswater to provide a minimum of 15,800 new dwellings from a total of 121,000 infill dwellings set for the Perth Metropolitan Region. The WAPC plans and policies aim to reduce new urban greenfield developments to accommodate population growth, through increased residential density and urban infill development targets. This will be achieved by increasing diversity and density of mixed-use development, employment and housing that have the highest potential to happen within activity centres, industrial centres, urban corridors and station precincts.

BUILDING BAYSWATER : THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

The report was compiled based on community engagement that was undertaken between November 2017 and March 2018, with regards to the challenges and opportunities posed by new development within the City.

The community engagement was undertaken in person and online as follows:

Face-to-face and pop-up events attended by 129 people
The project website was visited by 2,300 individuals
The project website received 512 individual submissions
A two-day community panel attended by 33 randomly selected community members, from 10,000 randomly selected property addresses, conducted by a third party
Online forum with 72 randomly selected community members, from 10,000 randomly selected property addresses, conducted by a third party

BUILDING TYPES + FEEDBACK RECEIVED

Instead of referencing the WAPC’s Residential Design Codes of WA (R-Codes) the Building Bayswater engagement process instead referred to six common building types found in the Perth Metropolitan Region, which can be found in the Building Bayswater – Typical Building Types document.

During the engagement process online polls were undertaken to ascertain community expectations at a high level.
The results are shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Table 1

Figure 1 - Quick Poll 1

Figure 2 - Quick Poll 6

Table 1 - Quick Poll 2-5

Figures 1 and 2, Table 1;Digital Images. Available from https://engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au/30356/documents/77982

The Building Bayswater engagement involved 12 City organised face-to-face community focus groups and four pop-up events in highly trafficked and populated areas between 20 November and 7 December 2017. The same questions that were asked at the face-to-face and pop-up events were available through an online mapping tool until 19 December 2017.

The main objective of the focus groups, pop-ups, online mapping, community panel and online forum was to provide the Community Engagement Summary. As shown in Figure 3, a mapping summary was created based on the engagement process, which indicates the most common building type in an area by colour. The areas on the map reflect the community’s recommendation, from comments and placement of building types.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The Community Engagement Summary feedback includes the following key themes:

Medium to high density development requires high quality built form
Design advisory panel or committee required to achieve high quality built form
Retain and increase tree canopy through a tree register and incentives
Intensify development around transport hubs
Proximity to the City and some ‘suburban’ aspects valued
Improve public transport, including bus, rail, cycling and pedestrian networks
Community appreciates the character including the built heritage, also the natural environment including river and wetlands
Diversity of housing to cater for different groups including aged and youth
Improve lifestyle for all residents and support business to allow people to live, work and play locally, and to create more active and safer areas

Figure 3: Mapping Summary [from community]

Digital Images. Available from https://engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au/30356/documents/77982

INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS

The climax of Building Bayswater was the Community Panel two-day deliberative event. The panel was to provide a comparatively high-level agreement for future built form planning across the City. Principles that were developed for significant urban growth areas are as follows:-

High-quality, usable public open/green space within walking distance
Currently underutilised land to be utilised
Community support is required
Current precinct character to be maintained, enhanced and improved
Incorporate small business into existing community areas
Locate site within mixed-use area and create local employment opportunities
Access to community and/or social amenities
To be around transport corridors, transport hubs and public transport

Some of these principles are more challenging than others to achieve, however, the majority of these reflect feedback that was received throughout the engagement and so confirmed the general community sentiment.

The following table is a summary of the building types deliberated by the Building Bayswater Community Panel:

Table 2: Building Types Deliberated by the Community Panel

It was noted that consistent themes for all building types were:

Visual Privacy
Solar access
Tree retention
Universal access
Affordability

It should be noted that Type 1 development is R20 R-Code and type 2 development is R20-R30 R-Code, which already exist in abundance across the City. No change is recommended to increase the probability of these types of development and are therefore considered status quo.