Greater Dandenong councillors are counting the cost of the council’s planning decisions overturned at VCAT.
The council loses many more than it wins at the state planning tribunal, with a 31 per cent success rate in 2021-’22.
There’s been a growing trend for councillors to argue for unpopular planning proposals due to the mounting costs of losing at VCAT.
“One of the most shocking things for me is that local councils have almost no influence over what’s built around them,” Cr Rhonda Garad says.
“It’s really eroding the local community’s ability to influence where and how they live.”
Up to $70,000 recently spent on unsuccessfully defending its refusal of a 101-lot housing estate at 182 Chapel Road Keysborough.
This month, the council also lost after refusing an eight-townhouse development in a narrow Luxford Court in Springvale.
In both cases, council officers initially recommended the applications were compliant, but were over-ruled by councillors on the back of vocal community opposition.
In such cases, the council hires lawyers to defend itself at VCAT – at usually about $10,000 per matter, says Cr Sean O’Reilly.
Greater Dandenong Council was asked by Star Journal but wouldn’t specify the overall cost over the past year.
“It adds up to immeasurable expenses over time,” Cr O’Reilly says.
“There have been suggestions that the costs of each case should be reported separately in our budget.”
He says councillors need to take into account that VCAT is the “final arbiter” even though objectors often raise of overdevelopment and traffic and parking congestion.
“The unfortunate practical decision is if they meet planning guidelines (and we vote against it) we’re giving false hope to residents.
“We’re wasting the community’s money on law firms. And we’re actually being unfair to the applicants because they’ve applied and officers have negotiated the best planning outcomes under the guidelines.”
Cr O’Reilly said state planning guidelines were set as they were to address undersupply of housing and steepling housing prices.
“You can see both sides of it, with residents being unhappy with higher density developments coming close to them.
“We have to balance all interests and make the best decisions.”
However Cr Garad says there should be a local government summit to change the balance from “development at any cost”.
“I’d like to see the community’s voice in the planning system strengthened.”
