Amendment VC148, gazetted 31^st July 2018, has been touted as the biggest change to the VPP since its inception.  Part of the Victorian Government’s Smart Planning program, VC148 is aimed at simplifying and modernising Victoria’s planning policy and rules to make planning schemes more efficient, accessible and transparent.

In many cases, it is now less time consuming and costly to obtain a permit for car parking reductions, which will help to promote the revitalisation of shopping strips and cut the amount of red tape for developers.

Key changes with respect to car parking include:
1. Amends Clause 52.06 (car parking requirements) to introduce reduced car parking requirements for land located within walking distance (400m) of the Principal Public Transport Network (PPTN).  The Column B parking rates in Clause 52.06 become applicable, which notably includes no visitor parking for residential developments and significantly reduced requirements for restaurant, medical centre, industry and warehouse land uses.
2. Amends Clause 52.06 to delete the requirement for a permit to reduce the number of car parks required for a new use in an existing building provided:
– The reduction does not exceed 10 spaces,
– The site is zoned C1Z, C2Z or ACZ;
– The gross floor area is not increased;
– The building is not in a Parking Overlay with a schedule that allows a financial contribution to be paid in lieu of the provision of the required car parking spaces for the use.
3. Deletes Clauses 52.12 (Service Station), 52.13 (Car Wash) and Clause 52.14 (Motor Vehicle, boat or caravan sales).
4. Exempts an application from notice requirements under Clause 52.29 (Land Adjacent to a Road Zone), typically where consent is required from VicRoads to create or alter access onto a Road Zone Category 1.
To find out if your site is on the PPTN, maps for each municipality can be downloaded here:  https://bit.ly/2ny2KHf
If you have any questions about how VC148 can benefit your existing property or proposal, please get in touch with your existing SALT contact or call us on 9020 4225.