A 39-apartment development near Yarraville Village has been given the green light by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal despite about 80 objections.
VCAT convened last week to consider the three-storey proposal by Maher Corp Pty Ltd for three housing lots on the corner of Anderson and Fehon streets.
In approving the development after it had been knocked back by Maribyrnong council, VCAT on Monday rejected concerns about the project’s bulk, the loss of trees and likely impact on neighbourhood character and traffic.
Fehon Street resident River McKenzie told Star Weekly both the council and the community had “dropped the ball” by failing to adequately contest the plans.
Despite about 80 residents objecting to the proposal and attending a mediation session, only a handful attended the VCAT hearing.
Mr McKenzie said many had put their faith in the council contesting on their behalf, only to be let down badly when the council failed to fight the project’s bulk and amenity impact.
“It was driven by profit; there was little in the way of compromise by the developers,” he said.
“I saw it as developers trying to squeeze on as many dwellings as they could without really giving the community consideration. The developers themselves said it would set a precedent, and it does make it harder to reject anything of this size.”
Mr McKenzie said there was a “huge disconnect” between the views put by the community to the council and those put by the council to VCAT.
Another resident, who attended VCAT but asked not to be named, said the case highlighted the fact that developers were able to breach building standards.
“The council has to be more transparent with people about where it stands in regards to building standards so people can understand what it is prepared to enforce and what it’s not,” he said.
Yarraville ward councillor Michael Clarke said he was disappointed by VCAT’s decision.
“It was not deemed by our council as appropriate and I’m surprised and very disappointed on behalf of residents,” he said.
Maher Corp did not respond to contact by Star Weekly.
