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ISSUE 73 APRIL –MAY 2022 ¡ For the love of trees ¡ Sharing space ¡ Gallery giftHow to contact us bayside.vic.gov.au (03) 9599 4444 76 Royal Ave, Sandringham enquiries@bayside.vic.gov.au facebook.com/BaysideCityCouncil twitter.com/BaysideCouncil We are committed to being easy to deal with, empathetic, effective and trusted. Making a complaint Complaints should be put in writing and can be lodged via Council’s website. You can expect to receive a response within 10 days. Customer service commitment Cr Clarke Martin Beckett Ward cmartin@bayside.vic.gov.au 0466 356 805 Cr Jo Samuel-King MBBS Castlefield Ward jsamuel-king@bayside.vic.gov.au 0419 772 291 Deputy Mayor Cr Hanna El Mouallem Dendy Ward helmouallem@bayside.vic.gov.au 0437 859 978 Cr Sonia Castelli Ivison Ward scastelli@bayside.vic.gov.au 0466 356 794 Cr Fiona Stitfold Boyd Ward fstitfold@bayside.vic.gov.au 0409 608 419 Bayside ward map Your Councillors Councillors have a role in ensuring responsible and accountable governance. As elected community representatives, our councillors are involved in determining priorities and policies and establishing the strategic direction of the city. Beckett Ward Ebden Ward Ivison Ward Boyd Ward Castlefield Ward Bleazby Ward Dendy Ward Inside this issue Reducing waste Let’s Talk Planning Sharing the load Open spaces Autumn FestBayside news ISSUE 73 APRIL–MAY 2022 Cover Young Baysiders will grow up in a municipality that cares for its urban forest. 10 6 8 1215 4 Mayor Cr Alex del Porto Bleazby Ward adelporto@bayside.vic.gov.au 0417 390 641 Cr Laurence Evans OAM Ebden Ward levans@bayside.vic.gov.au 0407 735 993 Let’s Talk Bayside 3 Bayside’s urban forest ENVIRONMENT We’re planting more than 2,200 trees a year on Council land while increasing and protecting other forms of vegetation to create a cooler, greener and more wildlife- friendly Bayside. Our Urban Forest Strategy aims to vegetations are crucial habitat for improve Bayside’s environment in wildlife, help to purify water, decrease partnership with our community and salinity in soils and limit the effects respond to the effects of climate change.of erosion. Our urban forest will help protect and Mayor Cr Alex del Porto said increased restore ecological systems with special indigenous planting on the foreshore and concern for biological diversity and public areas will help to create a greener, natural processes. biodiverse and resilient Bayside. There are many reasons to love trees. “We want to ensure our urban forest is Trees and vegetation make an important healthy and can withstand the impacts contribution to the liveability of our of climate change,” Cr del Porto said. suburbs, encouraging outdoor activity “This includes ensuring new and interaction and playing a crucial role developments retain established trees in creating a healthy environment.and plant new vegetation while protecting Trees draw carbon from the mature trees and garden landscapes atmosphere, remove air pollutants, where possible,” Cr del Porto said. improve the look of our streets and Find out more provide shade. They and other o bayside.vic.gov.au/UrbanForest DID YOU KNOW? ¡ Drought-tolerant indigenous ground covers, shrubs and grasses can be planted on nature strips and usually do not require a Council permit. ¡ Appropriate plants are available to buy at the Bayside Community Nursery which reopens on Saturday 2 April. ¡ We carry out an annual tree planting program from May to September throughout Bayside. If you don't have a tree on your nature strip, you can request a tree to be planted the next planting season. Find out more o bayside.vic.gov.au/NewTree o bayside.vic.gov.au/NatureStrip Increased indigenous planting on the foreshore and public areas will help to create a greener, biodiverse and resilient Bayside. INDIGENOUS PLANTING Trees remove air pollutants, improve the look of our streets and provide shade.4 Let’s Talk Bayside4 Let’s Talk Bayside Lessening the load on landfill SUSTAINABILITY Over the last few years, Baysiders have come together to achieve some great waste reduction outcomes, including diverting 60% of waste from landfill. More than 83% of households are now using the food and green waste service, recycling their food scraps and garden waste into compost. Momentum is building as more members of our community join the campaign to reduce our waste – so it’s time to take the next step. Your bin collection is changing From Monday, 4 July 2022, we are making the switch to weekly food and green waste collection and fortnightly general waste collection. By making this change we can divert a further 20–25% of waste from landfill. We know this because we are not the first Council to make this change. In fact, we’re joining 15 other Victorian Councils who have already made the switch successfully. This change will help us work towards our community targets to combat waste and climate change, including increasing the amount of waste diverted from landfill to 75% over the next three years. Supporting the switch We know that a fortnightly general waste collection may be a challenge for some households. Based on your feedback in 2021, a range of support options will be in place for those with unavoidable higher waste needs such as households with: •six or more members •two or more children in nappies • a person living with a chronic illness or disability • a carer of someone living with a chronic illness or disability. Bin colours are changing Every Council in Victoria is required to make the transition to a standardised four-bin system by 2027, which includes: •general waste – red lid •food and green waste – green lid •mixed recycling – yellow lid •glass – purple lid. The aim is to have the same household bin system, no matter where you live. From May 2022, any general waste bin that needs replacing will be switched over to the new red-lid bin to conform to Australian Standards. There are no planned changes to your recycling bin, and we won't be introducing the glass recycling service just yet. We will keep you informed. More information will hit your letterbox from late May/early June. For more information o bayside.vic.gov.au/BinChanges 9599 4444 binchanges@bayside.vic.gov.au Check your letterbox from late-May/early June. We’ll be sending detailed information to each home about the switch, the bin options available and extra support for eligible households. REDUCING WASTE If you’re keen to continue reducing your waste, come along to our online low-waste living workshops for tips and tricks on all things waste avoidance. Reusable menstrual products Wednesday 27 April, 7.30pm Broader reusables Wednesday 18 May, 7.30pm Reusable nappies Wednesday 22 June, 7.30pm Book now bayside.vic.gov.au/lowwasteliving From 4 July 2022 we’re switching how often we empty your bins. Food and green waste bins emptied weekly General waste bins emptied fortnightlyLet’s Talk Bayside 5 ¡ Victoria’s landfills could be at capacity within four years, according to a recent Victorian Auditor-General’s Office report. ¡ Our general waste is driven 50kms each way, to the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall, emitting carbon. ¡ Food waste rotting in landfill emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas. ¡ Landfill disposal costs, which are directly passed on to ratepayers, will continue to rise over the next few years. ¡ Burying our waste in landfill is unsustainable and just doesn’t make any sense. ¡ If we want a cleaner, carbon-neutral future for Bayside, reducing our waste is one of the best things we can all do. ¡ We’re making progress, but Bayside is still sending a lot of avoidable waste to landfill that could be recycled via your other kerbside bins. ¡ The good news is, together we can make a difference. Don’t have a food and green waste bin? Register for one today at bayside.vic.gov.au/GoGreen Reasons for our changes OLD WAYS Burying our waste in landfill is costly and unsustainable. 6 Let’s Talk Bayside Respecting our common areas COMMUNITY Bayside’s wonderful open spaces are there for the safe enjoyment of the whole community. As seasonal changeover occurs at sportsgrounds, we’re educating dog owners about the rules on the off-leash grounds through increased patrols. Patrols will talk to dog walkers about off-leash areas, etiquette and responsible behaviour - particularly picking up poop and ensuring dogs are on leash within 20m of an organised sporting event or training. Fines may be issued for non-compliance. Dog owners must always carry a leash and keep their dog under constant supervision and effective control (with voice or hand commands). A distracted owner or uncontrolled dog can be a serious risk to others and result in uncollected poop. We have published a seasonal schedule on Council's website to help dog walkers plan their sportsground visits around training and game times. Our online interactive map details where to walk your dog as well as your rights and responsibilities as a pet owner. And don’t forget, on 1 April, our beaches return to off-leash 24/7. We urge dog owners and our sports community to work respectfully together so everyone can safely enjoy Bayside’s beautiful shared open spaces. Please be a responsible pet owner and always carry poo bags and pick-up after your pet. Find out more o bayside.vic.gov.au/Walkies Our online interactive map details where to walk your dog as well as your rights and responsibilities as a pet owner. BEHAVING RESPONSIBLY We urge dog owners and our sports community to work respectfully together. HAVE YOUR SAY A new Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP) has been drafted for Bayside to balance the needs and promote the safety and welfare of our pets, people and environment. We need your feedback on proposed new actions and initiatives, including: ¡ transition to cat containment (day and night) for the safety of cats and native wildlife. ¡ future review of dog restrictions along the Bayside foreshore ¡ review the desexing rebate program to encourage puppy registrations. Consultation on the draft Plan is open until 18 April 2022. bayside.vic.gov.au/HaveYourSayLet’s Talk Bayside 7 The new layout and facilities allow all track and field events to be hosted at the now premier 400m track. TRACKING CHANGES These happy young athletes are beating their PBs on the Sandringham Athletics and Little Athletics Clubs’ new track. Athletic track’s winning restoration INFRASTRUCTURE Potential future Olympians are among the excited young athletes who racked up personal bests on the fabulous new Sandringham Athletics Track. Bayside’s only synthetic track has been restored to competition standard and runners, jumpers and throwers from Sandringham Athletics and Little Athletics Clubs are making great use of the track. The track renewal included additional throwing facilities, formalised sandpits to safely run concurrent jumping events, a 10-lane front straight, marshalling areas and a public drinking fountain. Sandringham Little Athletics Club president Nicole George said the kids are constantly beating their personal bests on the new springier track. “They love it. I had to go and buy lots more gold stars for the board,” Nicole said. The track is shared by the Sandringham Athletics and Little Athletics Clubs, local schools and is open to the public outside of training and events hours. The new layout and facilities allow all track and field events to be hosted at the now premier 400m track. It has a new compliant steeplechase pit, two javelin runways, a shot-put circle, pole vault runway, hammer cage and a discus cage. A SMART timing system has been installed for both sprinters and long- distance runners. A series of magnetic timing gates are strategically embedded within the track. Movement is measured by the user's smartphone or a high performance, lightweight sensor before being analysed and displayed by the diagnostic software. FAST RECYCLING The surface is made from 49% recycled and rapidly renewable material, including 35 tonnes of recycled car and truck tyres in the rubber base layer, saving these from landfill.8 Let’s Talk Bayside Quality homes and neighbourhoods How can we make sure that new developments are liveable, good quality and an appropriate fit for our neighbourhoods? Let’s take a closer look. Our challenge Over the past 10 years, the pace and intensity of development in Bayside has increased, especially in and around shopping strips and key sites. This fast, visible change has raised concerns about impacts on the look and feel of neighbourhoods and the living standards provided by some developments. Bayside will have 7,500 new homes by 2036, so we need to ensure new development fits well into the area and provides quality homes. Shaping the look and feel of our neighbourhoods Every residential area has its own ‘look and feel’, planners call it ‘Neighbourhood Character’. This describes how distinctive and common features of an area contribute to visual identity and sense of place. For example, building height, building materials, roof form and facades, landscaping, setbacks from boundaries, fencing and more. Character is influenced by development and evolves over time – more quickly and noticeably in those areas where growth is focussed. How is it protected? Bayside has 27 precincts, each with Neighbourhood Character Guidelines in the planning scheme (or planning rule book). Any proposed development is assessed against the guidelines as part of the planning permit process. This allows us to influence development to reflect and enhance an existing or emerging preferred character for the area, strengthening the look and feel of our neighbourhoods. View the guidelines at o bayside.vic.gov.au/ NeighbourhoodCharacter What isn’t Neighbourhood Character? It isn’t a preservation tool or a means of strictly controlling the look of new developments. For example it can’t: • prevent demolition of a nice, well- maintained home • set a specific building style • override planning scheme height limits (eg. the two-storey limit on 83% of Bayside). Let’s Talk Planning Character is influenced by development and evolves over time. NEW HOMES As Bayside's population continues to grow, more housing will be required.Let’s Talk Bayside 9 FIND OUT MORE • Ask about neighbourhood character, development design standards, growth and development. • View answers to community questions. • Learn about making and applying planning rules. • Watch a video about Bayside’s growth. • Sign-up for Let’s Talk Planning email newsletter. Visit bayside.vic.gov.au/ LetsTalkPlanning UPDATING NEIGHBOURHOOD CHARACTER GUIDELINES Bayside’s current Neighbourhood Character guidelines were developed in 2011. As character evolves and areas have grown, we are reviewing the guidelines to confirm the ‘preferred character’ for each precinct. Earlier this year, we asked for feedback on the preferred character of our housing growth areas (General Residential Zones), accounting for 15% of Bayside. Later this year, we will consult on the preferred character of residential neighbourhoods (Neighbourhood Residential Zones) accounting for 83% of Bayside. These areas will see incremental change. To stay up to date on feedback opportunities, visit o bayside.vic.gov.au/HaveYourSay Ensuring quality development and liveable homes While it’s impossible to ensure developments meet everyone’s taste and expectations, we can ensure new homes are: • good for people to live in and sustainable • protective of the amenity of neighbouring homes (acknowledging not all impacts are avoidable). What controls are in place? The Victorian Government sets the Residential Design Standards (or ResCode) in the planning scheme that all housing development must comply with. These are minimum requirements to protect the amenity of homes and neighbouring properties such as: • placement of buildings on a site • daylight to windows • overshadowing and overlooking • provision of private open space. It also introduced Better Apartments Design Standards in 2017 (updated in 2020). These standards cover aspects such as: • layout, room depth, windows, storage, energy efficiency and noise • communal open and green space, landscaping and street integration, external materials, wind impacts, waste and recycling and accessibility. Councils are legally required to apply the standards through the planning permit process and don’t have the authority to change them. The way to influence change is advocacy to the Victorian Government and participation in consultation processes. Council advocates for reforms and improvements to planning processes on behalf of our community on an ongoing basis. UNIQUE STYLE Neighbourhood character differs in each precinct.Next >