Draft Housing and Settlement Strategy - South Gippsland Shire ...

South Gippsland Housing and Settlement Strategy | Consultation DraftThe Leongatha Structure Plan prepared in 2008 identified that at that timethere was approximately 8 years of land supply for standard densityresidential purposes and 7 years supply for low density residential purposes.The overall land demand and supply figures presented in this report indicatethat there is still an undersupply of residential land in Leongatha. AsLeongatha is the major existing and future residential area in the Shire, theundersupply of residential land should be addressed as a matter of priority.In this regard it is noted that Council resolved in December 2012 to progresswith rezoning in Leongatha.3.2.3 LIFESTYLE LOTS SUPPLYAt the municipal level, there is capacity for 380 lifestyle residential lotsbetween 0.4 and 4 ha in size. This figure includes vacant lots and broadhectarelots in the Low Density Residential Zone (LDRZ) and Rural LivingZone (RLZ). It excludes lots in the Farming Zone (FZ) that fall within this sizerange.Demand for lifestyle lots as measured by building approvals has averaged 33lots per annum, with 11 lots per annum in the RLZ and 22 lots in the LDRZ.Assuming that demand for lifestyle lots will continue at the historical trend,the current lot capacity is equivalent to 11.5 years supply as shown in thetable below. A significant proportion of this supply is subject to furthersubdivision, which may limit or delay the delivery of these lots to themarket.TABLE 6 - LOWER DENSITY RESIDENTIAL LAND SUPPLYDemand for lower density residential lots (per annum) 33Lot capacity 380SOUTH GIPPSLAND SHIREYears Supply 11.5The supply of lifestyle lots needs to be carefully managed to avoid adverseimpacts on agricultural productivity and environmental and landscapevalues; recognise the difficulty in servicing dispersed populations; and avoidnatural and human induced hazards.In the context of South Gippsland it is recommended that the Low DensityResidential Zone be utilised as the preferred zone for addressing demand forlifestyle properties. It is recommended that additional land be rezoned tothe Low Density Residential Zone in strategic locations adjacent to higherorder settlements to increase the zoned land supply to at least 15 years. Thisis equivalent to an additional 115ha of land in the LDRZ (3.5 years x 33 lotsper year @ 1 lot per hectare).Addressing demand for lifestyle lots by ensuring a sufficient supply of LowDensity Residential Zone land will reduce pressure to rezone land into theRural Living Zone and remove the justification for doing so in all but limitedcircumstances. Relevant circumstances may include addressing existingzoning anomalies or land use conflicts. Over time this will result in areduction in the supply of vacant Rural Living Zone land as existingbroadhectare parcels are subdivided and developed.It is acknowledged that notwithstanding this suggested approach demandwill continue to exist for larger lifestyle residential lots in locations remotefrom settlements. In other words, a supply of Low Density Residential Zonelots in close proximity to settlements will not meet the lifestyle expectationsof all buyers.In response to this it is noted that in 2010 the RLUS identified approximately2,000 Farming Zone lots with an area of less than 4.1 hectares across themunicipality. The Rural Dwellings Policy states that a permit may be grantedfor a rural residential dwelling on a lot of less than 4.1 hectares in theFarming Zone provided the impact on nearby agricultural activities, ruralcharacter, landscape values, natural systems and water quality are assessed© planisphere 2013 33