Greening Melbourne: Amendment C376 Melbourne Planning Scheme (Sustainable Building Design Amendment)

18 April 2023
Brihony Boan, Partner, Melbourne Andrew Kennedy, Partner, Melbourne Andrea Towson, Partner, Melbourne

The City of Melbourne has set a goal to hit net zero emissions by 2040.

Currently, buildings in the Melbourne CBD account for approximately 66% of the City’s total carbon emissions. By comparison, throughout the rest of Victoria, buildings account for approximately 25% of total carbon emissions.

What does Amendment C376 propose to do?

Amendment C376 seeks to introduce sustainability and green infrastructure policy into the Melbourne Planning Scheme (Planning Scheme), through the implementation of a range of new mandatory and discretionary sustainable building design standards and requirements, which will apply to new buildings in the CBD.

What are the key changes?

We have summarised the key proposed changes that will affect property developers:

New mandatory standards and requirements
Standard/requirement
Sustainable Building DesignNew Sustainable Building Design development standards in relation to:
  • environmentally sustainable design;
  • energy efficiency and renewables;
  • waste and resource recovery;
  • urban heat island response;
  • urban ecology; and
  • integrated water management.

Applies to: All buildings and works which result in more than 1,000m2 additional gross floor area and involve the construction of a new building for the purposes of Accommodation, Retail, Office, Education Centre, Research and Development Centre or Place of Assembly.
Bicycle spacesOne secure bicycle space per dwelling and two secure visitor bicycle spaces per five dwellings.

Applies to: New dwellings in the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone.
One secure employee bicycle space per 100m2 of net floor area and one security visitor space per 100m2, with a min of four visitor spaces provided. Depending on the number of bicycle spaces required, there may also be showering, change room and personal locker facility requirements.

Applies to: New retail and office developments which result in more than 1,000m2 additional gross floor area in the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone.
One secure employee bicycle space per 100m2 of net floor area and one security visitor space per 100m2, with a min of four visitor spaces provided. Depending on the number of bicycle spaces required, there may also be showering, change room and personal locker facility requirements.

Applies to: New Place of assembly, Minor sports and recreation facility or Education centre development, including buildings and works which result in more than 1,000m2 additional gross floor area in the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone.
Motorcycle parkingOne motorcycle space per 50 dwellings

Applies to: New dwellings in the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone.
One motorcycle space per 40 car parking spaces

Applies to: New retail and office developments which result in more than 1,000m2 additional gross floor area in the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone.
Car share parking spacesTwo car share parking spaces plus an additional 1 space per 25 additional dwellings.

Applies to: New developments of more than 50 dwellings in the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone.
One car share parking space per 60 car parking spaces.

Applies to: New retail and office developments which result in more than 1,000m2 additional gross floor area in the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone.
Electric vehicle (EV) charging pointsCar parking facilities should include the delivery of infrastructure (including electricity supply and signage), space and metering arrangements to support the installation of EV charging points.

If a facility proposes 50 car parking spaces more, there should be:
  • EV ready parking bays for a minimum of 5% non-shared parking spaces;
  • Sufficient infrastructure to accommodate EV charging for 20% of parking spaces; and
  • EV charging points at all allocated shared car spaces.

Applies to: All new developments and buildings and works which result in more than 1,000m2 additional gross floor area within the Capital City Zone and Docklands Zone.

What types of planning applications will be affected?

Amendment C376 will only apply to planning applications for new buildings within the Melbourne CBD (included in either the Capital City Zone or Docklands Zone). This means that current building owners and occupiers will not be required to make retrospective changes to existing buildings to bring them into compliance with the proposed new standards and requirements.

All developments that require a planning permit will be subject to the new planning policy considerations about environmentally sustainable design (ESD).

In addition, substantial alterations and additions to existing buildings (i.e. those that result in more than 1,000 m2 additional gross floor area) will be subject to specific mandatory and discretionary building design standards and requirements set out in the table above.

Relevant practical considerations for property developers

Based on the present drafting, there appears to be a lack of detail on how the aspirations of Amendment C376 can be practically delivered.

For example:

  • The language in the Amendment is quite confusing. It would be of practical assistance if a more plain-language, user friendly practice note (including practical examples to achieve compliance) could also be released.
  • A number of the definitions adopted in Amendment C376 (e.g. ‘green infrastructure’, ‘Hardscaping’ and ‘Ecosystem services’ – which is intended to capture stormwater and rainwater harvesting interventions) are not defined terms in the Victorian Planning Provisions. These concepts should be clearly defined so that there is certainty about what must be delivered.
  • We also see practical issues in delivering the mandatory car share parking spaces – as these spaces will need to be designated as common property in the ownership of the Owners Corporation. If the car spaces form part of the common property, they will not be separately titled (or form part of the primary lot) and are therefore not considered to be property ‘owned’ by the registered proprietor (or purchaser) of an apartment or office lot. This means that:
  • developers and vendors will not be able to separately price and sell the car parking spaces; and
  • financiers will not take into account the car parking space that may be assigned or available for use by a lot owner for the purposes of valuation and lender security .

Accordingly, developers should be mindful of the potential impacts on pricing and purchaser financing.

  • The combined requirement of bicycle and motorcycle spaces, along with associated shower and changing facilities, as well as car share parking spaces and EV charging point infrastructure increases the demand on space. This increased demand can be efficiently accommodated via the use of car stackers.
  • The Planning Scheme alone cannot ensure operational outcomes. In order to ensure delivery of the mandatory standards and requirements, these provisions will need to be ‘back-to-backed’ in the relevant construction and building standards.

What happens next?

The Amendment is currently on exhibition, with public consultation open until 17 April 2023. Gadens through its Committee roles on both the Property Council of Australia and the Urban Development Institute of Australia have contributed to industry submissions on Amendment C376.

Gadens will provide further details and information regarding Amendment C376 – including any amendments proposed – this information becomes available.

If you have any specific concerns about the impact of Amendment C376 on your Melbourne CBD property, please contact: Andrea Towson, Brihony Boan, Andrew Kennedy.

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Authored By:

Andrea Towson, Partner
Carlyna Yap, Lawyer

This update does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on matters of interest and it is not intended to be comprehensive. You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content.

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