12 Jul Kingston’s New Residential Planning Rules
*** An update on the planning scheme amendment process. August 2023, Kingston Council have submitted the Amendment to the Minister for authorisation. ***
Kingston Council are currently exhibiting an amendment to the Planning Scheme to make changes to the housing zones and overlays. The changes reflect the recent Housing Strategy and Neighbourhood Character Study that was adopted by the Council in 2021. I wrote about the Housing Strategy when it was first prepared, you can read more about it here. The proposed changes focus on building heights, setback and landscaping preferences for different areas.
You can find out more information on the proposed changes at this website that has been set up by the Council. This includes a link to the property search mapping tool that enables you to research the current and proposed planning controls for all land in Kingston. This is a handy tool that you can use to quickly see what is being proposed for any land you are interested in.
As part of the amendment the Council will introduce the Neighbourhood Residential Zone into their Planning Scheme for the first time. This zone is part of the new format Residential Zones that the State Government introduced back in 2014. Since that time Kingston have done strategic planning work to determine what housing zone and overlay changes to make throughout the municipality. It is this strategic work that have formed the basis for first the Housing Strategy and now this amendment.
The summary of the three proposed residential zones that will be applied to Kingston:
- The Neighbourhood Residential Zone is the zone that is used for areas where the least housing growth will be encouraged, with the majority of the developments to remain as single and double storey dwellings with some unit developments. This area will have a maximum height limit of two storeys.
- The General Residential Zone is where there will be medium housing growth. The maximum height limit in this zone is 11m and three storeys.
- The Residential Growth Zone is where higher density development is encouraged. These are in accessible areas that can support a significant increase in housing and population growth. The maximum height limit in this zone is 13.5m.
The planning scheme amendment will be on public exhibition till the 29th September. You can watch webinar recordings of the community webinars that were held to discuss the amendment, or book in to meet with the planning team one-on-one to discuss what is being proposed and how it might impact you.
If the proposed amendment might impact on you in the future or if you need further advice on how it might affect you, give us a call on 8595 4337.