www.delwp.vic.gov.au
email: xxx.xxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Ref: 5541
Mr Peter Berlyn
By ema
il: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
7 June 2022
Dear Mr Berlyn
Freedom of Information Act 1982 – Notice of Decision
I refer to the request you made under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) on 2 May 2022,
seeking access to documents relating to rezoning of a residential area in Wendouree:
I seek copies of correspondence sent to all affected land proprietors direct from
your department or through an intermediary, for instance the City of Ballarat,
that either informed them of a changed zoning from Residential to Residential
Growth or sought their submissions for or against a proposed change, if any, in
relation to the area loosely described as being within Ballarat Grammar School
to the east, Norman Street to the north, Gillies Street to the west and Howitt
Street to the south in the Ballarat suburb of Wendouree, with some exclusions
including the shopping centre and Harvey Norman stores, reputedly made in
2014 with a modification in 2015 (unverified by me).
In emails on 4, 6 and 8 May 2022, you provided additional information and amended your request.
Your email on 8 May stated:
…I wish to amend my FOI request to include documentary evidence (if any) that
expresses which entity (if any) had the responsibility for consulting, receiving
objections and giving notice of the aforementioned one or two [zoning]
changes…
In an email on 6 May 2022, you also agreed to exclude personal information from your request.
Privacy Statement
Any personal information about you or a third party in your correspondence wil be protected under the provisions
of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014. It wil only be used or disclosed to appropriate Ministerial, Statutory Authority,
or departmental staff in regard to the purpose for which it was provided, unless required or authorised by law. Enquiries
about access to information about you held by the Department should be directed to the Privacy Coordinator,
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, PO Box 500, East Melbourne, Victoria 8002
OFFICIAL
Document Searches
DELWP’s Statutory Planning Services division conducted a thorough search and located four
documents relating to Ballarat Planning Scheme Amendment No. C177, made in 2014, which rezoned
the relevant part of Wendouree from Residential 1 Zone (R1Z) to Residential Growth Zone (RGZ1).
However, DELWP does not hold any documents relating to public consultation or notification of
affected landowners.
Please Note
Statutory Planning Services advises that:
• Amendment C177, which came into effect on 9 October 2014, introduced new Reformed
Residential Zones (please see t
his fact sheet) into the Ballarat Planning Scheme.
• The City of Bal arat was the planning authority responsible for consultation and notification
concerning Amendment C177 and should hold documents relating to that process.
• The Residential Zones Standing Advisory Committee (RZSAC) was established in 2014 to assist
Councils with implementing the new residential zones into local planning schemes.
• The City of Bal arat requested that the RZSAC consider the draft of Amendment C177. The
RZSAC’s Terms of Reference specified the public notification process Councils were required to
undertake (refer to section 2.3 in Document 1 below).
• In its report on Amendment C177 (Document 2 below), the RZSAC considered evidence and
submissions received through the Council’s public notification process and public hearings held
on 14 and 15 May 2014.
• Overall, the RZSAC concluded that, subject to some modifications, the planning scheme
amendment proposed by the City of Ballarat was appropriate. Amendment C177 was
subsequently approved by the Minister for Planning and was exempted from public notice under
section 20(4) of the
Planning and Environment Act 1987 because public consultation had already
occurred as part of the RZSAC’s review.
• Zoning provisions for the relevant area have not changed since Amendment C177 was approved.
Decision
I am an officer authorised under section 26 of the FOI Act to make decisions in relation to FOI
requests. I have assessed the following documents and determined that they can be released to you
with irrelevant material deleted:
Page | 2
OFFICIAL
Doc #
Date
Description
Pages
Decision
1
20/06/2014
Residential Zones Standing
Available online at AustLII:
Advisory Committee:
Residential Zones SAC
Stage One Overarching Issues
Stage 1 (AC) [2014] PPV 86
Report
(20 June 2014)
2
20/06/2014
Residential Zones (Stage One)
43
Irrelevant material deleted
Standing Advisory Committee
Report: Bal arat Draft Amendment
C177
3
2013
Pre-Amendment: Bal arat Planning
1
Released in full
Scheme Map No. 15
4
2014
Post-Amendment: Bal arat
1
Planning Scheme Map No. 15
Section 25 - Irrelevant Material
Section 25 of the FOI Act allows for exempt or irrelevant material to be deleted from documents to
facilitate release. The irrelevant material deleted from documents in this instance is personal
information (names, signatures etc), which you agreed to exclude from the request.
Access Charges
We have waived the access charges for this request.
Documents for Release Please find the released documents
attached.
If you wish to discuss this matter further, please contact me by email at
xxx.xxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely,
Bena Asafu-Adjaye
FOI Officer
Page | 3
OFFICIAL
Document Outline
