Sad

. . . but glad that the Port Melbourne flag pole was back in place for the flag to be at half mast to mark the state funeral of Jim Stynes as well as the passing of King George Tupou V, Head of State of the Kingdom of Tonga, on 18 March. The flag pole was re-instated on Saturday - but I missed it. Wonder if you saw it happening?

Submissions to draft Port Melbourne UDF to be heard tomorrow

The Council will hear submissions on the draft Port Melbourne Urban Design Framework tomorrow evening at St Kilda, starting at 6 pm. The Council report, with attachments summarising written submissions received, is available here.

draft Port Melbourne Urban Design Framework - press pause

Press the pause button
Submissions close today. But I don't need to wait till they've all been collated to know the issues raised by the community. Therefore, on Tuesday evening at the Council meeting to be held in Port Melbourne, I will put a motion before my fellow councillors. The motion will ask for Council to look more deeply into the issues raised in the consultation period. The issues have come up again and again: traffic, valued views and the future of 1 - 11 Waterfront Place. The consultation has confirmed how deeply people feel and care about this part of Port Melbourne.
The motion will ask that Council further investigates issues raised through the consultation including [but not only]:

**** taking a more detailed look at the whole Waterfront Place area - traffic movements and circulation, views, and how that all important community connection can be supported and strengthened through any improvements to the public spaces in the area ****the planning controls, planning history and relevant covenants for the site at 1 - 11 Waterfront Place ****detailed design guidelines for the site at 1 - 11 Waterfront Place - including [but again not limited to] the interface with Beach St and Park Square, shadowing and traffic.

I will move that Council continue to involve the community - as well as Yarra Trams, the Port of Melbourne Corporation and the Traders' Association - in these important discussions. I refer you to the full Notice of Motion, available here. The Notice of Motion is on p15. You can also follow links on the right hand side of Port Focus to Council meeting and agendas.

Councillors in Port

Councillors will be in Bay St - outside Coles - on Saturday morning between 9 and 12. If Saturday doesn't suit you, the other dates and times are here. Have a closer look when you're in Bay St at the details of copper, green tiles and glass which seem to stand out while the premises formerly occupied by the Tall Ship cafe are prepared for a new tenant.

Struck by lightning on Christmas Day

The clock has stopped. It hasn't been possible to find a replacement part so a new unit has been ordered that will automatically adjust to daylight savings. If you would like to report something like this, pop in to the Town Hall in Bay St and let Assist know, or phone 9209 6777 or email assist@portphillip.vic.gov.au or use the prompts from the front page of the website www.portphillip.vic.gov.au

Back to Council

Council meetings begin again tomorrow evening. Here is the meeting timetable. Council will be in Port Melbourne on 13 March, 8 May, 10 July, 11 September and 11 December. Of course, you are welcome at any council meeting. They start at 6 pm. I will let you know when Port Melbourne relevant items are on the agenda. The mayoral chairs of the former cities of St Kilda, Port Melbourne and South Melbourne [l to r] have all been restored to their ceremonial place in their respective council chambers, so this picture is now historical.

Rachel Powning continues as mayor

This evening Councillor Rachel Powning was re-elected mayor of the City of Port Phillip. Councillor Frank o'Connor was elected the Deputy Mayor.

Not quite Port Melbourne, 3

It was a big night at Council last night. The Triangle: A shared Vision was adopted, the final design for the skatepark at Marina Reserve was approved so the project can go to tender, and submissions were received on the proposed Library and Heritage Centre at Emerald Hill. These three projects, previously approved, were reversed by the incoming council in late 2008/early 2009. I mention them here because the Council has directed much of its time, effort, energy and emphasis to revisiting these projects. All the council reports can be accessed here.

Port Town Hall

The Port Town Hall is looking bright with freshly painted walls, polished floor, curtains and insulation. Let people you know that it is a good space for community events.

Fixing up the Town Hall

The Port Town Hall is being refreshed. Insulation has been installed in the ceiling. The walls have been painted. The parquetry floors will be sealed and varnished this weekend - so the Library and Assist will be closed through to Wednesday because of the strong fumes. We hope that the renovations will make the hall more attractive to more users.

Council meeting Monday 24 October: Bay and Bridge Gaming Application

The report to Council recommends that Council prepare a submission to the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation opposing the application for 29 new EGMs at the Bay and Bridge Hotel at 316 Bay St. The report suggests that an increase in spending on EGMS will contribute to a negative social and economic impact on the municipality. The submission will draw on Council's gambling policy which is available here. The meeting papers can be accessed from this link, or from the Council meetings and agendas link in the right hand menu. The meeting is at St Kilda from 6 pm.

Council report: Submission to the 2011 Victorian Speed Limit Review

VicRoads, for the Minister, has invited submissions to a review of Victorian speed limits with a view to making them easier to comply with through being better coordinated and aligned with what people expect when conditions are comparable. The City of Port Phillip's shopping centres have a range of different speed limits - Acland St [30 kph], Clarendon St, Fitzroy St, Barkly St and Carlisle St [40 kph but for different hours]. Bay St and Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea are anomalies at 60 kph. Council will be submitting 'that 'all major shoping centres be consistent with preferably permanent 40 kph or at least 40 kph, 8 am to midnight daily.' 40 kph is generally agreed by road safety experts to be the speed at which a pedestrian or cyclist can withstand a collision and survive. It is unacceptable that with its high level of pedestrian activity that Bay St should continue to have a speed limit of 60 kph.

The Future of Fishermens Bend - count us in

Council last night resolved to write to the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Major Projects and the Chair of the Urban Renewal Authority advising:

• Fishermens Bend is one of the last remaining areas of broad scale industrial land in the inner metropolitan area


• Council research indicates that Fishermens Bend is a thriving industry, business and employment precinct of local and state significance


• The Precinct's inner city central location, proximity to the CBD and access to markets, accessibility to Melbourne's port, rail network, and freeway network distinguishes it from other industrial areas


• Fishermens Bend is considered one of Melbourne's pre-eminent high tech industrial locations and has attracted a number of high profile companies to invest heavily in the area


• The area generates a wide range of employment opportunities and in 2007, there were 9,747 people employed in the precinct and 300 businesses


• Council research indicates that very signfiicant residential and mixed use development opportunities exist in the South Melbourne Industrial Precinct located at the eastern end of Fishermens Bend ... And requesting


• That the State Government confirm that the City of Port Phillip will be invited to work in partnership with the URA to explore the future of Fishermens Bend, including any planning for change to the land use of the precinct.


• That the State Government confirms that the City of Port Phillip will participate in all decisions affecting the future of Fishermens Bend


• That the State Government confirms that it is committed to first investigating the significant role of the Fishermens Bend area to the Victorian economy prior to planning for any change to the future use of the precinct

Port Town Hall's Art Deco period

Last week I wrote about the different faces presented to Bay St and Spring St by our Town Hall. David Thompson has written here about yet another era of our Town Hall - its Art Deco incarnation. The mayor and councillors' chairs and table in the Council Chamber are all that survive of that period, but David provides a fascintating glimpse into an elegant time in the Port Town Hall's history http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.com The 2012 Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society calendar, available from the Port Town Hall, features an almost tactile reproduction of one of the panels that were a feature of the auditorium.

Port Melbourne Town Hall improvements

Money was allocated in Council's 2011/12 budget to refresh the upstairs hall of the Port Melbourne Town Hall and make it more useable. The improvements include replacing the ceiling tiles and at the same time doing an environmental retrofit, painting the walls, adding new stage curtains, removing the carpet and varnishing the floor, and designing and installing a new audio-visual system. Taking this photo, I was struck anew at the two very different faces of our Town Hall - to Spring St and Bay St. The layered history of the Town Hall is described in the Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society booklet available from the Assist counter at the Town Hall.

Protecting more of Port's heritage

Monday's Council meeting, to be held in the Port Council chamber from 6pm, is important for Port Melbourne. Over the past few months, Council has been reviewing Heritage Overlay 1 - the heritage overlay that covers a large part of Port Melbourne. It is now proposed that the review be implemented by means of a planning scheme amendment. All affected property owners have been notified of the review and 29 submissions have been received. The review recommends extending the heritage overlay to a further 244 properties and the Turner Reserve, and introducing two new individual heritage overlays for the Port Melbourne Football/Cricket Ground and Edwards Park. It also recommends applying tree controls to the Port Melbourne Light Rail Reserve. A heritage overlay does not mean that properties cannot be altered. It means that a planning permit is required to make changes to properties covered by the overlay, and significant tests are applied to the demolition of dwellings. The full council report, review documents and maps are available from here. If you would like to view a hard copy of any of these documents or to ask any questions about all this, please contact me or attend the Council meeting where your questions are welcome.

Reporting time

Tomorrow/Thursday, Council will meet to approve the Annual Financial Report and the draft Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2011.* The range of factors bearing on the Council's end of year result are summarised in the reports to Council. Here is a selection of Port Phillip statistics from the Annual Report: The population was estimated at 97,249, 1,345 births were recorded, the Community Bus carried 30,677 passengers, there were 894,200 loans from the Port Phillip Library Service, [116,938 from Port Melbourne Library], 11,700 hard and green waste collections, 1,240 planning permits approved and 1,222 service requests made regarding abandoned vehicles. *The meeting wil be held in St Kilda at 5.30pm

Council meeting on Monday 22nd August

The Council is proposing to lease land at the Port Melbourne Depot at 477 Plummer St to Citywide Services, Council's open space contractor, for 5 years. The notice of intention to lease the land was notified on Port Focus on 23 June. The background and terms of the lease can be found here. It is also recommended that the Sustainable Transport Strategy, [including the walk and bike plans] and the Playspace Strategy be adopted. The meeting will be held at St Kilda from 6pm.

Correction

Port Phillip councillors receive $24,220 pa plus $2,178 super - rather than $40,000 as Nola Cormick writes in this edition of Melbourne Weekly [August 17, 2011]

Monday is Council Day

Monday is spent in Council briefings. Formal Council meetings are held on the second, third and fourth Mondays of the month. That means that there is no Council meeting on the first, and on those rare occasions when it occurs, or fifth Monday. The second Monday [today] is the meeting of the Statutory Planning Committee. There are no Port Melbourne planning applications on the agenda.