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Link to Activty Centre Survey: https://engage.vic.gov.au/project/activity-centres-program-stage-two/survey/6297#sub-nav
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These are my suggestions for answers. Please fill out the survey in the way that best represents your concerns and ideas.
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QUESTIONSUGGESTED ANSWER (250 character limit)CR KATE'S NOTES
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What train and tram zone activity centre would you like to provide feedback on?Please select the relevant centre, such as South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, Hawksburn, or Armadale.
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What is your interest in train and tram zone activity centres?Select all options that accurately reflect your relationship to the area, such as resident, property owner, business owner, or frequent visitor.
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Select the statement that best reflects your current living situation.Select the option that best describes your current circumstances (e.g., renting, owning).
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Which of these options best describes your current home?Select the category that best matches your residence (e.g., apartment, unit, detached house).This helps the State understand that our area is already highly densified compared to the rest of Melbourne.
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To what extent do you agree that we need to deliver more new homes close to jobs, services, and transport around Melbourne?Agree / Strongly AgreeOur community supports the goal of increasing housing supply. However, the current mandate ignores that Stonnington is already doing the heavy lifting. In 2021, 75% of our dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 34% across Greater Melbourne.
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To what extent do you support change in your area to deliver more homes?SupportCouncil’s strategies identify capacity for 67,000 new homes—exceeding the State’s mandate by 17,000—proving we can grow without blunt State rules.
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Tell us how you would like to see your local area develop.Use Floor Area Ratios (FAR) for slim, sun-filled buildings. Avoid "wedding cake" bulk that leaks and lacks light. Protect heritage and mandate 30% canopy cover.More people want to live in our area because it is a great place to be. The Housing Strategy is key as it provides nuanced perspectives on appropriate housing types and heights street-by-street, rather than the broad-brush approach proposed by the State.

Council's NAC Framework has won awards in planning excellence and looks to how we can increase density specificially in the Activity Centers themselves (the local shops). The NAC Framework has used modelling to ensure that what it is recommending is 'doable' and sensible given local context.

The State's current rules force developers to maximize every inch, leading to bulky buildings that are prone to maintenance issues like leaks.
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Are there any other streets where people spend a lot of time and should have extra sun protection to the footpath?YES. We need to ensure this is answered regarding tree canopy and is not used as an excuse for overshadowing. Please specify which streets.
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Please specify which streets.Add what is relevant to you....

Protection is required for key retail strips such as Chapel Street, Toorak Road, and local "villages" like Beatty Avenue and Prahran East. Sunlight must be protected between 11 am and 2 pm in September for cafe culture and economic viability.		Sun protection must be about street trees—we need cool streets in summer and sun-filled streets in winter.
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Are there any other key pedestrian links that should be considered?YESIt is unusual that the State asks this without providing examples of their own proposals. Good developers often provide pedestrian links as a "community benefit," but new rules may remove this incentive.
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What other key pedestrian links or connections do you think should be considered?Prioritize walking/cycling tracks on VicTrack land next to railways. Mandate through-block links for large sites. Coordinate with Council's green corridors.The State’s plan is currently silent on how these vital local connections will be funded or encouraged.

Large development sites should be encouraged to provide pedestrian linkways to enable better connections. Furthermore, VicTrack land adjacent to railway lines is suitable for cycling and walking tracks and should be prioritized. The State should liaise with Council on their open space strategies for green corridors.
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We’ve identified a range of existing important public open spaces for your community.
We are making sure these places still get plenty of sun.Are there any other favourite places that should be added?		YESOpen space' means parks and gardens.

Stonnington has the second-lowest amount of open space per person in Melbourne; we cannot afford to lose any sunlight to them.
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What places should be added?Protect all parks and pools from overshadowing. Prioritize investment in Dyeworks Park. We need a funded plan to buy land for new parks, not just protect old ones.We need a funded plan to acquire new land for parks, as our current spaces are already at capacity.

More than just making sure buildings dont over shadow existing parks and shared community spaces (like public pools), if State wants to force population growth , we need more parks and open spaces and more community spaces. We are already under strain and under resourced in these areas.

Hawksburn = there is a concerning lack of open space here. There needs to be incentives to aquire land and develop more open spaces.

South Yarra = Oppoerunity for investment in the imporovement of Dyeworks park - especially when the social housing towenrs are going up righ tnext to it. There are opportunities to improve utliity of the park.

In the State's social housing development in Essex Street, they knew the building would overshadow the Prahran Pools, but did not care. So I am dubious of their desire to protect overshadowing of parks.
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Rank in order of importance what would make your activity centre better.Answer in accordance with your preference. e.g.

1. More street trees
2. More active transport routes
3. Shared community spaces
4. Better bus/tram stops
5. Vehicle traffic flow
6. Sporting upgrades		It is weird that sporting upgrades is in this list. The only Activity Center that has a sportign facility close is Toorak Station for Toorak Park. For our other Activity Centers it would be more of a case of 'give me access to Sporting facilities' - noting that Stonnington does not have many for the size of even our current population.
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We want to ensure people are able easily walk and cycle around their area to access public transport, shops, services and open spaces.

Are there currently any locations where barriers exist that prevent you from easily accessing services?		YESStonnington has the second-lowest amount of open space per person in Victoria; this will likely worsen under these changes.
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Please share where these barriers are, that prevent you from easily accessing services.Major lack of open space, dog parks, and sports fields. SY Library is at capacity. Public schools are site-constrained and can't take a population surge.Access to open space and community facilities is a struggle now for people in South Yarra. As apartment living is prioritized, these spaces become increasingly important.
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We want to make it easier for people to travel locally, whether walking, cycling, catching public transport, or driving, to access everyday destinations such as shops, schools, services and open spaces.

Are there any locations in your area where barriers make it difficult, unsafe or inefficient to travel locally? These could include things such as traffic signal timing, intersection layouts, missing crossings or paths or other small changes that could significantly improve how people move around.		YESAdd your own observations here regarding specific intersections, crossing timings, or traffic signal issues.
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Please share where these barriers are, that make it difficult, unsafe or inefficient to travel locally.Chapel St accident rates and slow tram speeds need fixing. South Yarra Station rail service frequency has actually been cut and must be restored.Our transport systems are not at the reliability levels seen in international density benchmarks like London or Paris. State-controlled roads are often poorly maintained and unsafe for cyclists.

Rapidly increasing the population will exacerbate traffic congestion. The State should liaise with Council on the Transport Strategy and the Chapel Street Transformation Masterplan. Chapel Street has high cycling accident rates and slow tram speeds that require urgent attention. Furthermore, South Yarra Station has seen a reduction in service frequency, which must be restored to support growth.
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Sporting and other community facilities often contribute to social connection and community development.

Are there any existing facilities that the community would benefit from if they were improved?		YESHawksburn currently has no community facilities to improve; they must be created. At minimum, high-quality public toilets are required.
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Orrong Romanis indoor highball courts. Prahran Market. Toorak/South Yarra Library Council would like to open the library after dark, but costs are currently prohibitive. Prahran Market has aspirations for design changes that cannot be appropriately funded under current caps.
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There are a range of building heights planned for your area.
This includes taller buildings in the core and the adjacent inner catchment, and lower heights in the outer catchment.

Range of heights suitable for the core?		8-10 storeys (Select the closest range).This is a restrictive question; appropriate heights should be determined by local street-by-street modelling, not a broad range.
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Where do you think the proposed highest building heights in the core should be located?Restrict tall buildings to major roads only. Keep human-scale and heritage character on quiet side streets. Follow Council's evidence-based NAC Framework.The State should follow Council’s NAC Framework to determine appropriate heights and density. Taller buildings should be located on major roads rather than overwhelming the human scale of quiet residential streets.
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Do you recommend changes to building heights in the core?YesBuilding heights must be reduced in heritage precincts to ensure new additions do not dominate the original historic fabric.
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Be specific as to the area and the recommended increase or decrease to height.(Use your own discression here and raise the specific examples you are concerned about.)

Use your local knowledge to highlight specific spots where a 16-storey building would feel out of place.
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Do you have any other feedback on proposed heights?YES
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Please share your feedback
Focus growth in "Cores." Use Stonnington’s Housing Strategy for catchments; it uses realistic modelling. State rules cause price speculation and unviable builds.Blunt State rules lead to "speculation" where land prices rise based on unrealistic height expectations, making actual development unviable.

Growth should be focused on the Activity Centres themselves and not on the "inner catchment areas." Residential catchments should be informed by Stonnington’s Housing Strategy, which takes a more practical and nuanced approach to what housing typology is appropriate where.
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When determining the boundaries we consider a range of factors and balance consideration.

Please rank the below considerations in order of importance to your area.		Answer in accordance with your preference. e.g.


1. Retaining heritage and character
2. Protecting trees/waterways
3. Accessibility to public transport
4. Accessibility to the core
5. Traffic/Parking
6. Natural landscape
7. Topography		Once our heritage is gone, it’s gone forever. We must exclude Heritage Overlays from intensive growth catchments.
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Based on this, are there any areas that should be included or excluded from the proposed boundary as shown on the map?YESHeritage and character areas should be excluded from high-growth rezoning.
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Please share which areas that should be included or excluded from the proposed boundary as shown on the map.
(Provide your own feedback specific to your street)

Areas currently subject to Heritage Overlays or Neighbourhood Character Overlays should be excluded from HCTZ rezoning. These decisions should be informed by local strategic modelling and the Housing Strategy.		About one-third of the State's proposed growth area is currently under heritage protection; this conflict will lead to poor design outcomes.
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Do you recommend changes to the extent of the inner and outer catchment?YES
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Be specific where these boundaries should be extended or reduced. (Provide your own feedback specific to your street)

Reduce the extent of catchments in areas with identified heritage significance to preserve local character. These adjustments should be informed by Stonnington’s Housing Strategy and street-by-street modelling.

Reduce catchments where they overlap with heritage significance or areas at high risk of overland flooding.		Catchments should be reduced in areas with narrow streets (5–6m frontages) where site consolidation is unrealistic.

Melbourne Water is currently updating flood maps; the State must not direct intensive growth into at-risk flood zones.
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Any other feedback about proposed activity centres?Provide your own feedback which could include:

1. Authorize Amendment C325ston for elevated ESD standards.
2. Mandate a 30% tree canopy target.
3. Require high-quality acoustic insulation in new builds.
4. Fund parks and schools now, rather than after population growth occurs.
5. Close the loophole that allows private developers on Homes Victoria sites to avoid infrastructure costs.
6. Investigate Punt road for increased heights and density and therefore remove the restrictive overlay. 		We cannot wait until 2027 for infrastructure funding; the burden of new residents will hit our parks and roads immediately.
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