CITY of Perth council voted to approve additions to an East Perth building out of fear the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) would produce a worse result.
The proposal included additions to the existing second floor of 43 Arden Street, and the construction of a new third floor.
Councillor Judy McEvoy said “it was quite clear that if we didn’t approve this one it would go to the SAT and we would lose the ability to make recommendations and include conditions”.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW“This is what we need to do,” she said.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the City had negotiated an outcome that satisfied the owners but also recognised the concerns of residents.
She described the lack of planning guidelines in the area as an “anomaly” from the East Perth Redevelopment Authority era.
“This virtually dictated the recommendation that is now before the council,” she said, expressing hope residents would appreciate the position in which council found itself.
The proposed redevelopment had previously been sent back to the planning committee and the proponent agreed to eight changes to the plan.
The amended proposal was circulated among affected residents, who responded with a submission arguing the proposal should be rejected “for the same reasons it was rejected twice before by the Planning Department and Planning Committee on 15 November and 6 December”, claiming it “does not respect the scale of the street and surrounding areas… would be aesthetically catastrophic… would set a dangerous precedent…(and) has the potential to decrease market values of adjacent properties”.
Council, subject to four conditions, approved the amended proposal.
The council also voted to review the design guidelines for East Perth Area 21 to “provide more consistent guide lines for the future development” of the area.