East Perth residents petition City of Perth to resist plans to lift restrictive covenant for large development

EAST PERTH residents are petitioning the City of Perth to resist plans to lift a restrictive covenant and allow a large-scale development on land currently reserved for parking.

A petition containing 36 signatures was submitted at the most recent Perth council meeting by Charles Foti, protesting “strongly against the advertised guidelines, proposals and concepts for the redevelopment of Lot 70 Haig Park Circle” and “the proposed lifting of the Restrictive Covenant placed on the property in 2002”.

Mr Foti told Guardian Express the latest proposal is the third attempt to develop the land.

“When this area was designed (East Perth Redevelopment Authority) promoted it as a village-style environment, a beautiful place to live and it specifically referred to the (abundant) parking,” he said.

“There has been an attempt to develop it around eight years ago, and (Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority) (MRA) refused to lift the covenant.”

Mr Foti said more than 400 people had signed a petition to keep the restrictive covenant in place.

He noted that while there is a parking complex in the area, visitors to residents of Haig Park Circle would need to walk a round trip of one kilometre to use it.

“Restrictive covenants are designed to protect. Any changes should involve all stakeholders who would be impacted by a change,” he said.

“Another concern is the proposed guidelines and design concepts. They don’t incorporate the requirement to maintain the 49 public parking bays on lot 70, and would allow a massive development not in keeping with the village-style ambience of the Haig Park precinct.”

The brochures promoting the East Perth urban village stated: “Haig Park is planned to be a modern, stylish blend of single and medium-density residences and serviced apartments”.

“The prepared guidelines for Lot 70 encourage the maximum use and have suggested the overpowering plot ration of 2:1; the parking study did not address the utilisation at peak usage periods; the guidelines do not consider the congestion in Sovereign Place; and the board of Directors of the MRA stopped the last two applications and kept the covenant,” Mr Foti said.

A spokesman for City of Perth said the City “has been engaging with residents and businesses to prepare appropriate design principles”.

“There is currently a restrictive covenant in place between the private land owner and the MRA,” he said.

“Any development equal to or more than $15 million is determined by the State Government’s Local Development Assessment Panel.”

Mr Foti said residents were “legally and morally entitled” to rely on the assurance of the covenant when they moved into the area.

“Government authorities entrusted with the welfare of residents should not make decisions based only on commercial considerations,” he said.