NEWS DESK
Shire CEO calls time Continued from Page 1 A consultant was charged with selecting a recruitment firm to identify suitable candidates. Mr Cowie also received endorsement from the Mornington Peninsula Ratepayers’ Association, which attributed his “private industry background and cost driven approach” to saving millions of dollars for the shire. Association secretary Dr Alan Nelsen said Mr Cowie’s leadership had resulted in “significant improvement in the shire’s transparency and openness”. He said Mr Cowie had “strongly supported the council and community” by opposing three-storey residential developments on the peninsula; helping to save Tootgarook Swamp by introducing a management plan and purchasing a sensitive area of land within the wetlands; finalising the Rosebud aquatic centre in a sensible location, and finalising the green wedge plan”. But there were contentious issues, including negotiating an enterprise agreement that saw a dramatic cut in sick leave for staff “which didn’t
Plan sets out a Dromana ‘vision’
Time to leave: Mornington Peninsula Shire CEO Carl Cowie has resigned from the top job. Picture: Yanni
make him very popular with staff,” according to the mayor, and approving a $3 million tender for legal firms that could be hired by the shire despite being asked to bring the matter to council for approval under delegation (“Probe into $3m legal tender” The News 5/6/18). A standout issue was Mr Cowie’s reluctance to list on the shire’s gifts register a Mediterranean cruise he and his wife took as guests of prominent
businessman and shire ratepayer Lindsay Fox (“CEO’s trip top draw on gifts list” The News 1/5/18). Mr Cowie also failed to persuade councillors to accept a media policy that would have strictly curtailed their ability to make public statements and hold “off the record” conversations, and was criticised for his plan to open a shire office in the Melbourne CBD. The office has since been approved.
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has adopted the Dromana Township Plan and Residential Investigation Area Report. This follows a review of the township and surrounding residential areas that was presented to the 20 August planning meeting. The review identified built form objectives and controls to aid in the protection of Dromana’s “coastal” character. Major provisions of the plan are to reinforce the prevailing coastal township streetscapes, maintain the suburb’s low scale built form character, and protect key views from the foreshore and across the town centre towards Arthurs Seat. Other provisions are the strengthening of Pier Street as the “heart” of the township; to create a secondary laneway network, and transition built form to abutting residential zoned land. Two separate drop-in sessions were held at the Dromana Bay Life Saving Club in May as part of the plan’s public exhibition process. They were attended by 43 people. Council officers stated in their report that “left to continue developing without design provisions, inappropriate development could be established that would detract and gradually degrade the sought-after character of the township”. The review aimed to establish a vision for the Dromana town centre and surrounding residential land in the absence of a Design and Development Overlay. This aims to influence planning controls to enforce an “appropriate balance between the township’s growth while protecting its valued character”. Presently, the town and surrounding residential area has no detailed design provisions over character and
scale. This means there are no building heights applicable over the commercial centre even while residential areas have three storey (11 metre) mandatory maximum heights under the General Residential Zone. There is also an absence of controls over the area’s character, such as setbacks, vegetation planting and removal, materials and colours. The effect of this is to leave the way open for planning permit applications for developments of a scale and character “significantly inconsistent” with the character of Dromana, the officers said. The overall aim of the plan is to ensure controls can be put in place to restrict developments which are appropriate to the township. Other key recommendations are for a “fine grain coastal character” along Point Nepean Road, including a maximum two storey (eight metre) street wall profile. A third storey would only be permitted if set back a minimum of five metres from the street wall. The plan seeks “moderate change” to both sides of Pier Street to reinforce emerging character, including a maximum three storey (11 metre) street wall and similar change to land behind the Point Nepean Road frontage to encourage redevelopment. This would include a maximum two storey (eight metres) high street wall. A third storey would only be permissible if setback a minimum of five metres from the street wall. The residential component of the plan separates the study area into six precincts categorised by their development pattern, housing type and location. The key recommendation here is for a preferred maximum building height of two storeys (nine metres) across all precincts.
Wallaby’s death highlights dogs’ impact UNRESTRAINED dogs are having a devastating effect on native animals in the Mornington Peninsula National Park – and traumatising those who find their remains. Regular walker Chris Willocks came across a dead swamp wallaby on the coastal track near St Paul’s Lookout, Sorrento, 8am, Monday 13 August. “All evidence indicated it had been killed by a large dog,” Mr Willocks said. “The body was mostly undamaged other than an obvious bite wound around the neck. “The wallaby was still warm when I found it so it was probably killed between daybreak and 8am. There were lots of fresh, large dog prints around the wallaby as well as human
shoe prints. “I tracked the wallaby, dog and human prints. The wallaby was probably chased by the dog and human for several hundred metres before it was killed. “I was devastated by the death as this wallaby has been in the area for many years and I knew its tracks and hideouts and I had fairly regular sightings.” Parks Victoria district manager Libby Jude agreed dogs were a “threat to wildlife and are not permitted in Mornington Peninsula National Park”. “[The park] provides a vital refuge and habitat for more than 32 fauna species of significance, including the hooded plover, white-footed dunnart and long-nosed bandicoot,” she said.
“Mammal species are particularly susceptible to dog attacks and even the scent of dogs or barking can cause distress to some species.” Mr Willocks said he saw dogs and their prints “every day that I walk on tracks and beaches in the national park”. This has led to confrontations with dog owners: “I have been verbally abused and threatened by them despite my polite contact,” Mr Willocks said. “There has been a total ban on dogs in the national park for nearly two years, however, many dog owners totally ignore the regulations. “Owners seem oblivious to the impact their dogs are having on the behaviour and survival of mammals, birds and reptiles.
“Unfortunately, sightings of wildlife are declining and a stronger stand against dogs in the national park is essential if we are to retain our precious wildlife on the Mornington Peninsula.” Ms Jude said it was important for the safety of the dogs to keep them out of national parks. “Extensive fox and cat control programs are conducted … to provide threatened species with their best chance of survival,” she said. Alternative dog walking areas outside the national park include some bay beaches and leash-free reserves managed by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Park rangers regularly patrol the park issuing $322 fines to those bringing dogs in illegally.
A matter of survival: This wallaby was killed by a dog in the Mornington Peninsula National Park. Picture: Supplied
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Southern Peninsula News
4 September 2018