All lobby carpets will be cleaned this Friday, the marble ground floor lobby will be done next Tuesday 12th
Please tread carefully 🙂
All posts by Gary Buck
How to say “we don’t want a vent outside Botanica”
It would be great if each of you can go to this web page and lodge your unhappiness that we are getting some big vents out the front.
The vents will be 5 metres high and as long as a tram….this is a 7 metre similar version
Don’t do it if you are not comfortable
https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4012845/Development-Plan-online-questionnaire
Lots of steps to make it hard
Steps
- Use your own name
- Use  postcode 3004
- Completing as individual
On next screen
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- You can decide if want your name published
On next screen
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- Tick Domain
- Tick Architectural Design
In the comments box, say something along the lines of what I have written below…but not just cut and paste or it gets rejected
Whilst we accept the need to remove and replace a significant number of trees, we cannot accept the installation of five large and visibly intrusive vents in the middle of St Kilda Rd.
Requested actions to be taken
- We seek written assurance that we will not be able to hear, feel or smell outputs from these vents
- We request the designers look at several suggested alternatives, including but not limited to
- Lowering the height to 3 metres
- Moving them closer to the eastern side of St Kilda Rd and further from residents. We are aware that a school exists on this side of the road but that side of the road is also maintaining fully mature trees and better able to screen the vents.
- We request that strong consideration is given to the roofing material used. The roof structure will be very visible to many of our residents in its current position.
- Why not cover them with a well maintained ‘living wall’ regardless of location
Concerned about the new station? Here’s what you can do
The final designs are now in the public arena and we all have only a few weeks to make comment.
My biggest concern and surprise is the fact we will have some ugly vents in the middle of St Kilda Rd, in front of Botanica. The biggest one (5 metres high and as long as a tram) is proposed to be adjacent to the end of Bowen Crescent!!
Jan Swinburne and I have compiled the attached document which will form the basis of the formal Botanica submission.  Our advice is that multiple submitters does help but they cannot be simple cut and paste.
Where you submit and how is a bit messy. If you click on the various links below, you’ll find you have to then pick a category. At the end of my document, I’ve had stab at the link and category.
The comment submission pages are
https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4012845/Development-Plan-online-questionnaire For the Development plan comments
https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4012769/CYP-Early-Works-Plan-online-questionnaire For the Early Works comments
heritage.permits@delwp.vic.gov.au For Heritage Vic
 Go for it!!
Please attend info sessions on new Anzac Station
Anzac station is the name of our new station on our doorstep….Metro Rail / Cross Yarra Partnership are holding information sessions tomorrow at The Seasons. One from 11am – 2pm and another 5:30pm-8:30pm.
I’d love you to go….and suggest you might like to ask
- What are these ugly vents out the front of our building? One is in picture below – they are 5 metres high and as long as a tram
- Are they safe?
- Can they be moved further across the road?
- Is it true we’re getting a hoarding right out the front? I hope it is not that ugly blue hoarding but one like in London (picture below)
- And feel free to say – I hope you won’t be breaching the regulations and letting any vehicles have reversing beepers
The full list of sessions is below –
A series of drop-in community information sessions will be held around Melbourne to provide an opportunity for people to view the draft Development Plans for the five new underground stations and chat with the project team.
- Thursday 30 November, 11am – 2pm, Seasons Botanic Gardens, 348 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
- Thursday 30 November, 5:30pm – 8:30pm, Seasons Botanic Gardens, 348 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
- Monday 4 December, 5:30pm – 8:30pm, Meat Market, 5 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne
- Tuesday 5 December, 11am – 2pm, Melbourne Town Hall, 90-130 Swanston Street, Melbourne
- Tuesday 5 December, 5:30pm – 8:30pm, Melbourne Town Hall, 90-130 Swanston Street, Melbourne
- Saturday 9 December, 11am – 2pm, North Melbourne Football Club, 204-206 Arden Street, North Melbourne
- Tuesday 12 December, 5:30pm – 8:30pm, Melbourne Town Hall, 90-130 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Domain Station no more – Now it’s Anzac Station
The government has today announced that the station at our doorstep will be called Anzac Station.
Other stations will be called
- North Melbourne
- Parkville
- State Library
- Town Hall
I’d have much preferred ours to be called after it’s location – Domain but alas it is not so
Domain Station – Final(?) design
Cross Yarra Partnership and MMRA have today released the draft design for the Domain Station. It is out for 15 days for public comment.
We have a Committee meeting tomorrow to discuss, after that I will post more comments but generally it is very close to what we expected.
The draft plan is here
There is also an application with Heritage Victoria related to these works. The full applications are here  (click on the St Kilda Rd sections). Of most interest are the maps and details of tree removals near Botanica here and here.
In all cases you are most welcome to make a public submission. The processes are documented on the relevant web sites.
Window clean in December
Skyhooks are currently scheduled to wash all of our external windows on December 13-15
Metro Rail / John Holland have agreed to pick up the tab of $5200
MMRA – Early works …local impacts
The latest update on changes. Was dropped in letterboxes yesterday at Botanica. Main impact is Bowen Cres driveway – you may need some patience getting in and out
Bowen Crescent – new buildings
There has been a lot of action in Bowen Cres in the last 18 months and people have frequently asked me ‘what can we do?’.
I am no expert, but there is a lot of good reading on the City of Port Phillip web site.
This one has details of the overall St Kilda Rd area and some general planning ‘rules’. This one has information on Bowen Crescent particularly.
So my interpretation is that is someone wants to demolish and build in Bowen Cres, the first check is compliance with these documents. They specify a maximum height and the setback from the road etc. I think you would have very little room to argue if the developer meets these ‘rules’.
I’m sure that the Council also has some general rules about building new apartments that ‘look into’ existing apartments.
Each time that someone submits plans to the council, they place a notice out the front of the site. This has a link to a website that has all the plan details. You can also go to this site and search, in fact you can simply search on Bowen Crescent and there are numerous submissions (back many years).
When a submission is made public they also advertise the process for lodging complaints/comments.
Botanica Brunch
Don’t forget to send your RSVP to Sandra by November 28. Details are here
Her number is 0427 888 258
Love to see you all there – owners, renters and friends of Botanica.
The Botanica 
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