November 2008

Triangle secret deal closer to being outed
Finally, we've made an in-road into the various Freedom of Information Applications before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Last Friday (7 November), the sitting member ordered the City of Port Phillip to release a redacted Triangle Site Development Agreement (believed to be 2000 pages) to Serge Thomann, President of unChain St Kilda, by no later than Monday 17 November. Once Serge has it, we can make it public.

The secret Triangle site Development Agreement, signed in May 2007, is between, we believe, the City of Port Phillip, the State Government, and winning tender consortium (comprising financier Babcock and Brown and Sydney property developer, Citta). Serge applied under the Freedom of Information laws for its release, when Council adamantly refused to even make public the non commercial-in-confidence clauses, as promised.

After nearly one year of pressing our rights under the Freedom of Information Legislation, we will be able to judge for ourselves the basis of the Agreement with a view to understanding why Councillors were so keen to push through the Triangle development plan approval at all costs. Finally the community will have a chance to find out what commitments were made to the private sector regarding the leasing, maintenance, management and development of this prime public land site. It should also shed light on whether there is any substance to the Mayor's threat that ratepayers could be liable for $48 million if the development does not proceed as proposed, even under a new Council.

September 2008

Public Land Inquiry blasts the management of the St Kilda Triangle public land development
The final report of the Select Committee on Public Land Development, released 11 September 2008, outlines government mismanagement of a number of key sites where public land is being developed in the face of community opposition.  In relation to the St Kilda Triangle development, the committee found there is considerable basis for community concerns with respect to inappropriate use of valuable public land and has recommended  the Victorian Ombudsman investigate the probity of the development processes that were followed in the St Kilda Triangle development by the State Government and Port Phillip Council.
View the final report (refer to pages 123-131) 

Legal challenge underway
unChain St Kilda has launched legal action against Port Phillip Council.  The essence of our case is that the retail intensive proposal, with its obstruction of views from the Upper Esplanade, does not comply with the council's own planning scheme and the project's urban design framework.   

We did not launch this case lightly nor maliciously as the Mayor would like people to believe. The Council is required to follow proper process in approving all developments. In the case of The St Kilda Triangle, our lawyers  and one of Melbourne's leading planners advise that the Council's decision did not meet the relevant planning requirements. Under the circumstances, a review by VCAT under section 149B of the Planning and Environment Act is the appropriate course of action.   

August 2008

City of Port Phillip signs Triangle go-ahead
Council released the approved Triangle plans on the CoPP website on Monday morning, 11 August 2008.

It is a development that can be achieved only at great cost.

To achieve its vision, the Council has trashed its planning guidelines, deeply compromised good governance and alienated its own citizens. It has become engulfed by a culture of secrecy and suspicion, and has signed a secret Development Agreement with the developer and the State Government that has never been released to the public.

It has failed to deliver on the Mayor's promise, made in her open letter to the citizens of Port Phillip in February,  that retail space would be cut significantly to a maximum of 19,000 sqm. The endorsed plan shows total retail use, including supermarket, market, post office, banks, travel agencies and fashion stores to be 22,350 sqm, while a further 2,000 sqm has been reclassified for 'offices'.

The Development Plan for the Triangle represents a vision that is outmoded and badly outdated. This plan is not about revitalising St Kilda, it is about condemning a unique part of Melbourne to a development model rooted in the 1970s.

Melbourne today must be about an emerging Age of Sustainability. But the Triangle plan is a dinosaur. It is a car dependent shopping complex, an alcohol dependent entertainment precinct, a huge development oblivious to climate change and its implications.

Despite the problems of Fitzroy and Acland Streets being unresolved, Council has approved a new licensed entertainment precinct (with some very large venues) that will have the capacity to turnover more than 12,000 patrons per night.

The massive shopping component aims to draw shoppers from across south-eastern Melbourne. No additional public transport is planned for the St Kilda foreshore. Indeed, the nightclubs and pub venues will close well after public transport has stopped running.

There has been no independent environmental assessment of the Triangle proposal. In a changing and vulnerable world this is a not just an oversight, it is a tragedy. We are getting development geared to short-term profit while the long-term consequences are ignored.

The Development Plan paves the way for unChain St Kilda to formalise its Supreme Court challenge and thus begin the legal battle for St Kilda.

July 2008

Another tendering scandal rocks the City of Port Phillip 
This time allegations that a contractor was alerting favoured suppliers to quotes submitted by competitors. Read more here and here.

For the first time on record the City of Port Phillip is under investigation by Police and State Government over two allegations of serious breaches of tender guidelines  (this one and the 'white witch' fiasco exposed in May), including potential fraud.  How did the Councillors allow this to happen?

June 2008

Final St Kilda Triangle plans lodged
BBC lodged the final development plan on Friday 13th June (interesting choice of date!). The Council officers are currently reviewing the plans and will release them to the public when approved. We will send out an email as soon as the plans are publicly viewable, and will post links on our site. Our team of lawyers and town planners will also get involved and our legal action will start.

Select Committee
The Select Committee has released an interim report. unChain St Kilda agrees with the conclusion of the report that "if the State Government had contributed funds for the restoration of the Palais Theatre, the scale and commercial focus of the proposed development could have be considerably reduced."

We also agree with the Committee that "the State Government should reassess its approach to this site and consider a solution involving a much reduced development footprint on this iconic piece of public land."

We strongly disagree with the Minority report written by the members of the Labor Party. We believe that the Committee has done an invaluable service to community groups concerned about the treatment of public land, by drawing attention to the process of commercialisation of these valuable State assets and challenging the Government's process. Not surprisingly Labor members objected.

For background, download our Submission to the Select Committee on Public Land Development, submitted on 5th March 2008.

May 2008

The Wizard and the White Witch of Clown Hall...The article Costly magical spell cast on Port Phillip Council (The Age, 19 May 2008) reveals how deeply the City of Port Phillip is suffering due to lack of clear leadership by its Councillors, and how costly this has been in human terms for employees and in dollar terms for ratepayers. We can only speculate why Councillors could not see and hear the culture of fear, the low staff morale, the break down of communications at the most senior levels, and the lack of due process in tendering for consultants. We can only wonder why they failed to act on legal advice to redress the excess of chief executive David Spokes... read more

Council PR machine in overdrive! Age writer Julie Szego, friend of Cr Dick Gross and wife of sitting State Labor MP, Tony Lupton, has launched a tirade of abuse against people who speak out against the Triangle process and its outcome. The Age, in publishing this article, appears to believe it contributes a balanced view to the Triangle debate. What do you think? Read comments and post your own.

What's the real deal on the Triangle?
City of Port Phillip and the State Government have entered into a Development Agreement with developers Babcock & Brown and Citta (BBC) on your behalf. But they will not reveal the terms of the 99 year contract. We were unable to secure the release of the Development Agreement via Freedom of Information. Why the secrecy? What is really in the Development Agreement? Write to Councillors and the Premier and demand that they REVEAL THE DEAL.

March 2008

Triangle petition presented in parliament - Upper House parliamentary members Sue Pennicuik and Andrea Coote presented two petitiosn in parliament re the Triangle development, and made statements as to the key issues involved. Read the Legislative Assembly Hansard report. Thank you to those who signed, and to all who worked so hard to collect signatures.

Download our Submission to the Select Committee on Public Land Development, submitted on 5th March 2008.

Look again at the Triangle, says the Mayor - if you live in the City of Port Phillip you may have received a flyer from the Mayor inviting you to look again at the Triangle.

This comes at a time when there are no revised plans and the CEO is unable to tell a Parliamentary inquiry the actual size of the development. Furthermore there are no ground level perspectives available, making it impossible to consider how the development would affect pedestrians. The bird's eye views presented so far cleverly hide the bulk of the development, which is located under the so called 'grassy slopes' that actually slope upwards, not downwards, towards the bay.

We invite you to look again at the process that led to this outcome and at the impact this Crown land development will have on Melbourne's favourite seaside playground.

Yes, look again - our response to the Mayor's letter and some Q&As.

February 2008

Council meeting at St Kilda Town Hall - The auditorium was packed, the foyer was packed. People spoke passionately against the development. Developer BBC provided some comic relief with an amusing slide show of revised designs.

Councillors voted 4 to 2 to approve the commercialisation of Crown land in their custody - not to create a seaside playground in the tradition of Luna Park and the Palais, but to create a shopping mecca in the tradition of Chadstone. To do this they manipulated planning guidelines, dismissed independent advice, and marginalised the views of their citizens. View the minutes of this meeting.

Only two councillors had the courage to fearlessly use their power to reject a development that does not comply with all the key objectives of the planning guidelines. Judith Klepner and Karen Sait, we thank you for listening. We thank you for your willingness to hear our arguments. And we thank you for your considered decision.

The tacit support of the State Government to date raises concerns about the future of community consultation and feedback in planning decisions across Victoria.

What a lost opportunity for a truly landmark civic place.

Public March - Over 1,000 people, including local celebrities Rachel Griffiths, Jane Turner, Magda Szubanski, Brian Dawe and Dave Hughes, gathered at the Palais to see the formidable guillotine give the development plans the chop. Political activists Paul Watson, captain of anti-whaling vessel the Steve Irwin, and Rod Quantock sent us off on our march with words of inspiration and support. Many more people joined us on the way to the Town Hall, so that by the time we reached Brighton Road, the crowd had swelled to almost 2,000. Thank you to our local police for their escort and for their traffic stopping skill to get everyone safely across major roads. Some photos available here.

January 2008

Progress at the Negotiating Table Part 4
Our response to Council's economic and heritage reports were tabled. The results state that the development will compete "beyond the normal range of competition" with some retailers in the area, and that the Palais will be "buried".

	Petitions underway unChain St Kilda volunteers hit the streets of Port Phillip with petitions, postcards and pamphlets. From South Melbourne to Elwood, people are eagerly signing the petition to reject the revised Development Plan. Visitors to St Kilda are joining locals to say "No - this is not the St Kilda we want".
	Public Meeting Thank you for your show of support at the meeting on 21 Jan at Theatreworks in St Kilda.  Apologies to those supporters who couldn't get in because of overcrowding.

Our response to the Council's economic & heritage reports
Our independent Economic Review concludes the Triangle development will compete strongly with some parts of the retail offering of Acland Street and Fitzroy Street...  The scale of likely impacts will be beyond the normal range of competition. These are impacts that many businesses will not recover from and which will cause a loss of existing investment in public and private infrastructure.

Our independent Heritage Review concludes the scheme proposed has the effect of burying the Palais theatre and killing its stand alone quality and destroying the historic road pattern and the sense of the Upper and Lower Esplanades and their associated landscaping. Both these features should be being preserved not destroyed.

16 January 2008 - Progress at the Negotiating Table Part 3
Council's Economic and Community Impact Analysis, a progress report from the Design Review Committee regarding improvement of views to the Foreshore from the Upper Esplanade, and BBC's offer of minor adjustments to its Development Plan are now available on the CoPP website. Unfortunately, not much has changed... read more

7 January 2008 - Progress at the Negotiating Table Part 2
We entered these discussions anticipating to negotiate with our Councillors. However, Councillors have directed us to address our position and vision with the developer. They said that it was not up to them to negotiate with the developer... read more

3 January 2008 - Progress at the Negotiating Table Part 1
At the heart of the discussion is the independent consultants finding that the Development Plan (DP) does not meet the guidelines, which govern the planning and principal outcomes for the St Kilda Triangle crown land site... read more

13 December 2007 - Decision not good enough
More than 600 people voiced concern at the Statutory Planning Committee Meeting on Thurs 13th Dec. Our document The Way Forward outlines the resolution we put forward at this meeting. Yet Councillors are still not listening. Their weak response, to allow a period of only 6 weeks (over Christmas) to commisssion an economic report and 'look at' view lines, shows how determined they are to pass this massive development, albeit with minor tweaks around the edges. View the minutes of this meeting on the City of Port Phillip web site.