INDUSTRIAL LAND USE STRATEGY - City of Darebin

4.5 Contributions toDevelopmentCouncil recognised the need to seekcontributions toward the cost of theprovision of social and physicalinfrastructure incorporating the followingstrategy into the Municipal StrategicStatement in 1999:“Measure the impact of newdevelopment and, whereappropriate, require developers tocontribute to additional oraugmented social/physicalinfrastructure.”Council now needs to consider the rangeof mechanisms available to attractcontributions for the renovation ofstreetscapes, provision and upgrading ofsocial and cultural infrastructure and thedevelopment of an attractive andsustainable environment.Traditional industrial areas have poor orno green space and a very low level ofamenity with streetscapes dominated bythe provision of overhead services,parking, storage of materials and wastestorage and no setbacks.Redevelopment of identified redundantindustrial buildings and areas is expectedto yield considerable dwellingopportunities and increase residentialdensities. Redevelopment of industrialsites/areas for office purposes can alsohave a similar impact on local servicesintroducing potentially substantialworkforces who require access to localfacilities and a higher level of amenity.Some of these sites present substantialdevelopment opportunities and this willlead to an increase in demand for existingfacilities and perhaps, where ademographic is substantially impacted,may result in a demand for new facilities.If more sensitive uses are to bepermitted in some of the industrialareas, then Council will have toimprove the level of amenity inthese areas.Works necessary may includeimprovements such as:• Provision of parkland/green spacesor upgrading of nearby parks• Planting of street trees• Undergrounding (or overheadbundling of cable) of powersupplies• Rationalization of street poles• Roadworks – eg trafficmanagement works• Community and multi-culturalfacilities• Expansion/construction of socialinfrastructure such as maternalhealth, aged care, child-carefacilities etc.• Improvements to sewerage anddrainage systems.Improvements such as the upgrading ofa child care facility would have abenefit to a segment of the widercommunity whereas the benefit ofplanting of street trees would beconfined to a more immediate locale.Substantial upgrading of the existinginfrastructure will be required ifCouncil allows the conversion of someindustrial areas for non-industrial uses.Ultimately the responsibility andthus the cost for upgrading thisinfrastructure rests with Council.Council can seek contributions fromdevelopers and the community to fundthese improvements via a number oftechniques as discussed below.Industrial Land Use Strategy 17