The city of Hobart has been progressively investigating new height limits for Sullivans Cove and the CBD. The drafting process is now complete and the proposed maximum height limits are out for public comment until 17 October 2018.
The maximum limits proposed are outlined below in (figure one, see column labelled Performance Criterion Maximum Heights).
We encourage all our members to have their say by visiting the council’s website.
The current permitted limits (Column labelled - Acceptable Solution Maximum Heights) are laid out in the table below (figure one) for each zone, and subzone. If a proposal is under the permitted height and meets all other acceptable solutions, then it is considered permitted and cannot be refused by council.
Any development proposals that exceed the permitted height are considered discretionary and need to meet performance criteria laid out in the planning scheme for the zone.
The council’s amendment will retain permitted heights, performance criteria and will introduce a maximum height which effectively caps all building heights (column labelled - Performance Criterion Maximum Heights).
It is important to remember that as soon as a proposal is above the permitted height (or does not meet all acceptable solutions) it must meet all the performance criteria for that section of the planning scheme.
This system of discretion provides a lot of protection for heritage listed sites and other sites which have particular amenity or significance. Although the caps my seem high (60m in sub-zone 1), the discretionary system will give the interested public a lot of opportunity to have their say, and will protect the CBD and sullivans cove from over-development.
Another change is that the CBD zone will be expanded, with the blocks labelled “*” above being added to the CBD zone (permitted height 18m, maximum height 45m, or 21m if 50 metres from a zone with a lesser height). There is a set back provision, that means the height transition between the “fringe” and CBD proper will be respected.
Finally, the council is including more protected “viewlines”, which fit into the system of discretionary performance criteria described above.
We encourage all our members to have their say by visiting the council’s website.