ResCode

Last updated April 09, 2023

ResCode is a residential design code introduced by the Bracks (ALP) government, in Victoria, Australia in 2001. It applies to all land zoned for residential use across Victoria and covers buildings up to and including four storeys in height. (Taller buildings are covered by different policies.)

History

ResCode was implemented as a result of negative community perceptions of the effects of its predecessor, the Good Design Guide for Medium Density Housing (GDG), which was a planning initiative of the previous Liberal state government led by Jeff Kennett. The GDG had been introduced in 1995 as part of a broader reform to the Victorian Planning Provisions that aimed to facilitate market-led urban consolidation in established residential areas of Melbourne. One of the main complaints about the GDG was that it allowed developers to build higher-density (multi-unit) developments almost anywhere, which was damaging or destroying the local neighbourhood character. Notably, protection of neighbourhood character was one of the principal guidelines within the GDG that needed to be followed.

Unlike the GDG, ResCode does not exist as a separate policy document. Instead, its provisions are incorporated into all Victorian local government planning schemes and the Victorian Building Regulations.

Main regulatory features

ResCode makes neighbourhood character the primary criterion for assessing residential development applications in Victoria. While a range of local as well as state planning policies (such as Melbourne 2030) concerning amenity and environmental sustainability must be taken into account by development applications and those assessing them, the code's central (and most well-known) features are clauses concerning neighbourhood character.

In this regard, ResCode contains a number of requirements that were carried over from the GDG, such as the need to identify neighbourhood character by a site analysis for every development proposal, the elements that need to be included in a site analysis and the requirement for a description of how a proposed design responds to the neighbourhood character of the site. However, where these were previously guidelines, ResCode made them mandatory.

Also, ResCode extends more stringent regulation than its predecessors to such issues as the position of a building on its site, its setback from front and side boundaries, and many other elements of a building's design, including overall height, roof pitch, external colours and materials, and fence heights. There are strict guidelines, covering the type of documentation required and the objectives that need to be satisfied under ResCode in clauses 54 and 55 of the planning scheme.

Criticisms

ResCode has been criticised by many residents' groups and planning academics for not going far enough to limit the allowable changes to neighbourhood character, associated with contemporary residential developments occurring in established residential areas.

There are many, in the design professions, who have been critical of ResCode for its conservative interpretations of neighbourhood character. Many architects regard the degree to which its constraints on aspects of architectural design such as height, roof pitch, materials, fences, and window details limit innovations in design.

Because the neighbourhood character provisions of ResCode apply only to certain types of development, the code cannot regulate those aspects of buildings outside its scope. They are of two main types. Firstly, residential buildings of four or more storeys are subject to different planning policies. Secondly, detached housing on lots above a certain size are exempt from a planning permit and so cannot be assessed under the planning scheme. Developments of both types have been the cause of much community disquiet, but ResCode and its predecessor, the GDG, cannot be held responsible.

Related Research Articles

Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a single use, they may combine several compatible activities by use, or in the case of form-based zoning, the differing regulations may govern the density, size and shape of allowed buildings whatever their use. The planning rules for each zone determine whether planning permission for a given development may be granted. Zoning may specify a variety of outright and conditional uses of land. It may indicate the size and dimensions of lots that land may be subdivided into, or the form and scale of buildings. These guidelines are set in order to guide urban growth and development.

Fitzroy is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km (1.9 mi) north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Fitzroy recorded a population of 10,431 at the 2021 census.

HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison that was first established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison officially closed on 1 May 1997.

East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km (1.2 mi) east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 census.

The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) is a national scheme to measure the energy efficiency of a residential dwelling in Australia. An accredited software tool assesses the home based on a variety of criteria and produces an energy star rating.

Melbourne 2030 is a Government of Victoria strategic planning policy framework for the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia intended to cover the period 2001–2030. During this period the population of the metropolitan area is expected to grow by a million people to over five million. Population projections now predict Melbourne's population could reach seven million by that time and the government has since changed its strategy on the policy, abandoning the urban growth boundary in the north and west of Melbourne and reducing green wedges.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the Tribunal sits 'below' the Magistrates Court in the court hierarchy. However the Tribunal itself is not a court, not possessing any jurisdiction or powers beyond those conferred by statute. VCAT was primarily a forum for litigants-in-person and the participation of lawyers or other legal representatives is not encouraged in some List areas, substantially reducing the cost of litigation. However some of the List areas will by necessity require parties to have some form of representation.

Neighbourhood character refers to the 'look and feel of an area', in particular a residential area. It also includes the activities that occur there. In everyday usage, it can often be synonymous with local character, residential character, urban character and place identity, but those terms can have more specific meanings in connection with urban planning and conservation.

Save Our State (SOS), formerly known as Save Our Suburbs, was a community group concerned about the impact of contemporary development on established low-density residential suburbs in Australian cities.

Activity centre is a term used in urban planning and design for a mixed-use urban area where there is a concentration of commercial and other land uses. For example, the central business districts of cities (CBD) are also known as “Central Activities Districts” (CAD) (also known as Downtown in North America or "Central Activities Zone" in the United Kingdom in recognition of the fact that commercial functions are not the only things that occur there. The term activity centre can also be used to designate an area for mixed-use development, whatever its current land use happens to be.

Medium-density housing is a term used within urban planning and academic literature to refer to a category of residential development that falls between detached suburban housing and large multi-story buildings. There is no singular definition of medium-density housing as its precise definition tends to vary between jurisdiction. Scholars however, have found that medium density housing ranges from about 25 to 80 dwellings per hectare, although most commonly sits around 30 and 40 dwellings/hectare. Typical examples of medium-density housing include duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, row homes, detached homes with garden suites, and walk-up apartment buildings.

The new towns of Singapore are planned communities located across Singapore that are designed to be self contained. Designed to house up to 300,000 residents, these new towns contain areas zoned for housing, recreation and employment, and are composed of multiple neighbourhoods, each of which is further subdivided into multiple precincts. Amenities in these new towns are provided through a multi-tiered system, and based on Housing and Development Board (HDB) guidelines. As of 2022, the country has 24 new towns.

The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) is the strategic planning agency for the Abu Dhabi (emirate), which supports the realisation of Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 through the creation and continuing evolution of an Emirate-wide strategic framework plan. Chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council is responsible for defining the shape of the Emirate, along with the associated land uses, to ensure the development of a professionally designed, sustainable and well-managed urban environment, which incorporate world-class transport and infrastructure systems and support the implementation of Economic Vision 2030 and Environment Vision 2030. Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (ADQCC) and Abu Dhabi Agriculture & Food Safety Authority were established later under UPC to establish the regulations that help UAE in achieving its vision.

BREEAM, first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world's longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of buildings. More than 550,000 buildings have been 'BREEAM-certified' and over two million are registered for certification in more than 50 countries worldwide. BREEAM also has a tool which focuses on neighbourhood development.

Significant Landscape Overlays or SLOs are one type of Overlay provided by the Victoria Planning Provisions.

Building for Life, Building for Life 12, Adeliladu am Oes 12 Cymru and Building for a Healthy Life are design tools for improving the quality of new homes and neighbourhoods used across England and Wales. The current version in use in England is Building for a Healthy Life .

Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is a land planning and engineering design approach which integrates the urban water cycle, including stormwater, groundwater, and wastewater management and water supply, into urban design to minimise environmental degradation and improve aesthetic and recreational appeal. WSUD is a term used in the Middle East and Australia and is similar to low-impact development (LID), a term used in the United States; and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS), a term used in the United Kingdom.

Australia 108 is a residential supertall skyscraper in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Having officially topped out in June 2020, it became the tallest building in Australia by roof height, surpassing the Eureka Tower, and the second-tallest building in Australia by full height, surpassed by Q1 Tower.

Garden City is a residential area of Melbourne located in the City of Port Phillip 5 km south-west of the Melbourne CBD and immediately west of Port Melbourne. It was created as a planned residential development along the urban design principles of the early 20th century Garden city movement, initially by the State Bank of Victoria and subsequently developed by the Housing Commission of Victoria between 1926 and 1948.

One Queensbridge was a proposed mixed–used supertall skyscraper to be located in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Australia. The skyscraper would have become the tallest building in Melbourne, surpassing the height of Australia 108, and the tallest building in Australia, eclipsing the height of Q1. In addition to being the tallest, the development would have been one of the biggest single–building projects in Australia, encompassing 300,376 square metres of floor area.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.