Kingston Community Day
An enormous Thank You to members who attended and assisted on the day at the Gerry Green reserve. The display Park Action created great interest especially the large photo suppled by our President of the open space in front of Windows which graphically demonstrated the amount of Crown Land lost if the extension is approved by the Commissioners.
Windows on the Bay
There has been no decision as yet on the proposed extension of the restaurant. A visit to the EDO to seek advice was worthwhile. There have been several offers from objectors to act as witnesses if the need arises. These offers are greatly appreciated.
Braeside Park
Friends of Braeside Park are building a second greenhouse which will eventually propagate from 20,000 to 40,000 plants per year. The Friends have applied for a grant from Melbourne Parks & Waterways.
Woodlands Industrial Estate
Large holes are still being dug at the southern section of the estate. Factories are being built close to the proposed freeway reservation on the eastern side of the industrial estate & also close to the boundary of Braeside Park.
Karkarook Park
A permanent officer is supervising the construction of paths and a rustic? fence. Additional planting is taking place and a power line terminal is being built on a nearby site.
Bradshaw Park
Department of Conservation & Department of Transport personnel met with D. Bainbridge and D.Evans to arrange a burn on railway land adjacent to the park. The Department of DCNR believe that this section of railway land should be covered by the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act.
Green Wedge / Heatherton Dingley Non Urban Study / KLSP
Hearings are currently taking place at Springvale Council Chambers of submissions to the Keysborough Local Strategy Plan. David Hodge attended a meeting of the Friends of Braeside and listened to objections to the proposed service station development on the corner of Governor and Springvale Road.
Mordialloc Creek Action
Chris reported on the meeting of the DVCA. Studies are being prepared for risk assessment in the catchment. Major issues are :- weed infestation along the creek banks, water quality, groundwater shortage and contamination, preservation of groundwater in the catchment. However there is no money in DCNR for weed eradication.
The Agnew Report
A submission was sent to Aboriginal Affairs regarding a possible stone axe found on the north east corner of Parkdale Reef and also queried who the legal custodians of this coastal area may be.
A letter to be sent to Lisa Milley, Conservation Officer in the City of Bayside asking that she include the cliff section from Cromer Road to Charman Road in the submission for Heritage Listing of Beaumaris Cliffs.
Glen has been invited once again to speak to Year 9 students at PSC. Environmental Studies Teacher is David McLeod.
A student from Boort has arranged to dive with Glen and four people have offered to assist with research activities.
Clean Up Day resulted in the retrieval of anchor chains, discarded fishing rods, and a ripped sail on Parkdale reef.
Glen attended the meeting of PPCC and reported that their concerns are Point Liddiard, Coode Island, Mornington Boat Harbour, tearooms on Sorrento beach with the septic tank contents emptying into the Bay, the construction of sewage ponds in the catchment area of Balcombe Creek, Mt Martha.
Mentone Stormwater Drain
The drain is almost completed. Timber decking has been laid to form the jetty.
Kingston Conservation & Environment Coalition
A meeting with City of Kingston Staff finalised an agreement concerning the composition of a Sustainability Task Force. The Task Force will seek to have input to any development planned in the City of Kingston at beginning of the project rather than being forced to re-act when decisions have been made. Conservation Officers, Max Fitzner, Doug Evans and Planning person Susan Ferguson have assisted in setting up the Task Force using the Local Agenda 21 strategy. It is proposed that the Task Force will include two environmentalists, two social welfare people and two business/economists.
These positions will be advertised widely and appointed after satisfying the criteria.
City of Kingston Draft Guidelines for Advertising Signs February 1996
It was noticed recently that there has been a regrettable proliferation of signs in car parks on the Mordialloc/Parkdale foreshore. There are as many as four signs repeating the same message in each car park. At the Antibes and Dixon Street car park there are nineteen signs. A letter sent to the CEO Rob Skinner has filtered down to Warren Ashdown, the Environmental Department of the City of Kingston. Warren is aware of the problem and consideration is being given to rationalising the problem. However he indicated that there will be a fresh outbreak of signs when information about dog zones comes into effect!
CRAG have expressed concern about this issue as has the Mentone Village Committee.
Epsom Racecourse
Answers to letters written by Mara to VRC indicate that Epsom Training Track is likely to be sold. Despite an over supply of garden industrial estates it is possible that the track will be sold for this purpose. The other alternative is that the land will re-zoned residential. In either case it is essential that provision for adequate public open space is included in any development.
Warren Road Nursery
City of Kingston have resurrected the plan to sell Warren Road nursery and permit residential development on part of the Keefer Reserve. It is disturbing to find that this scheme has been revived when it was defeated by residents eighteen months ago. (See Mordialloc Chelsea News 27-3-96).
General Business
The issue of the Howard Coalition Government’s policies on the sale of uranium and the abolition of the three mines policy was raised. It was decided to write to Mr Howard outlining concern over these issues and the waste disposal problem if the mines go ahead in World Heritage areas.
Village Committees
Committee members have been appointed to the Mordialloc and Aspendale committees Despite a certain amount of apprehension about the effectiveness of the committees in the decision making process especially when the new council is elected in March 1997, it may be possible for them to contribute positively provided that there is a co-ordinated approach to important issues relevant to the Bayside committees, for example a policy on foreshore signage.
MBCL members may like to consider ways and means of ensuring that these committees are responsive to the communities needs.
PS. A Draft Guidelines for Advertising Signs from the City of Kingston has just arrived and we are being asked to make comment so that advertising will “reflect community expectations in relation to advertising signs. Please come along with heaps of ideas on the 2nd April!!”