Heidi Kraak
Latrobe City Council has refused a permit for a rooming house in Traralgon that could have housed up to 12 people.
The application for the property at 15 Kevin Court, Traralgon, received 24 individual objections along with a petition opposing the permit which contained 43 signatures.
The property would have nine bedrooms, with six on the ground floor and three on the first floor, and would have three parking spaces.
Nearby residents attended the council meeting on Monday night, with a number of them speaking against the rooming house.
One speaker expressed concerns a rooming house in the area could attract “transient, marginalised, chronically unemployed” tenants and change the area “in a negative way”.
Another speaker expressed concerns about the number of cars that could be on the street if there were only three parking spaces available for tenants, considering the house was not located near public transport.
Speaking at the council meeting, the owner of the property said there was a lot of “misinformation” about the types of people who live in rooming houses, and said his property could service students and singles seeking affordable housing.
He said he had approached council prior to purchasing the property to outline his intentions and, at the time, the property met specified conditions for a rooming house.
An appropriate management plan could prevent any issues with tenants arising, he said.
Latrobe City councillor Dale Harriman said at the meeting the application did not meet the standards and objectives of the Latrobe Planning Scheme.
He said Latrobe City required similar accommodation to what the rooming house could provide, however, said such accommodation was needed closer to public transport services and closer to central business districts.
“We’ve seen this before, where we have had similar types of buildings and proposals across our city go in the wrong areas where there is no access to transport services, jobs or study and we’ve seen those areas deteriorate greatly,” he said.
Cr Brad Law argued in favour of granting the permit, saying “the goalposts had moved” with changes to the Latrobe Planning Scheme coming into play after the owner purchased the property with the intention of establishing a rooming house.
The application for the property at 15 Kevin Court, Traralgon, received 24 individual objections along with a petition opposing the permit which contained 43 signatures.
The property would have nine bedrooms, with six on the ground floor and three on the first floor, and would have three parking spaces.
Nearby residents attended the council meeting on Monday night, with a number of them speaking against the rooming house.
One speaker expressed concerns a rooming house in the area could attract “transient, marginalised, chronically unemployed” tenants and change the area “in a negative way”.
Another speaker expressed concerns about the number of cars that could be on the street if there were only three parking spaces available for tenants, considering the house was not located near public transport.
Speaking at the council meeting, the owner of the property said there was a lot of “misinformation” about the types of people who live in rooming houses, and said his property could service students and singles seeking affordable housing.
He said he had approached council prior to purchasing the property to outline his intentions and, at the time, the property met specified conditions for a rooming house.
An appropriate management plan could prevent any issues with tenants arising, he said.
Latrobe City councillor Dale Harriman said at the meeting the application did not meet the standards and objectives of the Latrobe Planning Scheme.
He said Latrobe City required similar accommodation to what the rooming house could provide, however, said such accommodation was needed closer to public transport services and closer to central business districts.
“We’ve seen this before, where we have had similar types of buildings and proposals across our city go in the wrong areas where there is no access to transport services, jobs or study and we’ve seen those areas deteriorate greatly,” he said.
Cr Brad Law argued in favour of granting the permit, saying “the goalposts had moved” with changes to the Latrobe Planning Scheme coming into play after the owner purchased the property with the intention of establishing a rooming house.
