Hello Lovely Street Gardening Supporters!

Draft 2 of the Nature Strips Guidelines finally came out last Friday and, though the City of Port Phillip acknowledges some of the positives of street gardening and has made some small changes, council didn’t action the primary changes needed in order to allow street gardening.

Council is still intent on changing their NSGs, currently one of the more lenient Nature Strip Guidelines, into one of the more restrictive in Australia. This is after 6000 signatures, 20 subject matter experts, an 84-page evidence-based document and 500 individual submissions making solid cases against this change. 

This is unacceptable and unreasonable.

What can you do? I know most of you are locals to City of Port Phillip and you can do 3 things…

1- Have Your Say by Friday July 8th (link provided- feel free to use the following concerns and suggestions as a guide, personalise it with a few sentences and then send it in!)

https://haveyoursay.portphillip.vic.gov.au/nature-strip-guidelines

2- Send a letter to all 9 Councillors and the CEO Peter Smith (addresses below).

3- Go to the meeting at St Kilda Town Hall this coming Thursday 23rd June.

Many thanks,

Emma

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peter.smith@portphillip.vic.gov.au

marcus.pearl@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Tim.Baxter@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Katherine.Copsey@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Heather.Cunsolo@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Peter.Martin@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Andrew.Bond@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Rhonda.Clark@portphillip.vic.gov.au

christina.sirakoff@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Louise.Crawford@portphillip.vic.gov.au

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My 3 main concerns (explained more below):

1. Gardens higher than ground covers on nature strips are still not allowed in more than a few patches.
2. No planting is allowed in tree pits.
3. Street gardeners with existing gardens have no assurance that their gardens will be left alone.

The others concerns I have include (in no particular order):

1. The words offset and setback are still being mixed up
2. Graphics are unclear (they are the same as before with minor alterations)
3. Images haven’t been given for inspiration
4. The 7 (!) restrictions are confusing and text heavy
5. There are inaccuracies in how to plant a plant in a nature strip

Arborist report

There were two things that was conspicuously missing: the commonly regarded fact that under-storey plantings can actually help the tree when the garden is prepared in the right way and also that, as climate change progresses and moisture becomes more of an issue, residents with street gardens will help water the tree because their garden is out there.

3 questions:

1. What was the council brief to the external (not independent) arborist?
2. How much was the arborist paid?
3. Is this the original arborist report?

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I explain the three main concerns further:

1- Gardens higher than ground covers on nature strips are still not allowed in more than a few tiny patches.

The setbacks, restrictions and requirements on tree pits and nature strips are still so extreme that very few plants can be planted that are not ground covers.

I am actually fine with 4 of the 7 restrictions but the ones around trees, utilities and car access paths have all changed from no restrictions in the existing NSGs to the most restrictive end of the 39 NSGs CoPP surveyed. The car access path (from footpath to car) is new to this draft and it seems remarkably huge at 1.2m wide especially seeing as it is required every 2 car spaces (every 5.5m!).

It is suggested that:

- the no planting zone around trees be reduced to 500mm radius
- setbacks for utilities be reduced to 300mm radius (ground covers allowed in set back)
- car access paths be reduced to 600mm wide

2- Tree pits are banned from any planting. 

With this ban on gardening in these spaces, residents who have tree pits and asphalt out the front of their houses need an immediate alternative to de-pave areas that can be planted in. This program needs to be fast-tracked (like the outdoor dining was in covid within a few weeks) so it is ready to be implemented with the new NSGs. Until this can be organised residents should be able to plant in tree pits.

(FYI in CoPP research, out of 39 ‘benchmarked’ NSGs, only “several councils prohibit planting in tree pits, plots, grates and WSUD gardens”. CoPP is regressing to match the small % of NSGs that ban gardens in tree pits)

3- Street gardeners with existing gardens (“legacy gardens” as the council officers are calling them) have no assurance that their gardens will be protected.

In fact, in the community feedback document provided, it was explained that the whole garden could be removed from plants to border if seen to be unsafe (which of course it would be because they would be non-compliant with current NSGs). 

It is interesting to note that if street gardening was allowed in nature strips and tree pits then issues around existing “legacy” gardens would cease to be an issue.

In either case, a transparent and clear step by step process around complaints on street garden needs to have community consultation and then be implemented immediately to make sure complaints are valid and that they will be acted upon by council officers in a consistent and fair way across every area of CoPP.

Please help by Having Your Say! If you aren't local to City of Port Phillip and know someone who is tell them!

Again, many thanks,

Emma