Rarely A Dull Moment - A bitter capsule (hotel) for some to swallow, facades, and zoning

A very pleasant day to you all, dear readers.

Here’s three Council items from the Ordinary Meeting of City of Fremantle Council of 13 November 2024, for you to ponder over this sunny weekend. Enjoy!

Capsule Hotel Essex Street, No. 19 (Lot 8), Fremantle – Four Storey Tourist Development

Here we revisit the LyLo capsule hotel proposed next to The Flaming Galah on Essex Street.

You may recall that this item was recommended for refusal due to concerns over its impact on the privacy, parking shortfall, noise, and scale compared to surrounding development in this historic part of town.

This was subsequently deferred by the Metro Inner Development Assessment Panel – or JDAP – on 1 October 2024 to:
“Enable the applicant to liaise further with the City to address potential height and visual impacts of the proposed addition on neighbouring residences and management of the proposed waste disposal system.”

During the deferral time, the plans were amended to address the City’s and the DAP’s concerns by providing an:
• Updated waste management strategy;
• Slighted reduced building height of the addition, increased setbacks, screening; and
• Further justification regarding privacy, neighbouring amenity, parking, and requirements.

Some of the affected neighbours spoke of their outstanding concerns regarding the visibility of the addition, overshadowing, waste management, noise, and parking demand. They also warned of the precedent this may set for the heritage area, while not holding back in criticism and accusations of a disconnect between residents’ wishes and City decisions, claiming ‘negligence’ od the City’s planning department – which were sternly rebuked by Mayor Fitzhardinge. The proponents in turn spoke to their amendments, precedent, and collaboration with the City.

Amended section plan outlining sightlines – City of Fremantle Agenda Attachments 2024

Council, following much deliberation, elected NOT to support this proposal for approval by the JDAP. The majority of councillors aligned with Cr Sullivan’s alternative motion to:
NOT SUPPORT the Officer’s Recommendation to APPROVE, under the Metropolitan Region Scheme and Local Planning Scheme No. 4, the four storey Tourist development at No. 19 (Lot 8) Essex Street, Fremantle, for the following reasons:
• Impact of the building height and setbacks of the new addition on the amenity of the properties to the south.
• Impact on the streetscape as viewed from Norfolk Lane and Norfolk Street.

McCabe Street, Nos. 19-21 (Lot 19), North Fremantle – Variation to DAP004/20 (Eight Storey Mixed Use Development Comprising 11 Grouped Dwellings, 97 Multiple Dwellings, Restaurant, Shop)

The Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel – or JDAP -originally approved the development on 4th November 2020.

Now underway, this development was originally opposed by the City on the basis of height variations up to 14m in Local Planning Policy 3.11 and two storeys as prescribed in Table 2.1 of the Residential Design Codes R-Codes Volume 2 – Apartments. It was also planned to reach 4.2m above the tallest building in the vicinity (9-13 McCabe Street) and is also naturally elevated due to the site’s topography. It has undergone various design amendments since then including increased height by 0.65m and changes to internal configuration including land use.

The applicant sought to amend the elevation, a wave “feature fascia banding” required under approval condition #10 as per the advice of the City’s Design Advisory Committee. Upon review of the latest proposal, the Committee advised:
“The panel raises concerns with the appearance of the banding elements compared with the earlier version, stating that they are more bulky, less elegant and not as deep as before, also reducing the shading capacity of the elements… The panel considers the banding to be a very prominent architectural element that is visible from all side of the development and does not support the proposed change, as presented. The panel would like to see the proposal further developed to achieve an outcome more aligned in appearance to the original proposal.”

Cr Sullivan moved an alternative motion arguing that the proposal should be supported as it will not in his opinion harm the design quality overall as “the vast majority” of people will not notice the change and Mayor Fitzhardinge conceded as a former resident of North Fremantle that she recalls the issue in upkeep of properties against pervasive black dust in the area which the amended balcony design may be better placed to assist with cleanliness.

Council accordingly, unanimously, elected NOT to support the officer recommendation to refuse the proposed amendment but instead grant conditional approval.

New versus proposed façade treatment – City Agenda Report 2024

Metropolitan Region Scheme Amendment Request – Lots 1931 And 2039, 65 Marine Terrace, and Two Portions of Lot 2038, Carparks 21 And 21a, Marine Terrace, Fremantle

And now for an update on the future of the Fremantle Italian Club, part of the carpark, and the future reestablished connection between the port city and its waterfront.

This concerns the proposal to “transfer the land from the Parks and Recreation reserve to the Central City Area zone, and the subsequent redevelopment of these lots.” It’s linked to the future extension of Norfolk Street to Mews Road and the esplanade reserve, and possible redevelopment of the Italian Club on Marine Terrace. For this to be possible, the Metropolitan Region Scheme is required to also be amended as it currently recognises the land as a reserve. If approved, the Local Planning Scheme can then align with the new zoning.

Site aerial with affected area outlined in red – City Agenda Report 2024

Some residents spoke against the proposal at Council out of concern for potential increased traffic volumes, impact on views, impact on the Blessing of the Fleet and the Italian Club, and property values. Another voiced their support for the redevelopment of the Italian Club on the basis of enhancing site safety.

The proposal was advertised during July and August 2024 via online media including the MySay page and community drop in session, and received broad in principle support. 41% of respondents expressed support, 25% were partially supportive, 26% opposed the proposal, and 8% were uncertain.
Opposition to the change centred on:

• Parking and Multi-storey carparks
• Traffic congestion
• Existing Mews Road crossing
• Pedestrian and cycling connections
• Character
• Building height
• Land use
• Development intent of the Italian Club
• Ocean views
• Property values
• Public open space
• Redevelopment history
• Clarification of plans.

The newly applied City Centre zone will impose height restrictions of two storeys for new development overall with a total five-storey height limit, as long as the fifth storey is partially concealed and reduces bulk impact by being setback from the street boundary.

Now here’s an interesting insight from the Public Transport Authority received during the advertising period:
“the Department of Transport’s Fremantle Harbours Context and Access Analysis contains recent parking supply data for the vicinity and notes that of 1,213 public parking bays, 816 are off-street, while there are 27 ACROD bays. The highest occupancy occurs at 1 p.m., reaching 59% occupancy on weekdays and only 79% occupancy on weekends. These figures indicate that there is a significant amount of parking currently provided in the vicinity.”

Will I light the fuse by expressing my agreement with this statement? Parking is surprisingly cheap there even on a Saturday. You can always find a parking spot around here if you give yourself a bit of time to look around. Or rideshare. Or follow the planners’ advice and take the bus (not the CAT, sorry), walk, or cycle there. What do you think?

Multi-storeys can also arguably be designed to minimise unsightliness, including by being screened by other development. Is the Walyalup Koort FOMO building a good or bad example of this?

As for the potential traffic impact and the Mews Road crossing closure, those require further planning.

There is consensus that any significant development in the area will require review by the City’s Design Advisory Committee. As to how those proposals will be respectful of views, character, height, and active transport options, that remains to be seen given that at best, the current plans are indicative only. The future of the Italian Club remains unconfirmed.

Community engagement for the changes revealed that preferred land uses for the site comprise of, in order:
1. Public Open Space
2. Recreation
3. Community purpose
4. Exhibition Centre / Gallery
5. Restaurant / Café.

Incorporation of residential dwellings into the mix was a hot topic without a clear consensus. The remainder of the concerns are discussed in the officer report but go into a touch too much detail to cover faithfully here.
Cr Camarda moved an alternative motion to modify point five of the officer recommendation in order to reinforce that this is only the first step in the whole process and the City will work continuously with the Italian Club and the State Government to “ensure an outcome that will provide a sustainable future for the Club.”

Should an MRS Amendment proceed, that process alone can take up to 24 months to complete.

The Council unanimously supported the modified officer recommendation that the Council:
1. Receives the public and agency submissions regarding the potential of a Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) amendment over Lots 1931 and 2039, 65 Marine Terrace, two portions of Lot 2038, Carparks 21 and 21A, Marine Terrace, and 542m2 of Mews Road, Fremantle to transfer the land from the Parks and Recreation reserve to the Central City Area zone , as detailed in the officers’ report and the Community Engagement Report contained in Attachment 3.
2. Endorse the publication of the Community Engagement Report contained in Attachment 3 on the MySay Fremantle website.
3. Endorse the justification report contained in Attachment 4 and authorise staff to make minor and administrative amendments to the report if requested by WAPC.
4. Request that the Chief Executive Officer lodge a formal request with the Western Australian Planning Commission to initiate an amendment to the Metropolitan Region Scheme to transfer Lot 1931 on Deposited Plan 212184 and Lot 2039 on Deposited Plan 216961, 65 Marine Terrace, two portions of Lot 2038 on Deposited Plan 216961, Carparks 21 and 21A, Marine Terrace, and 542m2 of Mews Road, Fremantle from the Parks and Recreation Reserve to the Central City Area zone.
5. Request the City officers continue to engage with the Italian Club Fremantle to establish the process and needs for the proposed redevelopment planning and the State Government to assist with advocacy regarding the Club’s proposed redevelopment plans.
6. Note the ongoing communication between City officers and State Government stakeholder agencies regarding the implementation of the Fremantle Harbours Masterplan.

In Other News

The City granted final approval to the Local Development Plan for Lots 72 and 25, 2-4 Clontarf Road and Lot 73, 1 Naylor Street, Beaconsfield. Additionally, the City endorsed the proclamation drawings provided by Main Roads “formalising the completed modifications of the High Street rotary and realignment at Leach Highway and Stirling Highway” and requested bollards to be installed at the foot of the stairs at the southern High Street underpass entry. The president of the Fremantle Society, John Dowson, also raised three questions at the Council meeting which included what the City plans to do with the Bicentennial Celebrations which are fast approaching in 2029, and the future of the Roundhouse which has previously been afforded $300,000 in grant funding and the use and tenancy of the J Sheds at Bathers Beach. Most of the questions were taken on notice, although it was advised that the City has had two meetings about the bicentenary planning thus far and remediation works have been completed for the Cliff Tunnel with past budgets and heritage guides but not for the Roundhouse.

That’s it for this fortnight. Thanks for staying with us. See you next time!

By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, look right here!

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