TOWN PLANNING 101- #2 What are Zones + Overlays?

In our second instalment of our Town Planning 101 series we explain what Zones and Overlays mean for your development plans.

The Zone that affects your property is the primary tool local governments have to assess how the community and business use and development land across all suburbs. A zone sets expectations of how land is used (which in many cases with our clients is existing residential) and the proposed development. Each zone broadly deals with land uses such as residential, commercial, industrial or public land uses. The zone for example may guide the height of your property, how many dwellings your land can have, and importantly how the land is used in your community. 

All land in Victoria is covered by a Planning Zone. A Town Planner can help you identify what zone your land is in.

Overlays on the other hand are a complementary planning control to the zone that guides how your land is used. Unlike zones, that deal with how you use and/or development your land, an overlay generally seeks to control a specific aspect of the development of land. Some properties have no overlays affecting them, whilst others could have multiple. For example, your land may have an overlay which seeks to protect vegetation or bushfire risk, through to heritage and provides your town planner and designer with additional guidance as to how you can design your home or investment.

If you would like to understand more on what the overlays mean for your development proposal please feel free to reach out for your complimentary consultation with the team here. Book online at a time that suits you best or send us an email at hello@urbankind.studio. We’d love to help you understand the planning rules for your land.