What is The Monash Boulevards Urban Design Framework?

The Monash Boulevards Urban Design Framework (the "UDF") provides a strong vision for the major boulevards of Dandenong Road (Princes Highway) and Springvale Road to guide the future residential development and improvements to the public realm.

The document was prepared by Tract Consultants and was adopted by Council in December 2022, following two stages of consultation in 2021 and 2022.

The document is divided into three parts:

  • Part A - Vision and Framework
  • Part B - Precinct Plans (for each of the 12 precincts)
  • Part C - Built form design guidelines

Council prepared an implementation plan that covers a number of actions from the UDF, including strategic work, further design and master planning, capital works, and advocacy / facilitation. Amendment C172 covers the short term strategic work actions.

More information:

What is proposed in Amendment C172?

This amendment implements The Monash Boulevards Urban Design Framework by:

  • Rezoning residential land along Dandenong Road and Springvale Road to facilitate change (except as excluded)
  • Rezoning land to a suitable surrounding zone (where required)
  • Applying the Design and Development Overlay to guide decision-making
  • Introducing a new local policy
  • Making other minor administrative changes

More information:

Rezoning of residential land to facilitate change

General Residential Zone 4 (GRZ4)

This zone is proposed to be applied to the majority of the residential land along the boulevards, in the areas where the UDF has designated mandatory building heights of up to four storeys / 13.5 metres. These are within Area A as referred to in the Design and Development Overlay (DDO6).

Residential Growth Zone 7 (RGZ7)

This zone is proposed to be applied to well-located residential land along the boulevards (i.e. being also within the accessible areas around activity centres, and forming opportune gateways), in the areas where the UDF has designated building heights of up to six storeys / 21 metres. These are within Area B as referred to in the Design and Development Overlay (DDO6).

More information:

Rezoning of residential land to a suitable surrounding zone

The properties in proximity to Lebanon Crescent, Mulgrave do not have a direct interface or access with Springvale Road or Dandenong Road. These properties are proposed to be rezoned to General Residential Zone 3, matching the zone/schedule applied to the adjoining residential land and maintaining the existing mandatory height limit of 11 metres / three storeys. For similar reasons, 1 Frank Street, Glen Waverley is proposed to be rezoned to GRZ3 too.

More information:

Residential land excluded from the amendment

The residential land along Springvale Road that is between Madeline Street and Waverley Road (all of Precinct SR2, some of Precincts SR1 and SR3 in the UDF), and Dandenong Road between Clayton Road and Blackburn Road (Precinct SR5 in the UDF) have been excluded from Amendment C172 as precinct planning work is currently being undertaken by the Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA). The precinct planning work will be implemented by future planning scheme amendments (undertaken by the SRLA).

The residential land along Dandenong Road that is between Poath Road and Warrigal Road (all of Precinct DR1, some of Precinct DR2 in the UDF) have been excluded from Amendment C172 as precinct planning work is currently being undertaken for Chadstone Activity Centre by the Department of Transport & Planning (DTP) and the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA). The precinct planning work will be implemented by future planning scheme amendments (undertaken by DTP/VPA).

More information:

Map key

  • UDF_SECTIO = Section of boulevard in the Urban Design Framework (e.g. Dandenong Road 2 - DR2)
  • PRECINCT = Precinct in proposed Design & Development Overlay 6 (DDO6) (e.g. Area A, Area B, Key Development Site - KDS)
  • PROP_ZONE = Proposed Zone (e.g. GRZ4, RGZ7, MUZ3)
  • EXIST_ZONE = Existing Zone (e.g. GRZ2)
  • PROP_OVLY = Proposed Overlay (e.g. DDO6, DDO19)
  • HEIGHT = Mandatory or discretionary height in proposed zone or DDO
  • PA = Planning Authority (e.g. Victorian Planning Authority - VPA, Suburban Rail Loop Authority - SRLA)

Applying a Design and Development Overlay

The amendment proposes to apply the Design and Development Overlay 6 (DDO6) to most of the residential land along the boulevards. The Design and Development Overlay sets out the preferred built form requirements, including building design, ground and upper level setbacks, landscaping and fencing, and vehicle crossovers and driveways.

Targeted controls

A permit is only required by DDO6 if:

  • The proposed building height exceeds three storeys
  • The proposal building encroaches into the 7.6m boulevard setback
  • The boulevard setback is proposed to have less than 60% landscaped / permeable surfaces
  • The proposed building is to be used for non-accommodation purposes (e.g. medical centres, convenience shops, convenience restaurants, etc)
  • A fence is proposed that has a street interface (e.g. an interface with a boulevard or a side street).

There are more than adequate requirements set out in the schedule to the residential zone and in ResCode (Clauses 54 and 55) to deal with residential development of three storeys or less.

Encouraging consolidation

DDO6 encourages land assembly / consolidation in order to achieve the maximum heights in each of the three areas. Lots widths along the boulevards are around 17m on average, meaning that to meet the preferred building heights, at least two lots will need to be consolidated in order to provide adequate space for landscaping and to protect the amenity of adjoining properties. The consolidation requirements are summarised in the table below but refer to the proposed DDO6 schedule for further detail.

Height area Site width Building height
Area A (GRZ4) <24m 3 storeys
Area A (GRZ4) >24m 4 storeys
Area B (RGZ7) <30m 4 storeys
Area B (RGZ7) >30m 6 storeys


More information

Policy and minor administrative changes

The amendment proposes a new local policy at Clause 15.01-5L (Neighbourhood Character - The Monash Boulevards) and an updated residential character types map.

More information:

Administrative changes

The amendment proposes minor administrative changes to insert The Monash Boulevards UDF as a background document, and remove the preparation of and implementation of this document as further strategic work.

More information:

Specific changes for a key development site

There are two key development sites nominated in the UDF, at 2277 Dandenong Road, Mulgrave and 186 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley, which have been singled out for specific development outcomes and built form requirements. As noted above, the land along Springvale Road within GWAC has been excluded from the amendment and this includes 186 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley.

2277 Dandenong Road, Mulgrave

This is a large site located close to the intersection of Springvale and Dandenong Roads. It currently contains a hotel and a bottleshop. The amendment proposes to rezone the site from the General Residential Zone 2 to the Mixed Use Zone 3 (MUZ3) and apply Design and Development Overlay 19 (DDO19). The DDO sets a preferred height of eight storeys / 27 metres, and with generous setback requirements from Dandenong Road, the side and rear streets and the laneway.

More information: