Amendment No.11

Amendment No.11: Home Zones – define design standards distinct from local streets

The proposed amendment introduces a dedicated heading and expanded design guidance for Home Zones / Intimate Local Streets to improve clarity, consistency, and implementation. While the Planning Scheme currently references Home Zones within the broader description of Local Streets, the lack of a standalone section makes the guidance difficult to locate and interpret. This amendment addresses that by giving Home Zones / Intimate Streets a clearer identity within the street hierarchy and by providing specific criteria to distinguish them from standard local streets. It responds to implementation experience to date, where the intent of Home Zones has sometimes been diluted by over-provision of car parking or inappropriate layout. The inclusion of additional design guidance, including surface finishes, parking layout, and enclosure, reinforces their function as pedestrian-priority spaces, while supporting placemaking, passive surveillance, and low-speed movement. A clarifying note under Figure 2.2.6 further ensures consistency in interpretation. This amendment supports the SDZ’s goals for compact, walkable neighbourhoods and high-quality residential environments aligned with sustainable movement principles. These additions build upon the existing Planning Scheme guidance for Local Streets and Home Zones, translating its principles into clearer, implementable design criteria to support more consistent and place-responsive development outcomes.

Insert a new heading and supporting text after the “Local Streets” subsection in Section 2.2.4: 

Local Streets 

The purpose of Local Streets is to provide access within communities and to Arterial and Link Streets. Local Streets will act as quieter traffic calmed thoroughfares that are closely fronted and overlooked by development and will provide through access to neighbourhood blocks and local open spaces. These streets will ensure that development on the SDZ lands is accessible from a number of different directions. 

By virtue of their speed and function, Local Streets will be unlikely to carry high levels of vehicular traffic and a greater emphasis will be placed on pedestrian movement, activity and place making. 

The provision of public transport services on Local Streets should be avoided in order to ensure that their place function is not undermined. Existing streets designated as Local Streets (part of Hayden’s Lane and Lynch’s Lane) shall be upgraded and improved accordingly. 

Some Local Streets will comprise Home Zones or Intimate Local Streets in the form of fully shared surfaces for the integrated movement of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists in quieter residential areas. Further to Local Street that provides strategic pedestrian and cycle through routes, junctions between Homezones and Link Streets should also be filtered to prioritise pedestrian and cyclist through access. Designated Pedestrian Priority Local Streets within the Clonburris and Kishoge Urban Centres shall also be designed to be fully pedestrianised outside of delivery hours (see Section 2.8 Built Form and Design)

Home Zones and Intimate Local Streets

Home Zones, also referred to as Intimate Local Streets, are low-speed, residential-scaled streets designed for shared use by pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles. They must be clearly distinct in character from standard Local Streets, both in layout and materiality. The design intent is to create a safe and attractive public realm where pedestrian movement and community interaction take precedence, and where cars do not dominate the visual or functional character of the street.

Home Zones should be designed with:

• Narrow carriageways and generally parallel parking on one side of the street, alternating sides where appropriate (see Figure 2.2.6);
• High-quality surface materials, with variations in colour or texture to reinforce pedestrian priority while maintaining appropriate functional standards;
• Integrated landscaping, street furniture, or level changes to delineate space and reduce traffic speeds without relying on bollards or excessive signage;
• A strong sense of spatial enclosure through building orientation and frontages directly addressing the street where possible;
• Minimised hardstanding and consolidated parking to reduce the visual prominence of cars;
• Design to promote passive surveillance, avoiding blank facades or excessive boundary treatments; and
• Generally filtered permeability at junctions with Link Streets to discourage through-traffic while facilitating walking and cycling.