The Numurkah rezoning was a small part of a broad-scale amendment to the Moira Planning Scheme.
It effectively sought to switch a farming zone to an Industrial 1 zone, while changing a neighbouring Industrial 1 zone to a farming zone.
This would have switched the zones around and pushed the Industrial 1 zone away from Numurkah.
Council and the Victorian planning department first prepared the amendment in December 2020, and publicly exhibited the notice for several months, but failed to directly notify landowners.
The error was discovered in August 2022, just days before an independent planning panel was due to hear submissions from the public.
All properties in the industrial zone (to be changed to farmland) were not notified.
Three of the four properties in the farmland zone (to be changed to industrial) were notified — one was not.
Of the 13 neighbours who should have been directly contacted, only three were aware of the proposed change.
In light of the error, a report was prepared for council’s August 24 meeting, which recommended dropping the rezoning.
The report acknowledged that while word-of-mouth had informed many landholders, it could not be proven that “proper and appropriate notice” was given.
“Given the nature of the proposed rezoning and the impacts it would have on affected properties, however, it is considered that council has a moral and ethical responsibility to not proceed with the rezoning, regardless of its merits or strategic justification,” the report read.
Cr Wayne Limbrick said the original idea was to give Moira Shire a “bank of industrial land” adjacent to Numurkah.
“It’s been hotly discussed and there are some issues around appropriate notice being given and a sense of fair play,” Cr Limbrick said.
Cr Ed Cox expressed frustration with the mess up.
“Probably the fairest way to describe this, unfortunately, is the bureaucracy got a little bit tangled up through one department not within the shire, but within another ‘foreign body’ if I can say that,” Cr Cox said.
“And we’re left as council to deal with it and it just slows the whole process down and it upsets the local community of Numurkah.”
Councillor and Numurkah resident John Beitzel said he found the whole thing a “little messy”.
“I’m trying to be as diplomatic as I possibly can,” Cr Beitzel said.
“You don’t like to see these sorts of projects halted. On a good day there are enough hoops to jump through at the very best of times.
“But it’s hard to proceed and go forward when you’ve got 14 residential buildings who haven’t received the relevant information.”
All nine of the Moira Shire councillors voted to drop the Numurkah rezoning from Planning Scheme Amendment C93.
However, the rezoning may go ahead in the future — after appropriate notice is given.