Mornington
Morni ngton
16 June 2015
A Morningto n Peninsula la nd
mark
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Speed no limit for this model flyboy DANIEL Arapakis isn’t one to sit down doing nothing, but a series of operations on his ankle put a stop to anything that involved running or jumping. Standing still wasn’t an option either and the youngster fixed his eyes on the skies. That was just over a couple of years ago and since then 13-year-old Daniel has earned his stripes at the controls of an aeroplane. His remote controlled, scaled down version of the real thing is about to take him to Europe where he’ll compete in an international model aeroplane contest against flyers twice his age. See “Model flyer speeds into world challenge”, Page 9 Picture: Gary Sissons
Flood relief for thousands David Harrison david@mpnews.com.au ABOUT 20,000 peninsula properties are no longer designated flood-prone and more could be removed from the list as a result of “state of the art” mapping and weather modelling still under way across the shire, shire councillors have been told. But while councillors voted to endorse the amended maps already com-
pleted, municipal building surveyor David Kotsiakos faced a torrent of questions from councillors dissatisfied with aspects of the maps, presented at the 9 June council meeting. The maps’ aim is to set floor heights for new building works, which will keep them above floodwater. The mapping program is separate from measures needed to deal with predicted sea level rise. Mr Kotsiakos said the new maps
covered the more densely populated areas of the peninsula. “These areas are currently experiencing a high level of development and/or redevelopment,” he said. “Community members operating in this space expect council to promptly provide them with accurate and reliable information.” Several councillors said flood maps were not accurate enough and that property owners needed to rely on them when planning to build or extend.
“Building [work] is being severely hampered,” Cr Graham Pittock told the meeting. “The problem is that land is not properly designated and builders can’t be sure [of getting floor levels correct] in flood-prone areas. “The private person needs to do due diligence up front.” But even if they do, applicants must ensure their block has not been assessed for flooding between them gaining a planning permit and before build-
ing starts, since the land’s status could change. Meeting flood requirements can add many thousands of dollars to building costs. Cr Lynn Bowden said the maps were too small to be useful. All 34 maps were made available for public inspection on 10 June at shire offices. Acting director of planning Allan Cowley said the maps were an improvement on the old ones. Continued Page 10
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