Greater Shepparton City Council has approved subdivisions of land along Raftery Rd in Kialla.
On Tuesday night councillors voted to rezone a section of land bordered by Raftery Rd, Bennetts Rd and the Goulburn Valley Hwy and Seven Creeks from rural living zone to urban growth zone.
It means the land is now able to have one home per two hectares, rather than one per eight hectares.
Cr Fern Summer said the area was part of council’s growth zone, and most submissions to council about the project were in support of the rezoning.
“I want to congratulate planning staff because they resolved all concerns before moving forward,” she said.
Cr Dinny Adem said the development had been “a long time coming” but was worried the land could be subject to flooding if it was further subdivided.
“Recent flooding indicated to me that land is subject to inundation and that occurred, not to the extent I expected ... maybe that’s one of the attractions to wanting to live there,” he said.
“My concerns are potentially if more subdivision does occur, smaller blocks may further subdivide and it turns into a residential development, but I’m just worried we’re simply going out too far into areas that are highly vulnerable.”
Council also approved subdivision of another section of land, at 480 Raftery Rd, to 2ha per block, with six homes proposed for the site.
Cr Geoff Dobson said the homes would be built above the floodplain, despite them backing on to the Goulburn River.
“I believe that area will become a premium area,” he said.