Edition 04 · Apr 2026 Filed under — For Building Designers Feasibly · The Brief

For Building Designers

Start every sketch with the envelope already in hand.

Schedule-specific height, setbacks, garden area, coverage, plus ResCode Clause 55 for Victorian sites — resolved against the council's schedule, not just the VPP defaults.

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FIG. 01 — THE ENVELOPE, EXTRUDED

Status quo

Why schematic stage stalls

  1. 01

    Client emails an address

    Wants a sketch by Friday.

  2. 02

    You need the envelope

    Height, setbacks, garden area, coverage, overlays, before you put pen to SketchUp.

  3. 03

    You read the planning scheme

    Zone schedule, Clause 55, council variations, overlay schedules. 45 minutes.

  4. 04

    You sketch

    But 20% of the time, a schedule constraint invalidates the concept later.

The lookup

What the envelope response gives you

PLAN BUILDABLE 8.26 m WIDE SORRETT AVENUE N SECTION 13.5 m MANDATORY · 4 STOREYS 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
  1. 01 Lot areaState cadastre · PFI 507083 969 m²
  2. 02 Frontage · depthState cadastre · regular lot 12 × 80.8 m
  3. 03 Zone & scheduleCl.32.10 · Stonnington HCTZ1
  4. 04 Max heightCl.32.10 · mandatory 13.5 m
  5. 05 Street setbackResCode Cl.55 · estimated 6 m
  6. 06 Side & rear setbackResCode Cl.55 1.87 m
  7. 07 Site coverageCl.32.10 · 581 m² 60%
  8. 08 OverlaysCl.43.01 + Cl.45.06 · permit HO396 · DCPO1

One call, one real address. Geometry is indicative; every value is the live answer. Garden area is absent because HCTZ1 has no garden-area requirement — we don’t invent a control to fill a row.

Every row carries its clause and its confidence tier. “VPP default” means the zone provision applies because this council’s schedule sets no different figure — which is itself the answer you needed, and is labelled rather than dressed up as a verified value.

Max height — schedule-resolved

Not the zone default. The council's actual schedule value, with confidence tag.

ResCode Clause 55 (VIC)

Building envelope generator: height, side/rear setbacks, neighbourhood character, overlooking, private open space. All 7 standards under VC267.

Garden area %

The schedule's actual requirement, not the 35% VPP default.

Overlays that affect built form

Heritage, neighbourhood character, design & development, significant landscape, with their design implications noted.

Lot shape + frontage orientation

Which edge faces the street. Aspect. Facing direction. Compactness. Battle-axe flag.

Source-linked

Every figure clicks through to the planning scheme page it came from.

Before / after

The first-sketch cycle

Without it

~45 min + occasional redo

  1. Open state planning portal
  2. Find zone schedule, read it
  3. Cross-check overlay schedules
  4. Apply ResCode Clause 55 mentally
  5. Sketch, and hope the schedule isn't stricter than expected

With Feasibly

~3 min

  1. Lookup address
  2. Copy envelope figures into your CAD notes
  3. Sketch with the real numbers

Footnotes

What building designers ask

Does it cover NSW ADG for apartments?
Partially — apartment-specific ADG compliance isn't in the envelope response yet. LEP height and FSR are.
Does it read DDO schedules?
Zone schedule is the primary envelope source. DDO-imposed variations are flagged but not yet parsed for every council. We cite the DDO code so you can review directly.
Is it reliable enough for permit application?
No — use it for concept stage. Verify against the planning scheme before submission.

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