The state planning tribunal has approved a five-storey, green apartment building in East Brunswick with zero car parking, just three months after it rejected a similar development proposal because it lacked car parking.

The proposed development is on Lygon Street in East Brunswick, more than one kilometre from the nearest railway station but overlooking a tram line.

An artist's impression of Brunswick's Nightingale building, which was rejected by VCAT.

The popularity of cycling in Melbourne's inner north also played a key part in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) decision. Approval was given on the condition the developer, Vincent Corporation, boost bicycle parking from 14 spaces to 20 and reduce motorcycle parking from seven spaces to five.

The VCAT decision is a defeat for the City of Moreland, which had blocked the development because it believed it would put too much pressure on demand for nearby on-street parking.