The development of Garden Vale proved to be controversial, mainly because of arguments over who would pay to drain the land. Much of the area's land was too wet to be built upon without appropriate drainage being installed, and by 1911, several neighbouring estates, the Council and Victorian Railways all had a stake in the outcome. By 1913, the area had a progress association and in 1916, the council surveyor prepared plans for the four north–south streets in Gardenvale, which were already availed of a small but growing retail centre.