Perth Planning News Thread

Discussion in 'Development' started by theperthurbanist, 8th Sep, 2016.

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  1. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    Hello all.

    I thought it would be good to start a centralised thread for posting all manner of news related to planning issues and changes in Perth. Everything from state-wide policies to individual planning decisions, rezonings, etc. - anything that affects development and property investing in Perth. If it's interesting to you it may be of interest to someone else! Hopefully it will help others stay abreast of what's going on around Perth.
     
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  2. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    I'll get the ball rolling...

    This just released this morning by the Property Council Australia:

    All but two Perth councils fail planning test
    Kate Emery - The West Australian on September 8, 2016, 12:40 am

    Just two of 29 Perth metropolitan councils have been given the tick for planning performance in a highly critical Property Council of Australia report to be released today.

    Billed as the first independent assessment of its kind, the report found most councils were struggling to implement planning reforms, had outdated local planning schemes and did not monitor or review their performance.

    The Department of Planning and WA Planning Commission were also criticised for taking too long to review new local planning schemes or amendments to existing schemes.

    The Property Council has long been critical of the local government sector’s planning record, arguing inconsistencies hamper development and the State’s ability to meet its infill targets.

    The cities of Melville and Belmont were the only councils deemed to have “a high level of planning performance” across strategic planning, statutory planning, delegation of approval to planning officers and timeliness of approvals.

    Councils were assessed and given a score out of 23 based on whether they had a current local planning strategy, an up-to-date local planning scheme, appropriately delegated development applications to experts and processed planning applications within the required 60 days.

    The report said performance monitoring in the planning system was “almost non-existent”.

    The Town of Cambridge was the lowest ranked council because it had only just started work on a local planning strategy, had lower-than-average levels of delegation and no data on processing times.

    Property Council WA executive director Lino Iacomella said the results were “concerning”.
     

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  3. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    TBH the scorecard it pretty simplistic - I wouldn't call it a serious analysis of the performance of local governments, and I certainly wouldn't be basing my decisions on where to invest on it, but It's still an interesting comparison and the 'Application Process Speed' measure could be something to consider in feasibilities/DD.
     
  4. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    FYI, I the report doesn't seem to be on the PCA website yet, thought it is supposed to be release today. I have a hard copy. ;)
     
  5. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    Also for those who missed the announcement last week:

    New PlanWA online mapping tool launched
    Last week Planning Minister, Hon. Donna Faragher, launched online interactive mapping tool PlanWA. The tool uses data from the WA Whole of Government Open Data Policy and Shared Location Information Platform to allow access to the latest spatial planning information. The Minister said, “PlanWA is a user-friendly website that helps simplify the planning system, allowing industry, local government stakeholders or any property owner to access relevant planning schemes and policies online. Having information such as zoning and residential density codes can help them make more informed decisions, particularly in relation to any future development that may or may not be able to occur in an area.” More information and to access the tool, visit the department website
    here. [source: UDIAWA Urban Express]

    It's a pretty good tool. Similar in many respects to individual LGAs IntraMaps mapping.
     
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  6. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    Cambridge Amendment 31 refused
    On Monday the Town of Cambridge was notified by the Minister for Planning that Amendment 31 had been refused to their town planning scheme. The Amendment had been proposed in order to meet the State Government’s infill and housing diversity strategy, and had already undergone modifications throughout the approval process. Minister Faragher said, “In the context of various advice received and considering the range of views, I sought and obtained further advice from the Department of Planning, including advice on the scope and effect of the relevant regulatory changes which were enacted late last year. Given the advice and those discussions, I have decided against progressing with Amendment 31 in its current form as the eventual outcome is unlikely to be one that would be supported”. The Town of Cambridge will progress a local planning strategy, at request of the Minister, for infill and housing diversity within their region. [source: UDIAWA Urban Express]
     
  7. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    And one last one...

    Strata Titles Act Reform – update
    Last Friday, UDIA’s Built Form Committee met with the Landgate Strata Titles Act (STA) reform team, seeking an update following recent advice that the much anticipated STA Bill was unlikely to reach Parliament by the end of the year. While timeframes for introducing a new Bill to Parliament are still to be advised, Landgate continue to assist the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office (PCO) to progress the drafting process associated with, what is a large and complex body of work. In the interest of promoting understanding of proposed Bill provisions, Landgate will be publishing information papers with accompanying explanatory videos on their website over the coming months. This information will cover discrete elements in relation to the intended operation of reform areas, promoting transparency through the process.

    UDIA has continued to highlight the importance of Strata Reforms in WA, having raised the need for expediency in drafting with the Minister for Lands. STA reform will form a key component of UDIA’s strategy ahead of the State Election in March 2017. In promoting understanding of the benefits associated with these reforms, as well as the importance for both industry and the community, it is hoped the STA Bill will gain bipartisan support.
    [source: UDIAWA Urban Express]

    It will be interesting to see these reforms when they are finally released - sounds like a win-win on most fronts.
     
  8. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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  9. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    The problem with benchmarking performance is this:

    “The results of our benchmarking report are generally disappointing with only 2 councils – the Cities of Melville and Belmont, showing a high level of planning performance,” Property Council WA executive director Lino Iacomella said.
    I just spent 4 months with City of Belmont getting one additional grouped dwelling approved on a 4 unit site. The "joke" of it is that the dwelling fully complied with R-Code requirements and ended up being approved without modifications. It just took 4 months to get there. City of Belmont might have benchmarked well but that won't necessarily reflect in the experiences of proponents.

     
  10. Aaron Sice

    Aaron Sice Well-Known Member

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    Nowhere near as good as Intramaps. Clunky AF, slow and lack of detail like Water Corp contours, ANEF contours etc.
     
  11. thatbum

    thatbum Well-Known Member

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    Yeah thats what I thought when I had a brief play around with it last week. I struck me as some sort of early version, waiting for more features to be added.
     
  12. Aaron Sice

    Aaron Sice Well-Known Member

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    To think it was vetted by someone before going up too....
     
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  13. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    It didn't have the info I was looking for. I thought Landgate was going to aggregate all the datasets and release a viewer but it doesn't seem to have what I am looking for either. Some Councils have good datasets in intramaps

    Map Viewer
     
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  14. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    Interestingly, I have been using this platform for months? I can't work out what has changed or why the fanfare around its release when I swear it has been available for some time (even my bookmark is the same as the new link). Quite a mystery.

    Agree it is a bit light on information. I find it handy though when you need to get some basic info (accurate land area, MRS zoning, TPS zoning) across a range of sites in a range of LGAs.
     
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  15. Aaron Sice

    Aaron Sice Well-Known Member

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    It's just reinventing the wheel and wasting taxpayers money.

    Intramaps is free and LGAs themselves use it.
     
  16. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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  17. Aaron Sice

    Aaron Sice Well-Known Member

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    See.....groups like this do nothing to help their cause.

    Now; you're either a NIMBY or WAAA affiliated.

    Polarised again. Howsabouts everyone just STFU and look at what's appropriate (TOD and their catchment areas) and what's not....?!

    No?

    Fine.
     
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  18. LifesGood

    LifesGood Well-Known Member

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    Aaron's grumpy again
     
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  19. Aaron Sice

    Aaron Sice Well-Known Member

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    Rawr.
     
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  20. theperthurbanist

    theperthurbanist Well-Known Member

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    Strata reform update
    Landgate has today release an updated reform statement, advising that a Bill containing the draft Strata Title Reform Act amendments is anticipated for introduction to Parliament next year. Portions of the draft Bill will be release to strata industry groups and government agencies for review and comment on a confidential basis, the first of which relates to the regulation of strata managers. The UDIA Built Form Committee have been actively engaged with the Strata Reform process and will continue to consult with Landgate in relation to these draft Bill portions as they are made available. Today’s strata reform update can be found on Landgate’s website here.
    [source: UDIA(WA) Urban Express]

    ... bring it on.
     
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