I write in relation to Lane Cove Council’s proposed Planning Agreements Policy. Urban Taskforce Australia has reviewed the draft Policy and provides the following comments:
Value capture
Urban Taskforce is pleased that the draft policy states, in 7.1 Principes for using a planning agreement, that:
“Council will not use a planning agreement as a value-capture mechanism. Any public benefit sought must remain grounded in planning purpose, infrastructure need and public interest.”
Further on in the draft policy – clause 8.6 What Council will generally not accept – it appears to qualify this, by stating that Council will generally not support a planning agreement proposal that:
“Is primarily a value capture mechanism unrelated to planning purpose.”
This is ambiguous. The draft policy needs to be clear and consistent throughout that planning agreements will not be used for value capture.
To read the full submission, CLICK HERE