24 August 2011
The review of the NSW planning system is now underway, led by its joint chairs, Tim Moore and Ron Dyer.
This review, as currently structured, will not deliver any benefits until 2013 at the earliest. So our highest priority is to argue, direct to government, for urgent interim reforms.
The interim reforms we’re seeking are:
- appeal rights for rezoning applicants;
- more flexibility for individual development proposals to be assessed on their own merits, rather than through rigid pre-determined local council controls;
- requiring planning authorities to consider the financial constraints on the economic viability of desirable development;
- timely decision-making enforced by a mandatory development assessment and rezoning timetable;
- abolition or major reduction in development levies; and
- a better decision-making process – at arm’s-length from parochial politics – when a key reason for a development is to service the needs of people who aren’t currently locals.
Nonetheless, we have also begun engaging in the longer-term review process in robust manner. Our face-to-face discussions with the chairs, Tim Moore and Ron Dyer, have focused on these issues:
The limitations of strategic planning
- Strategic land use planning should be based on multiple scenarios and facilitative rather than prohibitive.
- Introduce as-of-right development, but also allow discretionary assessment for innovative or unanticipated development.
Appeal rights for rezoning applicants
- Timely decision-making enforced by a mandatory rezoning timetable.
- Appeal rights for spot rezonings refused or blocked.
Development assessment processes
- Regional assessment for development whose benefits are diffused across a region, but whose costs are concentrated in a single local government area.
- Timely decision-making enforced by a mandatory development assessment timetable.
- Deemed approvals.
- Reduction in state government agency concurrences, with deemed concurrences.
- Considering economic viability of desirable development (i.e. ensuring conditions or development standards don’t kill project feasibility).
Abolition or reform of development levies
Allowing for competition
In addition to our initial face-to-face discussions, we have provided the chairs of the review with a research paper, Making it Work (it’s available here).
The NSW Government now has a dedicated website where the progress of the planning review may be monitored. This website may be accessed from here.
Tim Moore and Ron Dyer, the co-chairs of the NSW Planning Review, will be available to speak to and hear from Urban Taskforce members on Friday 21 October 2011, 8.45am for 9.00am sharp commencement (approximately 1 hour) at the offices of Norton Rose.
The event will be a meeting of the Urban Taskforce Planning Subcommittee. As the Planning Subcommittee has not met for some time, this is an opportunity for interested members to nominate themselves to participate in the subcommittee, and attend this event. Please email Catherine Ross if you wish to attend. There are limits on seating capacity.
