How the West reaches its Best:
- Reforms to the planning system should be informed by robust data and evidence, and support long-term positive outcomes for the community and facilitate appropriate consideration of local context and character in planning decisions
- Further reform of the Development Assessment Panel system to boost local representation and enhance community engagement in planning and decision-making
- Strategic planning for Public Open Space (POS) and a review of 10% POS for new residential land
- Expedite the review of the Metropolitan Regional Scheme (MRS) to align with the Peel Region and Greater Bunbury Region Schemes, reduce the regulatory burdens on Local Government and clarify requirements for the public
A well-functioning planning system is critical to creating better places to live and work for all Western Australians through the development of policy and planning decisions for the long-term benefit of the community.
While the planning system has many similarities across WA, the State is vast and there are a range of unique economic, social, environmental and cultural factors that requires planning to consider the local context. Local Governments have innate understanding of their areas and communities and is uniquely placed to manage growth and development and make planning decisions that consider local needs under the umbrella of the State planning system.
WALGA’s Performance Monitoring Project demonstrates the consistently high performance of Local Government in undertaking its strategic and statutory planning functions.
In 2022-23, 43 Local Governments, representing 90% of WA’s population and 94% of the State’s population growth:
- Determined Development Applications (DAs) worth $5.7 billion, with 98% of applications approved,
- – 97% of DAs were determined by officers under delegation,
- – 92% of all building permits were determined within statutory timeframes, and
- – 83% of all DAs were determined within statutory timeframes.
WALGA has a demonstrated, long-held commitment to supporting the underlying goals of planning reform to make the planning system more transparent, efficient, consistent and easier to navigate while ensuring appropriate consideration of local context and character.
It is essential that planning reforms are informed by evidence and data and that the impact of reforms are monitored to ensure that the intended benefits are being realised. The State Government’s decision to assume more planning powers from Local Governments as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently in response to the housing crisis has reduced community input into planning and decision-making. Without providing evidence to support these policy decisions, community confidence and public trust in the planning system has been eroded.
Planning Department, City of Swan
Development Assessment Panels (DAP)
The DAP system was intended to improve the planning system by providing more transparency, consistency and reliability in decision making on complex development applications, streamlining the approval process and striking an appropriate balance between local representation and professional advice in decision making.
Both justifications questioned the suitability of Local Government to continue their long held role as decision makers for development proposals and insinuated that these tasks have become less efficient and ineffective in recent years.
While the DAP system has undergone extensive reform and modification, WALGA’s analysis indicates that DAPs are not delivering on its objectives. DAP determination timeframes have ballooned in recent years, and the complexity of DAP proposals has declined, with 25% of all applications having a value between $2 million to $3 million.
Recent reforms to the DAP system that remove the mandatory DAP threshold, allowing proponents to take proposals with a value of greater than $10 million to a Local Government have been positive. Local Governments report that many proponents are now choosing to have proposals determined by them over a DAP indicating trust in Local Government decision making processes remain strong.
However, further reform is needed to ensure that the DAP system is achieving its intended objectives:
- Allowing Third Party Appeal Rights on DAP decisions by Local Governments on decisions made by DAPs where it varies from the recommendations of the Local Government.
- Raising the DAP project value threshold from $2 million to $5 million to reflect increasing construction costs and to reduce the proportion of low-cost applications from the DAP system.
- Adjusting the composition DAPs to ensure equal representation of Specialist Members and Local Government Members.
- Improving the transparency of DAP processes and decisions to ensure the community retains trust in the planning system.
Public Open Space (POS)
In recent years, changes in housing development has seen a shift towards larger houses on smaller blocks of land. However, the current requirement for 10% of new residential land to be designated for POS has not changed, which means that POS is in high demand. There are a range of competing demands on available public space, including leisure and recreation, biodiversity preservation, and enhancing tree canopy.
New subdivisions and developments should include appropriate Public Open Space or POS contributions to provide environmental benefits and meet the community’s needs. The State Government should lead the strategic planning of POS, working closely with Local Governments.
Some of the priorities to enhance the planning and provision of POS include:
- Reviewing the requirement for a minimum of 10% of all new residential land to be designated as POS to determine if this metric is still appropriate.
- Developing a long-term regional sporting facilities plan (10+ years) to identify and address gaps in regional sporting facilities, ensuring timely acquisition and funding of regional open spaces, particularly sporting facilities, in line with population growth.
- Streamlining the process for collecting and spending cash-in-lieu contributions by delegating these functions to Local Governments.
- Broadening the scope of how cash-in-lieu funds can be used, allowing for a wider range of works beyond the current limitations.
- Allowing for the collection of cash-in-lieu contributions at the development application stage and for all types of subdivisions, including two-lot subdivisions or developments.
- Investigating the option of a standard fixed-rate contribution fee per lot or dwelling when contributions are intended for public open space upgrades.
Public Open Space, Port Coogee, City of Cockburn
THE REQUIREMENT FOR 10% RESIDENTIAL LAND TO BE DESIGNATED AS POS NO LONGER WORKS WITH A SHIFT TO HIGHER DENSITY HOUSING
Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) modernisation and delegations
The Metropolitan Regional Scheme (MRS) is outdated and should be updated to align with the Peel Region Scheme and Greater Bunbury Region Scheme, especially concerning exemptions to development approval and delegation protocols.
Efforts to streamline the current planning framework within the metropolitan area should aim to ensure that decision-making processes, delegation of authority, and tools within the MRS are up-to-date and foster greater consistency across all three regional schemes.
The State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) decision in the matter Shalom Group Inc. and City of Joondalup [2003] WASAT 63, highlighted the need for clarity regarding exemptions under local planning schemes and approvals under the MRS. This matter determined that where development approval under the relevant local planning scheme is not required by way of an exemption, a separate approval is required under clause 26(1) of the MRS.
The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) attempted to address this issue through the Position Statement: Exemptions under local planning schemes and approvals under the Metropolitan Regional Scheme, but the guidance provided remains limited. Individual Local Governments are still largely required to determine whether a Development Application (DA) is required under the MRS, leading to inconsistencies and confusion.
It is acknowledged that the MRS review has begun, which should be expedited to reduce the regulatory burdens on Local Governments and clarify requirements for the public.
The current process of assessing exemptions under the MRS and potentially processing a DA for MRS approval is inefficient, and has potential legal risks. This approach contradicts recent efforts to streamline planning processes, and simplify the planning system.
Addressing these issues through a comprehensive update of the MRS is crucial to achieving a more efficient and transparent planning process that meets the needs of both stakeholders and the broader community.
