The City of Cockburn's response to PerthNow about Planning reform measures
Question: How do you feel about the reforms?
Answer: There have only been two applications within Cockburn that have been considered by the State Development Assessment Unit (SDAU) since its introduction. Both applications had the support of the City:
- Shopping centre expansion, Commercial and Residential Development, 816 Beeliar Drive, Success. Value $1.08b. Determined 28.10.21 - Approved
- Wharf Extension, Land Reclamation and Servicing, Australian Marine Complex, Lot 804 Quill Way and Lot 4552, Henderson. Value $28m. Determined 15.7.21 - Approved
Question: How will it affect the way council deals with development applications?
Answer: The City supports the refinement of the eligibility criteria, as in the past there have been some proposals which aren’t necessarily of state and regional significance and could have been dealt with by either the relevant local government authority or Development Assessment Panel (DAP).
The City strongly supports the use of the pre-lodgement process to determine whether a proposal is of state and regional significance and warrants determination by the SDAU. In the case where a proposal departs from the local planning requirements, the SDAU should engage with the relevant local government authority at the stage of the pre-lodgement assessment.
Question: What positives do you see, if any, in the reforms?
Answer: The reduction of the number of members on the Commission should not reduce the local government representation.
The reduction to three DAPs and the permanent appointment of experienced technical experts as presiding and deputy presiding members should create more consistency for the decision making process. Noting that there will be no change to the local Council representation in the DAP system.
The City supports making DAPs a completely opt-in process as it anticipates that this will see a reduction in the number of DAP applications within Cockburn. Noting that the current value thresholds for opt-in DAP applications is $2m.