Page 653 - Week 02 - Thursday, 6 March 2008
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sustainability principles through initial planning of greenfield areas at the estate development plan stage rather than retrofitting the developments in existing areas. However, every code includes controls that are intended to achieve improved design outcomes in redevelopment and urban infill areas.
As part of these reforms the territory plan has been restructured to meet the requirements of the new legislation. The new territory plan is also in line with the national reform agenda in relation to development assessment. The new territory plan adopts the principles contained in the Development Assessment Forum’s leading practice model in development assessment, known as the DAF model. The terminology and structure of the territory plan have been adjusted to suit its use in assessing developments under the assessment track process, and complements the terminology in the new Planning and Development Act.
The new territory plan provides greater clarity in respect of land uses and closer integration between leasing and statutory framework for development assessment. An important feature of the new “assessment tracks” in the territory plan is the allocation of a particular track or assessment method for each and every type of development. This gives certainty and clarity to proponents early in their planning and design process and a consistent application of controls for all proposals. Unlike the existing plan, the zone development tables provide much clearer information on the assessable developments for each zone. This reflects comments made during the consultation that the list of prohibited developments was too long and did not always support the objectives for the zone.
I believe this is an area for review as part of ongoing refinements of planning policies and controls. The development tables reflect existing policy, a principle that was strongly advocated by industry and the community. The assessment codes include development controls derived from the current territory plan, including planning guidelines and master plans. There are three types of assessment codes; namely, the precinct codes, which apply to a geographical area, development codes for specific development types or zones, and general codes containing other relevant matters such as parking, access and water-sensitive urban design.
Developments under the code track must comply with the quantifiable rules of a code. As public consultation occurs when codes are established, applications in this track will not require public notification and there will be no third party appeal rights. Agency referrals are also not required, as they are included in the codes. The statutory time frame for decisions in the code track will be 20 working days. The merit track is very similar to the existing system, in which proposals are assessed under the controls requiring the exercise of judgement. In the merit track, the application must meet all mandatory rules, but where a rule has matching criteria, the applicant can choose whether to comply with the rule or use the more flexible criteria.
Notification requirements will vary, depending on the nature of the proposal, and the third party appeal rights will be available only for those matters that are fully notified. Agency referrals are according to the planning and development regulation and the time frame for decisions will be 30 to 45 working days.
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