24 May, 2013
Sweeping changes to planning laws put developers' rights ahead of the community
Developers will be dealt a fistful of aces if the state government’s draft Planning Bill becomes law, leaving local residents with a dud hand, the Nature Conservation Council has warned.
“The system proposed by the O’Farrell Government is unbalanced and unfair,” NCC Chief Executive Officer Pepe Clarke said.
“The existing planning system already favours developers, who have the resources and connections to ensure their voice is heard and their interests are protected.
“This new system will entrench that power even further and deny ordinary people many of the rights enjoyed by the developers.
“Far from increasing certainty and improving transparency, as promised by government, these proposals will almost certainly be misused by developers, undermining certainty and any community buy-in that may have come out of effective strategic planning.”
Developer rights under the draft Planning Bill 2013 include:
- the right to initiate rezoning, to permit development that would otherwise be prohibited;
- the right to appeal if a council refuses to rezone land; and
- the right to ask the Director-General of Planning to override existing local plans to allow a development that would otherwise be prohibited.
By contrast, residents will have:
- no rights to oppose rezonings;
- no rights to appeal rezoning decisions; and
- no power to oppose Director-General’s decisions to override local plans.
“There are several ways developers will be able to override strategic and local plans, including by lodging rezoning proposals and applying for strategic compatibility certificates,” Mr Clarke said.
“Developers will also have much broader rights to challenge development decisions, when compared with the rights of ordinary members of the community.
“The proposed changes to the planning system will entrench the power of the development lobby, while reducing the rights of the community to be involved in development decisions in their local neighbourhood.”
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Planning and Development
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