I was asked recently about issues relating to building in bush fire prone areas. Although I have written about this previously, given the time of the year, and as this is a subject that is related to recent posts relating to planning matters, it seemed quite an appropriate subject for further discussion. (more…)
The QPR Blog
…local government stuff you never even thought to ask about…
Planning Legislation (Coda)
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (EPAA) has always supported a hierarchical approval structure that was intended to provide appropriate levels of transparency in the assessment process, balancing the interests of all parties involved without burdening the vast majority of applications with unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. (more…)
Planning Legislation
Following on from the earlier post relating to Land Use Planning, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (EPAA) of 1979 was the first piece of legislation that was directed purely at the management of land use planning in NSW. Prior to this, land use had generally been managed through Planning Scheme Ordinances created under Part XIIA (Town and Country Planning Schemes) of the Local Government Act. (more…)
Land Use Planning
Following on from an earlier post on the history of Local Government in NSW, one significant change introduced with the Local Government Act of 1906 was a move away from a rating system that was based solely on the ability to pay to one that also recognised the benefit derived from public expenditure in areas such as road building and maintenance. Rates thus became an incentive to develop, with undeveloped land attracting the same rate as a neighbouring property that had been cleared and built upon. (more…)
Local Government
In reading up on the history of land use planning in NSW, I came across an interesting article on the development of local government. This proved to be a subject worthy of discussion in its own right, but also an appropriate preamble to a future discussion of land use planning. (more…)
Waste Not Want Not
You wouldn’t normally expect international trade agreements to have a direct impact on the local government sector, but China’s National Sword program, which has restricted the importation of recyclable material since 1 January 2018, has hit many councils squarely in the Rs—the Rubbish part of their Rates, Roads and Rubbish portfolio, to be precise. (more…)
Schedule of Conditions
When a Development Application (DA) is approved, the approval will be accompanied by a Schedule of Conditions. These conditions provide detail relating to how a particular development should be undertaken. For the most part, these conditions will simply be references to working conditions or standards that apply to the development in question. (more…)
Principal Certifying Authorities
You may recall that I have been doing a bit of building work of late. Well, actually, I’ve only just finalised all the necessary paperwork and appointed a Principal Certifying Authority (PCA). The process of appointing a PCA, in particular, has been quite educational. (more…)
Road Naming
Have you ever wondered how roads get their names? People will have noticed that there are roads that have been named in recognition of local features, historical or present, or in recognition of people who have been historically associated with the area being serviced by the road. But there are a few formalities that need to be addressed, if you’ll pardon the pun, before a name appears on a street sign.
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Home Building Regulations
Last month’s post on Owner Builder Permits referred to recent changes in home building regulations. These changes were directed at the home building industry in general, not just owner builders, but there were a couple of areas that might be worth a little further discussion. (more…)