In the face of advice from the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, Council has had to further modify the draft PLEP clauses relating to Dual Occupancy and Secondary Dwelling developments. The result is a win-win situation in that, under the new PLEP, Dual Occupancy development will still be permitted in the rural and environmental zones, to allow for the construction of larger dwellings in these areas, and the new Secondary Dwelling category will allow smaller developments in village areas as a complying development, a type of development that effectively involves less paperwork. (more…)
The QPR Blog
…local government stuff you never even thought to ask about…
Road Reserves
I’ve had a couple of queries of late relating to road reserves. Misunderstandings surrounding the limitations associated with crown road reserves in particular have caused some grief.
Crown road reserves are generally parcels of land that were set aside for road access to land allocations at the time they were originally surveyed, sometimes back as far as the 1800s. Roads have indeed been built on many of these reserves, but many are also just vacant crown land. (more…)
Heritage Listing
I’ve added a section on heritage and heritage listing under the PLEP section of the Palerang Info Zone elsewhere on this website. To access this information, click on the Palerang Info Zone, then PLEP, then Heritage links in the left side menu, or just follow the links embedded in the previous sentence.
The new section includes an overview of the heritage listing process and a list of Frequently Asked Questions on the subject.
Planning Instruments
Development in local government areas is controlled by a hierarchy of legislation and policies.
The primary pieces of legislation governing development within NSW are State Government Acts such as the Local Government Act 1993, which, amongst other things, defines the role of Local Government in the planning and development process, and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, which provides the foundation for subordinate development controls. (more…)
Amenity and Character
Both the current LEPs (planning in Palerang is presently governed by no fewer than six (!) LEPs) and the new ‘unified’ Palerang LEP (currently only in draft form) contain both quantitative and qualitative requirements for new developments. The quantitative requirements are pretty straightforward: lot size, building height, slope of land etc. These are the bits developers tend to focus on when making applications, and determination of compliance is a simple matter of comparing numbers. (more…)
Water Supply Access
An interesting situation arose recently with the extension of the water mains in Braidwood to service the Braidwood Showgrounds. Under Section 552 of the Local Government Act 1993, properties within the statutory distance of 225 metres of the water mains may be subject to water supply access charges, regardless of whether or not those properties are supplied with water. This is not generally a problem in urban or village areas, but this extension resulted in a mains being run in a rural area. (more…)
Fencing Standards
At its October General Meeting, Council approved amendments to the Palerang Development Control Plan Fencing Requirements in Rural, Environmental Protection and Rural Residential Areas. The amendments only apply to the minimum fencing requirements for new subdivisions, with a goal of providing more wildlife-friendly fencing in areas where higher fencing standards are unnecessary. (more…)
PLEP Maps
I’ve loaded all of the currently available maps associated with the draft PLEP into the Palerang Info Zone part of the website. If you navigate down through the Palerang Info Zone > PLEP > Maps links in the left side menu (or just click here), you will find links to the Land Application, Biodiversity, Height of Buildings, Lot Size and Zoning maps. (more…)
Earthworks
I received a ‘phone call from a resident recently, concerned by a letter he had received from Council. The letter referred to an access roadway that was being upgraded, and suggested that some 600 tonnes of fill that he had brought onto his property for the purpose of this exercise would need to be removed.
As it turned out, the real problem was simply the source of the fill, and once this had been established, the issue was resolved. (more…)
Dual Occupancy Developments
Council’s LEP meetings are now largely devoted to tidying up inconsistencies that have been identified by the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, prior to the public display period and final adoption of the document.
One change that may be of interest to local residents was the requirement to remove Dual Occupancy dwellings from the list of allowable land uses in rural and environmental zones, including the E4 zone that will be applicable to rural residential areas. (more…)