In recent months, Council has conducted a number of surveys in individual rural communities to gauge attitudes towards roadside waste collection services. Council currently maintains recycling stations at strategic points throughout the shire, but several communities have expressed concerns in the face of abuse of these facilities, some of which have simply become public dumping grounds for passers-by. From Council’s perspective, contamination of recyclables with general waste was also defeating the entire purpose of its effort to encourage recycling. (more…)
The QPR Blog
…local government stuff you never even thought to ask about…
Palerang Community Strategic Plan
The Palerang Community Strategic Plan 2013-2032 has finally been adopted by Council.
An earlier post made reference to the NSW state government Integrated Planning & Reporting initiative that was designed to help standardise the planning processes followed by Councils throughout NSW, and to help Councils to better align their planning processes with the aspirations of their respective communities. The starting point for this exercise was an extensive process of community consultation, and the Palerang Community Strategic Plan encapsulates the input provided through that consultation exercise. (more…)
Local Government Elections
Believe it or not, we’re only months away from the NSW local government elections. All NSW residents will go to the polls on 8 September 2012 to elect their local Council for the next four-year term. While it is my intention to stand again, most of the current Palerang councillors have indicated that they will not be seeking re-election. This election therefore promises the best opportunity since the formation of the Palerang LGA to elect a Council with a unified view of the shire, and a genuine community focus, but this opportunity can only be realised if the right candidates come forward. (more…)
Flood Management
Local government in NSW has the primary responsibility for controlling the development of flood-prone land, through the application of policy developed by the NSW Government, through the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and in collaboration with the State Emergency Service (SES).
In this context, floodplain management involves a flood study, which defines the technical details of the nature and extent of flooding in a particular location, a floodplain risk management study, which evaluates management options that address flood risk and flood management issues, and a floodplain management plan, which essentially outlines strategies to manage flood risk and flood management issues.
The Bungendore Floodplain Risk Management Committee, one of Council’s s.355 committees, was established to assist Council in the development of planning guidelines for flood prone areas within Bungendore. (more…)
Palerang Development Control Plan
I have discussed the various planning instruments that apply to development within Palerang in a previous post. As noted therein, the legislation that governs the way development is undertaken within Palerang is largely defined within State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) and the Palerang Local Environmental Plan (PLEP). Further, under Section 74 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, a local planning authority may also prepare a Development Control Plan (DCP), which is subordinate to both the SEPPs and LEP for the relevant area. (more…)
PLEP Maps (Update)
I’ve loaded the latest versions of the various 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 , Biodiversity, Flood Planning, Height of Buildings, Heritage, Land Acquisition, Land Application, Land Use Zoning, Lot Size and Watercourse maps (note that there are a few new ones in there). (more…)
Dual Occupancy Developments (Update)
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…)
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.
Council Community Committees
Under Section 355 of the Local Government Act 1993, Council is able to delegate some of its functions to a committee of Council. Council uses this delegation to appoint community representatives to individual committees that are tasked with the care, control and management of a particular Council facility or activity. Council also appoints community representatives to committees that perform certain other functions of Council. (more…)