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The QPR Blog

…local government stuff you never even thought to ask about…

Wards

Posted by Pete on 16 December 2011
Filed under: General

At its December 2011 GM, Council resolved to hold a referendum, in conjunction with the Local Government elections in September 2012, on whether or not to introduce a ward system within the Palerang LGA.

The subject of wards, or electoral ridings as they were previously known, has been under discussion since Palerang came into existence. Both the former Talleganda and Yarrowlumla Shires operated under ward systems, but wards were eliminated without any public consultation when the two shires were amalgamated.

Wards are simply a means of dividing a local government area into several electoral regions for the purpose of local government elections, in the same way that states are divided into electoral Districts, and the nation into electoral Divisions, for state and federal elections respectively. (more…)

Planning Instruments

Posted by Pete on 29 November 2011
Filed under: Regulations

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

Posted by Pete on 15 November 2011
Filed under: Regulations

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

Posted by Pete on 11 October 2011
Filed under: Regulations

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

Posted by Pete on 11 October 2011
Filed under: Regulations

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…)

Credit where credit is due

Posted by Pete on 7 October 2011
Filed under: General

Many people will be aware of the on-going investigations by ICAC into certain aspects of the operation of a large number of NSW Councils. Hopefully, just as many will be aware that Palerang has been identified as the only Council in our immediate area that is not under investigation. (more…)

Macs Reef Road WTS development delayed

Posted by Pete on 5 October 2011
Filed under: Rubbish

Unfortunately, we’ve hit a bit of a snag with the Development Application for the new waste transfer station at the Macs Reef Road tip site. The consultant who was contracted to assess the DA (Council will generally engage a third party to assess DAs in which Council has a direct interest) ‘discovered’ a potable bore in the vicinity of the site, and this unfortunately means that the new facility falls into the category of a Designated Development. (more…)

Survey Results

Posted by Pete on 29 September 2011
Filed under: Rubbish

The results from the recent recycling service surveys conducted in Royalla and Burra/Urila are now available on-line. You can browse the individual survey responses, and generate a basic set of statistics for each survey. (more…)

Integrated Planing & Reporting Workshop Data

Posted by Pete on 28 September 2011
Filed under: Community

I’ve also added a section under the Palerang Info Zone on the Integrated Planning & Reporting process that Council is currently undertaking. The process is not yet complete, so this section will remain a ‘work in progress’ for a little while. (more…)

PLEP Maps

Posted by Pete on 28 September 2011
Filed under: Regulations

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…)

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19-08-2011