New shire mayor introduces new planning policy direction

Cr Pesce moved to see all contentious development applications referred to the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel to be subsequently decided by the council’s new general manager, Scott Phillips, under delegated authority.

The move means that development applications will no longer be debated on the council floor and it may also mean the scrapping of the council’s development assessment and planning committee.

It  took Labor and Shire Watch councillors by surprise.

But Liberal councillors appeared to have been given prior warning, with several of them reading from scripted responses supporting the policy change.

The new policy was unveiled in a Mayoral Minute read out by Cr Pesce within minutes of him being elected mayor, replacing Cr Kent Johns.

As expected, Cr Pesce was elected mayor 11 to 4 and Cr Hassan Awada was elected his deputy with 11 to 4 votes.

Cr Pesce said the policy would take the politics away from development applications so that they could be determined fairly.

Cr Phil Blight described the new policy as a massive shift and asked that instead of voting on it immediately that it be referred back to the next week’s special council meeting so councillors would have time to think about its implications.

Cr Peter Scaysbrook described it as a “quantum wholesale movement in policy that we have never used before.”

But Cr Kent Johns described it as a “minor adjustment” to the way the council deals with development applications.

He said there were only about 25 development applications a year referred to the IHAP and added that about 30 NSW councils had adopted a similar policy.

Residents will still be able to address any concerns to IHAP.

These applications would be of a minor sort and not unit blocks which would go to the Joint Regional Planning Panel.

He said that 50 per cent of the council’s time was taken up arguing over development applications.

“This means that the development applications that are contentious will go through the process at IHAP and will be fairly determined by an extremely well-qualified general manager with a vast amount of experience in planning law.”

“Should a DA be determined by a group of politicians or should it be determined by an experienced planning professional?”

Cr Diedree Steinwall said she was not prepared to vote on something that had been dropped on councillors without warning.

“We were elected to represent the residents and this just takes things away from our hands,’’ she said.

“I think it is very unfair to spring it on us.”

Cr Peter Towell asked "how much more power is the council going to hand over?"

“We have to ask what is the council here for? Yes, it is here for roads, rates and rubbish.

“But we are also here to determine the living environment in which residents have to live.”

The amendment that the policy be held over until next week was lost.

Instead, councillors will attend a workshop to discuss the policy change.

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What do you think of the policy change to the way the council determines development applications?