A surge in “knock-down rebuilds” and the opening up of new estates has prompted the extension of a council service to iron out problems with plans before a development application (DA) is lodged.
Sutherland Shire Council will charge a fee of $100 for formal pre-DA advice on single house construction.
The council already operates the service for developments of two or more dwellings, and senior planning staff recommended it be expanded.
Concerns were raised by some councillors at the last meeting that residents would see it as the council “slugging” them with another fee.
Staff said the fee was nominal, but was high enough to be a disincentive against over-use.
Councillors were assured basic, over-the-counter advice would still be provided without charge.
A report by staff said extension of the service to single houses would “help reduce application angst, provide clarity of development controls and more effectively resolve development issues”.
“Furthermore, applicants can rely on the advice provided by council officers, which will be documented in order to form a relevant part of the initial assessment once the application is lodged,” the report said.
The report said there had been “a significant increase in new dwelling applications in the established areas of the shire as residents knock down older dwelling stock and replace such with newer homes”.
“Often these new dwellings are located on newly subdivided battle axe lots or one of the few remaining vacant lots,” the report said.
“These sites can be significantly constrained and are often not easily suited to project home designs.
“Similarly, council has recently approved a number of new residential subdivisions – at Menai (Mill Creek), 48 lots, Barden Ridge, 160 lots, and Greenhills Beach, 400 lots).”
The report said many of these lots could be subject to particular environmental constraints, such as bushfire controls, or particular design requirements by the subdivider of the estate.
“As these are new areas, applicants may not be aware of the proposed development next door, nor be able to plan for such,” the report said.
“In the case of development applications for single dwelling houses, site and development constraints are being revealed after an application has been lodged, when there is already significant investment from the future owner.
“Plans can be expensive to change and delays are created that have contractual imposts when building a project home.
“Furthermore these constraints go beyond what can reasonably be provided as part of a regular duty inquiry.”
In accordance with the Local Government Act, the proposal service expansion and fee will be advertised for 28 days before a final decision is made.