Supplementary Agenda of Local Planning Panel meeting

LPP Report No. LPP57/22

Local Planning Panel

Date of Meeting: 28/09/2022

3 REPORTING DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS FOR DETERMINATION BY THE HORNSBY LOCAL PLANNING PANEL OVER 180 DAYS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

· In accordance with the Local Planning Panels Directions - Operational Procedures, Council is required to monitor development applications to be determined by the Panel that may be experiencing unreasonable delays of over 180 days from lodgement.

· A list of out outstanding development applications in excess of 180 calendar days from lodgement is attached for the Hornsby Local Planning Panel’s advice.

RECOMMENDATION

THAT the contents of LPP Report No. LPP57/22 be received and noted.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to advise the Hornsby Local Planning Panel of development applications required to be determined by the Panel that are over 180 calendar days from lodgement.

DISCUSSION

In 2019 the NSW Productivity Commission conducted a review of the Independent Planning Commission (IPC). The review recommended several actions to streamline processes to optimise efficiency, output and performance.

The planning panel changes were implemented on 1 August 2020 to incorporate a number of the NSW Productivity Commission ‘s recommendations to the way Local Planning Panels work to make them more efficient and to improve the assessment and determination times of development applications and maintain panel oversight of sensitive and contentious applications.

These changes were made as part of the Planning Acceleration Program to support the State’s immediate and long-term economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The changes will speed up panel determinations by:

1. Reducing the need to conduct public panel meetings for non-contentious matters by applying a ‘10-or-more’ objection trigger for public meetings.

2. Reducing the amount of modifications going to panels.

3. Obliging panel chairs to more actively manage development applications (DAs) coming to the panels to reduce panel deferrals and assessment timeframes.

4. Allowing chairs to bring forward determination on DAs that are experiencing unreasonable delays of over 180 days from lodgement.

5. Introducing panel performance measures.

The Local Planning Panels Directions - Operational Procedures has been amended to:

· Require panels to make determinations within two weeks of being provided an assessment report.

· Require panels to hold a public meeting only where the Development Application has attracted 10 or more unique submissions by way of objection.

· Allow, at the Chair’s discretion, applicants to attend a briefing, along with council staff, to explain complex matters or present confidential or commercially sensitive material.

· Oblige panel chairs to work with council to ensure key issues are addressed during assessment in order to minimise deferrals by the panels at determination stage.

· Require the panels to provide reasons for deferring a decision and set timeframes in which any additional information must be provided in order to finalise the determination.

· Give panel chairs the ability to require council to report a DA to the panel within four weeks for determination if the application has experienced unreasonable delays in excess of 180 calendar days from lodgement.

In accordance with Point 6 of the Local Planning Panels Directions - Operational Procedures, attached is a list of development applications required to be determined by the Panel that are over 180 calendar days from lodgement.

CONCLUSION

Council is required to monitor development applications to be determined by the Panel that are over 180 calendar days from lodgement. This report provides advice to the Local Planning Panel on DAs that are experiencing unreasonable delays of over 180 days from lodgement.

RESPONSIBLE OFFICER

The officer responsible for the preparation of this report is the Major Development Manager, Cassandra Williams.

James Farrington

Director - Planning and Compliance

Planning and Compliance Division

Attachments:

1.⇩

status All LPP DA over 180 days - September 2022

File Reference: F2013/00295-003

Document Number: D08483863