Page 3804 - Week 10 - Thursday, 27 August 2009
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The territory has effectively exempted all development in a designated area from requiring any territory development approvals, leaving only lease variations subject to a development approval process. The act is amended to apply merit track provisions to the processing of an application of a development proposal for a lease variation in a designated area. The amendment also excludes any reference to the territory plan in determining such applications, as commonwealth law provides that the territory plan does not apply to designated areas.
Section 291 of the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 provided for the conversion of commonwealth leases. I will refer to this act from now on as the repealed act. The Planning and Development Act does not have a provision similar to section 291. New section 312A of the bill corrects this omission. The section is applied in circumstances where, under section 27 of the commonwealth’s Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988, a declaration classifying land as national land has been rescinded, revoked, amended or varied. The section ensures the continuity of these leases and their continued management under territory legislation.
Clauses 4 and 5 of the bill clarify the relationship between development proposals and development applications. The amendments make it clear the development tables in the territory plan are not the sole determinant of the required assessment track.
Sectors of the ACT construction industry expressed concern with increased delays during implementation of the Planning and Development Act and new territory plan. These sectors expressed the view that a tolerance on allowable changes to construction under a development approval would benefit all stakeholders, including homeowners. The intention of clauses 7, 8 and 9 is to meet these concerns of industry by overcoming delays caused by minor contraventions of development approvals. The provisions prescribe the tolerances within which development under a DA may lawfully vary from the DA without the need for another application or amendment. Clause 9 also permits minor DA amendments to be assessed and processed quickly without further public consultation or further referral to a government agency. The ability to proceed without these steps is tightly circumscribed.
Further amendments to the act made by clauses 10 and 11 of the bill clarify sections 203 and 204 of the act. The amendments clarify that the provisions under schedule 1 only apply if the act changes and not if the development itself changes, to the extent that it is no longer exempt development.
I now turn to the various provisions in the bill which deal with payments for leases. Clauses 12, 16 and 18 make amendments that allow a further grant of a rural lease to be made where an undertaking to pay rent and/or pay by instalments is made. Under the Planning and Development Act, the Planning and Land Authority may not grant a lease for less than market value except in circumstances set out in the act.
Clauses 15 and 33 of the bill provide for additional circumstances when a lease may be granted at less than market value. Clause 15 specifies conditions under which a person may apply for the grant of a new lease where the new lease adjoins another granted to the person. Clause 33 specifies the payment conditions for a lease to a community organisation.
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