Page 1495 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 6 April 2011
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community on many of their proposals and, critically, to do this well before development applications are lodged. In saying this, I recognise that developers will not be able to meet all of the concerns regarding their proposals and there will be some circumstances in which people will say that they were not adequately consulted throughout a process. I think unfortunately that is the nature of the development assessment process, not just here in Canberra but, in fact, in every jurisdiction in the Western world.
However, to assist in clarifying the responsibility for pre-development application consultation, I can advise the Assembly that ACTPLA has recently introduced a pre-DA lodgement community consultation summary report for significant development proposals. This process requires information from the applicant about the types of engagement and the types of consultation that have been undertaken by the proponent prior to the development application being submitted to the Planning and Land Authority for assessment. This includes things like letterbox drops, community meetings convened and meetings with our community councils.
Further, Mr Speaker, an additional five days of public notification are added for these more complex development applications. We have set the rules at the moment that these five days of additional notification apply to any residential building that is higher than three storeys or consists of more than 50 units, any building where the total floor space is more than 7,000 square metres or any building or structure that is higher than 25 metres.
I look forward to introducing future amendments to the Planning and Development Act that will further clarify the role of the proponent in consulting with the community prior to the lodgement of certain development applications. In relation to the consultation processes for the sale of land, the Department of Land and Property Services has a clear policy of consulting with residents and local businesses when the direct sale of land is being considered by the government. The LAPS community engagement policy includes the distribution of letters advising of the proposed sale and inviting comment, either in writing or electronically through the LAPS website, advertising in the Canberra Times, advice to local community councils and advice and feedback forms on the LAPS website.
Mr Speaker, elements of Mr Coe’s motion today seek to engage the Assembly in a discussion about an active development application, one that is running its course through the statutory processes and which, in my view, should not be unduly influenced by debate in this place. The planning system depends on certainty, and every time the Assembly wants to engage in discussion at the margins about controversial development proposals we risk creating the opposite effect. I think that is an important consideration. We are here to debate policy settings. We have had a very active debate this year and last year in relation to the need for these master plans. It is somewhat frustrating, when these master plans are put in place and adopted by a formal territory plan variation that very clearly specifies the nature of redevelopment over a 10 to 20-year period, that nine years into that 10 to 20-year period we find motions that contain some elements that clearly seek to reconsider those matters.
I think it is important to note, in relation to the Jamison Inn redevelopment proposal, that there is a public submission period that runs until 5 May, so there is a
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