Page 855 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Health Indicator Program (CHIP) report card. The report breaks the river up into smaller individual report card that can be used as a guide for areas requiring improvement. This is a useful document to guide work on platypus habitat.
Planning—development
(Question No 2909)
Ms Le Couteur asked the Minister for Planning and Land Management, upon notice, on 14 February 2020:
(1) Given that The Canberra Times article https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6540875/controversial-coombs-development-to-go-ahead-with-amendments state that “POD Projects and the ACT Planning and Land Authority reached an out-of-session agreement whereby the developer is required to make amendments to its design”, what were the reasons for this agreement being reached, rather than continuing to defend the appeal in ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
(2) How often do “out-of-session agreements” between developers and the ACT Planning and Land Authority take place.
(3) How are the details of such agreements made public.
(4) How are the final agreed plans made available to the public.
Mr Gentleman: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) The out-of-session agreement referred to in this article is the mediation process directed by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT). Through the ACAT mediation process, the applicant, POD Projects, provided a revised development proposal. After considering the revised proposal, the independent planning and land authority concluded and advised the Tribunal that the revised proposed development outcome had improved to such an extent that it would be consistent with the relevant provisions of the Territory Plan. Therefore, the authority agreed to the ACAT making a consent decision to provide conditional approval for the revised proposal. The revised proposal includes improved outcomes for amenity, streetscape, landscaping, and reduced bulk and scale for the subject site.
(2) The out-of-session agreements you refer to are ACAT directed mediations. Mediation is an ACAT process to help parties resolve a dispute. At the initial directions hearing for an ACAT appeal of a decision on a development application, the ACAT will discuss with the parties whether to hold a mediation.
As a model litigant, the planning and land authority will always consider whether a mediated outcome can be achieved. This will depend on the original refusal reasons and the extent of changes required to the application for it to be approvable. If a revised proposal presented at mediation meets the requirements of the Territory Plan, the planning and land authority will support a consent decision to approve the development. If the proposal continues to be non-compliant with the Territory Plan, or if a revised proposal does not meet the requirements of the Territory Plan, the authority will not agree to its approval by the ACAT.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video