Environmental Planning Approvals

Changes to low and mid rise housing.

In late December 2023, the NSW Government released proposed changes to the planning system that are intended to increase the capacity for low and mid-rise housing in well-located areas near existing services and infrastructure.

Many of the changes are for increased height limits on dwellings/apartments within 400m or 800m from transport hubs (especially in R3 and R4 zones).

The proposed changes are on public exhibition until February 23 2024 so the exact details are not yet decided upon however some changes have the potential to be very significant.

Of particular note for current home owners is that councils that currently do not permit Dual Occupancy dwellings in the R2 zone (Hornsby and Ku ring g*i for example) may be forced to allow them if the proposed changes go through without amendments. It appears that this change will also apply to properties further away from transport hubs (eg more than 800m).

It is not known at this stage how long it will take for these proposed changes to gazetted however the government seems keen to have it done this year.

Duplex Strata Title Subdivision.

Many clients ask me about the potential to build a Duplex (Dual Occupancy) on their land or land that they potentially wish to buy and Strata title subdivide. They assume that if a Duplex can be built then subdivision is always possible, however, depending on the council area, the Strata subdivision may be prohibited.

As always with planning rules, the fine detail is where these hidden clauses reside and it takes an experienced planner to check for them.

Council Development Approvals Town Planning specialists based in Sydney at Hornsby who provide town planning advice for development approvals in Hornsby, Ku-ring-g*i and Hills councils as well as across NSW.

Council development application processing delays.

The processing of DAs by councils is still slow due to most staff working from home and problems with inter-department communication.

Since DAs need to be submitted via the NSW Planning Portal there tends to be additional delays for council to assess the application, even to issue the application fee invoice. The application is only officially lodged with council after the application fee invoice has been issued and paid and this process now seems to take several weeks. My advice is to get your preparation done as early as possible to take into account these additional delays.

As mentioned previously, many of the consultant reports needed to support a DA such as surveyors, arborists, ecologists, storm water engineers and bushfire consultants have a significant backlog of work, so ag*in act early to engage these professionals.

www.developmentapprovals.com.au

Council Development Approvals Town Planning specialists based in Sydney at Hornsby who provide town planning advice for development approvals in Hornsby, Ku-ring-g*i and Hills councils as well as across NSW.

Update COVID impacts on council approvals.

The processing of DAs by councils is still slow due to most staff working from home and problems with inter-department communication. Although much of the preparation for a DA to council can be done via desktop, many of the supporting consultant reports and inputs require site visits. What we are seeing is that surveyors, ecologists and bushfire consultants are being unable to visit sites or have a significant backlog of work. Since a survey is often needed for most development applications to council, this will cause a significant backlog once things open up. My advice however would be to contact your surveyor early so that when they can get to site you are at least on the job list.

Although property sales have been impacted a bit there are still enough properties going to market that can benefit from a planning feasibility report to see what potential development options may be available if you do purchase the land. These can be done without site visit so if this report can help as part of your Due Diligence, please contact us for a quotation. www.developmentapprovals.com.au

Council Development Approvals Town Planning specialists based in Sydney at Hornsby who provide town planning advice for development approvals in Hornsby, Ku-ring-g*i and Hills councils as well as across NSW.

Unauthorised works being pursued by Councils. Update:

Since my original post in January the demand for retrospective appproval of structures has not reduced, however the focus now seems to be on smaller scale constructions such as illegally built carports and pergolas. Many people do not know that most of these structures need council approval. There are some cases where approval is not neeed, such as if they are a small size and built off the boundaries at the correct distance, but recently councils have been cracking down on this class of structure. If in doubt, contact the council first before starting the build since it may save a lot of grief and cost later. www.developmentapprovals.com.au

Original post:
Over the last few years I have noticed an increase in the number of property owners who are being issued with notices by councils regarding illegal structures or illegal use related to their properties.
Usually this has been triggered by a neighbour making a complaint to council, however in other cases council actively reviews adverts for rental properties (especially for granny flats or Air bnb) and then they check their records to see if approval has been granted or not.
If approval has not be granted, council will send a letter, usually asking for demolition or directing you to seek approval for the illegalities (either usually needs to be done within 21 days or so). This can be a very stressful time for owners because in many cases they assumed the structure, and it's use, was approved.
If you receive such a letter please do not ignore it or potentially fines can be issued without further notice (but sometimes a final warning letter does come).
Best to act on it quickly. If you are in this situation, please give me an email or call to discuss what options are available. Look forward to helping.
[email protected] www.environmentalapprovals.com.au
Also, I have a new website as well!
www.developmentapprovals.com.au

Council Development Approvals Town Planning specialists based in Sydney at Hornsby who provide town planning advice for DA approvals in Hornsby, Ku-ring-g*i and Hills councils as well as across NSW.

Unauthorised works being pursued by Councils.

Over the last few years I have noticed an increase in the number of property owners who are being issued with notices by councils regarding illegal structures or illegal use related to their properties.

Usually this has been triggered by a neighbour making a complaint to council, however in other cases council actively reviews adverts for rental properties (especially for granny flats or Air bnb) and then they check their records to see if approval has been granted or not.

If approval has not be granted, council will send a letter, usually asking for demolition or directing you to seek approval for the illegalities (either usually needs to be done within 21 days or so). This can be a very stressful time for owners because in many cases they assumed the structure, and it's use, was approved.

If you receive such a letter please do not ignore it or potentially fines can be issued without further notice (but sometimes a final warning letter does come).

Best to act on it quickly. If you are in this situation, please give me an email or call to discuss what options are available. Look forward to helping.
[email protected] www.environmentalapprovals.com.au

Also, I have a new website as well!
www.developmentapprovals.com.au

Council Development Approval | Sydney We are Town Planning and Urban Planning specialists based in Sydney at Hornsby providing expert town planning advice and DA approval consultancy services for a wide range of projects across NSW.

Important Changes to the EP&A Regulation 2000

The NSW Government recently passed the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning Portal) Regulation 2020. This amendment introduces requirements for certain planning applications to be made through the NSW Planning Portal and enacts the Premier’s mandate of ePlanning Digital Services.
In November 2019 the Premier announced ePlanning Digital Services would become mandatory for certain councils in 2020.

In March 2020, Minister Stokes and Minister Dominello outlined how the mandate would be implemented. Councils and registered certifiers in the Sydney Metropolitan, Illawarra, Central Coast and Newcastle areas are to commence using the ePlanning Digital Services from 1 July 2020, and are to process 100% of planning applications this way from 31 December 2020.
* Extract from NSW Planning Department

Environmental Planning Approvals has been using this system for devbelopment approvals for several months and it does have the potential to streamline the process however there appears to be a few teething issues that hopefully will be solved soon. Just to let you know, I have a new website as well!

www.developmentapprovals.com.au

Council Development Approval | Sydney We are Town Planning and Urban Planning specialists based in Sydney at Hornsby providing expert town planning advice and DA approval consultancy services for a wide range of projects across NSW.

Environmental Planning Approvals updated their business hours.

I have been receiving requests for development feasibility reports from people who are looking to purchase a specific property. Sometimes they wish to confirm if a subdivision can be done or a Dual Occupancy constructed.

At other times they want to confirm what a realestate agent has said about what they can do with the property after purchase is correct or not.

This is all part of the due diligence process and is a small cost compared to the price of houses in Sydney now and gives some peace of mind that your planned renovation, knock down and rebuild or sub-division is potentially achievable.

Another way to use these feasibility reports is if you are thinking of developing on land you already own. In this case I can review all the council rules and regulations (usually the LEP and DCP rules) that apply to your property to give you an idea how hard or easy it maybe to get council approval.

Feel free to contact me if you are in a position where you think such a report would be helpful to you.

Anthony 0432 668 263 or email; [email protected]
www.environmentalapprovals.com.au

Environmental Planner and Town Planner Specialists - Council Approvals - Sydney Town Planner and Environmental Planner focussing on council development approvals, project management and land surveys

Environmental Planning Approvals updated their phone number.

Recently we have been requested several times to g*in council development approval for unauthorised/illegal Secondary Dwellings (Granny Flats). In previous years this would usually involve g*ining a Building Certificate for the structure and simple floor plans. Sometimes the need for this approval is triggered by a complaint to council from a neighbour or the need to regularise the dwelling so the property can be sold.

There has been a trend recently for councils to need an application for a Building Certificate as well as a Development Application.

To support the DA the supporting documentation has expanded accordingly and includes a survey, full set of plans, full set of compliance certificates, BASIX, Waste Management Plan and Statement of Environmental Effects, to name a few.

In addition, recent changes to BASIX contain higher standards but with some exemptions, however unauthorised Granny Flats are specifically not excluded from the new standards.

Although the approval process is now more difficult, there are serious home insurance implications if an unauthorised Granny Flat suffers a fire and destroys that structure or allows the fire to spread to the main dwelling. www.developmentapprovals.com.au

Council Development Approvals We are Town Planning and Urban Planning specialists based in Sydney at Hornsby providing expert town planning advice and DA approval consultancy services across NSW.