2018-08-13 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                 13 AUGUST 2018


REPORT
This report has been prepared in response to questions raised at the Planning and Environment
Committee Meeting held on 7 August 2018 regarding:
   Should amended plans be required now instead of a Preliminary Approval being issued?
   The maintenance of water quality for the wetland, in particular the management of
     sediment during construction;
   The provision of car parking for the existing development and extensions;
   The measures for the ongoing protection of the wetland area, including the dedication of
     the proposed covenant area to Council; and
   Do the wetland values mean the wetland should be classified as a referrable wetland due
     to the presence of an endangered species?


Amended Plans vs Preliminary Approval
The conditions of the Preliminary Approval require significant amendments to be made to the
proposed layout, as the conditions essentially prohibit development from occurring within the
site’s significant environmental areas. The final layout and number of beds able to be achieved is
unknown at this stage and it is difficult to know exactly how many beds can be achieved until a
redesign is undertaken.
Whilst it is preferable that amended plans are provided to Council prior to a decision being made
by Council the opportunity to seek amended plans from the applicant is constrained by the
Planning Act 2016 development assessment requirements. The application is code assessable
and the decision period will currently end on the 17 August 2018, having being extended by the
applicant once already to allow the matter to be presented to the August round of Council
meetings.
The opportunity to obtain amended plans is contingent on the applicant agreeing to provide the
plans and extend the decision period. If Council does not make a decision by the 17 August 2018
the applicant can provide notice requiring Council to issue an approval (deemed approval).
The applicant has advised in this regard that they are not agreeable to submitting amended plans
or a further extension to the decision period and has requested that Council decide the
application.
A Preliminary Approval does not authorise the development to proceed as the applicant must first
obtain a Development Permit. The recommended conditions require the applicant to amend the
proposed layout which can then either be assessed through a request for a Negotiated Decision
Notice or a new development application.


Maintenance of Water Quality during Construction
The construction of the development including the importation of fill has the potential to result in
sediment discharge into the wetland area. Under normal circumstances the management of
sediment on construction sites would default to the requirements of the State Planning Policy.
The policy requires 80% Hydrologic Effectiveness being the minimum standard for sediment
controls on all exposed areas greater than 2500m2. In this instance given the downstream
environment, wetland vegetation and endangered Swamp Crayfish, it is agreed that a higher
level of protection is warranted for the site.




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