2017-02-07 Planning and Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                               7 FEBRUARY 2017


REPORT
A Development Permit for Material Change of Use of Premises - Cultivation Type 2 – Intensive
(Greenhouse) was initially issued by Council on 19 November 2015. The applicant subsequently
lodged an appeal with the Planning and Environment Court on the 1 December 2015 (Appeal
D171/2015) seeking a number of changes to the conditions of approval. Following further
submission of revised flood and stormwater management plans, Council resolved to finalise the
appeal at the Ordinary Meeting of 20 October 2016.
The Planning and Environment Court issued its judgment and Development Approval on 18
November 2016 which triggered the assessment and issue of Infrastructure Charges Notice
N1163 on 5 December 2016 in accordance with:
   Sustainable Planning Act 2009;
   State Planning Regulatory Provision (adopted charges) July 2012 as amended by Adopted
     Charges Schedule 2016 (SPRP); and
   Council’s Charges Resolution (No.2) 2014 (Amendment 1) effective date 28 October 2016.
The Infrastructure Charges Notice requires the applicant to pay the amount of $250,096 at the
current Adopted Infrastructure Charges Schedule 2016 index date (29 July 2016).
The charge was calculated on the increase in the development’s gross floor area for additional
buildings in accordance with the following:
   greenhouse building (144m x 140m = 20,160 m2); plus
   multipurpose shed (475 m2).
   The gross floor area of the existing sheds on the site were excluded from the charge
     calculation in accordance with clause 636 of the SPA legislation.
   The Council Resolution charge rate of $12/m2 gross floor area was then applied to the total
     development increase of 20,635 m2 = $247,620 at the June 2014 base date and indexed to
     $250,096 to the current AICS 2016 date.
The legislative due date for payment is “when the change happens”. For this development as the
change had already happened with the use having commenced prior to the actual approval, the
infrastructure charge would have normally been due immediately on 18 November 2016 being
the court judgment. However, the applicant was given sufficient time to make payment with the
due date for payment being extended to 31 January 2016.
It should be noted that for this defined use of Cultivation Type 2 Intensive which falls under the
“high impact rural” adopted charge category, the maximum adopted charge permissible under the
SPRP is currently $20.20 per m2 gross floor area with no charge applicable for impervious m2 for
stormwater. This is significantly lower than all other development defined uses being reflective of
the nature of rural land uses.
Also notable is that Council’s charge rate of $12/m2 gross floor area for this defined use category
is well below the maximum permissible charge and also lower than most other local
governments. This is due to the apportionment agreement with Unitywater which currently
applies the same apportionment irrespective of location.
Under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, the applicant also has the option to make
representations to the infrastructure charges notice however, in this instance, made no
representations and directly lodged an appeal with the Planning and Environment Court on the
11 January 2017.
The appeal seeks that the Court set aside the infrastructure charge on the grounds that:
   the charge in the notice is so unreasonable that no reasonable relevant local government
     could have imposed it;


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