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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 25 FEBRUARY 2014


      Development appeals and disputes are systematically managed;
      There is a regular review of cases to ensure progress in resolving disputes;
      Development and review of appropriate strategies to manage appeals; and
      Optimise efficiency of Council’s planning cases to reduce the financial impact on Council.

4.     Council Role

The Working Group will have no delegated authority to initiate or settle any litigation. That is a
matter for Council. In practice, when an appeal is lodged, staff will prepare a report to Council
outlining the basis of the appeal and propose a course of action (e.g. defend the appeal). The
ongoing strategy and tactics in the case can be managed by the Case Management Working
Group. The Case Management Working Group may come to the conclusion that a particular
case should be settled but the final decision to settle a case can only be made by the Council.

5.     Membership

It is proposed that the Mayor and the Chairperson of the Planning and Organisation Committee
be members of the Case Management Working Group together with key staff. The staff
proposed are the Chief Executive Officer, Coordinator Development Assessment and Interim
Director Organisational Services. Other staff can be added as required by the Chief Executive
Officer. This is likely once the organisational structure review has been finalised.

FINANCE & RISK

There are no financial or risk implications in relation to this proposal. If the Case Management
Working Group operates effectively, the Council should be able to minimise its litigation
expenditure and manage risk in the litigation process.

CONSULTATION

External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
This issue has been discussed with the Solicitor currently undertaking Council’s planning
litigation. He is supportive of the proposal as it will provide a process for better management of
planning litigation from his perspective.


Internal Consultation
Discussions have been held with Planning staff and the Interim Director Organisational Services.
All are supportive of this proposal.

Departments/Sections Consulted:

     Community Infrastructure                  x    Community & Development
     Asset Planning & Delivery                      Community Services
     Civil Operations                          x    Planning & Development
     Environmental Services                         Health & Regulatory Services
     Waste Management                               Business Facilitation
                                                    Community Resilience & Disaster Management

x    Executive Office                          x    Organisational Services
     Communications & Governance                    Financial Services
     Human Resources                                ICT
     De-amalgamation Coordination                   Property & Contracts




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