By Andrea Green
In a region where development is booming, it is important that the members of the community are aware of their rights to have a say.
You may, for example, see a sign advising that premises are being changed from a hobby shop to a nightclub, or a vacant block to a factory. Well, below is information on how you can effectively and validly have your say…
The development classification Regardless of the scale or type of change to a premise, it is likely that any change at all will be deemed a “development”. Planning law is now governed by the newly enacted Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (Qld), which defines development as being “building work” or “material change in use” of a premises, to name a few. In actual fact, building your children a cubby house could classify as a development, so it is important to check with your local authority before you commence any work.
In a general sense, there are five types of “developments”, each having different requirements.
Those are:
1. Self-Assessable Developments – developments that do not require a building permit from the council but must comply with building codes and regulations.
2. Exempt Developments – lawful developments that include mining and forestry activities, demolition, temporary building work, and minor alterations.
3. Impact Assessable Developments – developments that require council’s assessment of the proposal against planning schemes and State planning policies. These require public notification of the development, which allows members of the public an opportunity make submissions for or against the development.
4. Code Assessable Developments – developments that are compared and assessed against building codes by a council assessor where public notification is not required and submissions are not considered.
5. Prohibited Developments -developments that are declared prohibited by a State planning scheme or a State planning regulatory provision.
The council will determine what classification a development falls under. Developments can be partly impact assessable and partly another type of development. In this instance the public can make submissions with respect to only the impact assessable aspect.
Do I have to be notified of the development?
For Impact Assessable Developments (‘IAD’s’), a person or company (‘Applicant’) must bring an application to the relevant council for assessment. These developments are called ‘impact
assessable’ because they are in a class in which their impact to the community must be assessed. The
council will appoint an Assessment Manager to carry out the assessment process. Council
requires IAD’s to be brought to the public attention so that public concerns may be raised and
considered. Applicants must give notice of their application by advertising it in all of the following ways:
- At least once in a newspaper circulating generally in the locality of the proposed development;
- A notice on the premise; and,
- A notice to the owners of all adjoining land.
Non-compliance with the advertising requirement is not fatal to the Applicant’s application; so long as the Assessment Manager application has been brought to the public attention.
On receiving the application, the Assessment Manager will either make an acknowledgement to the
Applicant that no further information is required, or he/she will make a request for further information.
The advertisement will specify the length of the notification period. It will either be 15 or 30 business
days. This period begins as soon as the Assessment Manager gives acknowledgement to the Applicant, or the Applicant has complied with the information request.
Do I get a say?
The public can make submissions during the notification period.
Although most submissions are made against a development, submissions can also be made in favour of a development. Once a person makes a submission they become a submitter. A submission must be properly made unless the Assessment Manager exercises his/her discretion to accept the submission despite the noncompliance.
However, be warned that a submission not properly made precludes the submitter from appealing the Assessment Managers decision. A properly made submission is:
- in writing;
- received during the notification period;
- state the submitters name an address and be signed; and, of course…
- it must state the reasons for objection with any supporting information.
The Assessment Manager must receive any submissions by 5:00pm on the last day of the notification period. There are no fees for submitting an objection. Success in numbers Only submitters have the right to appeal a decision of the Assessment Manager. For this reason it is important that, if a
development is looming in your neighbourhood, you get in and support other submitters.
Although it might be more convenient to send around a clipboard for signatures and make a submission by way of petition, it is actually more effective if individuals each make their own submissions. The benefits of doing so include:
- a greater chance of success as consideration will be given to the high degree of the support
for, or concern against the development; and, - the ability to disburse the costs of the appeal to the Queensland Planning and Environment Court which means getting results cheaper.
On what grounds can I object to a Development?
There are many grounds for objection. These include issues such as:
- Non-ecological sustainability (developments must comply with the relevant ‘Desired Environmental Outcomes’ of the State or the Assessment Manager must refuse the application);
- Impact on amenity (dust, odour, light), urban design (ugliness or bulk) and character of the existing streetscape (size, greenspace, setback from road frontages, height);
- Traffic problems (congestion, unsafe roads or intersections);
- Noise pollution (increase in background noise levels);
- Unsuitability or inappropriateness to the demographics of the area (see the Australian Bureau of Statistics website for information on your suburb’s demographics);
- Irregular or disruptive hours of trade; and,
- Contrary to the reasonable expectations of the community (judged against the State’s
planning schemes).
What if the development affects the value of my land?
The value of privately owned land is not a relevant town planning concern and is not considered by the Assessment Manager in making the decision. This ground by itself will fail. However, if this remains a concern, it may be raised as a practical consequence to one of the above grounds. For instance, if traffic will be made significantly worse, it may detriment the economic worth of the suburb or street.
For further information, see the Queensland, Department of Infrastructure and Planning website at www.dip.qld.gov.au.
