LORD HOWE ISLAND BOARD
Item: Bi-annual Planning Assessment and System Audit
1.0Introduction
This bi-annual audit covers the half year period from May to November 2014 and analyses Owner Consent (OC), Development Application (DA) and s96 / Modified Development Consent (MDC) assessments as well as the planning system on Lord Howe Island (LHI).
This report is based on data obtained from the Planning Assessment and Advice Register maintained by RPS, the Consultant Town Planner (CTP), and supplemented as required from the Board’s computer and file records. The report provides a summary of the total number of applications, determinations, the value of developmentand current application processing times.
2.0Relevant Background
As part of the CTP contract with the LHIB (the ‘Board’), an audit of planning and assessment systems and processes is to be reported to the Board in May and November each year. The audit aims to ensure that systems and procedures are up to date and compliant with legislative and procedural requirements and reflect best practice.
This is thethirdreport submitted to the Board by the CTP since the commencement of the contract in April 2013.A number of actions have been previously recommended and implemented from the May Board meeting. These actions are summarised in a table at Appendix 1.
3.0Current Applications
3.1Development Application Register
The CTP is required to maintain a Development Application Register. Key aspects of this register are detailed and considered below.
The following table provides the number of new applications and the value of development for the last six months.
Table 1 Number of Applications and Value of Development
DA / MDC / OC / TotalNumber of New ApplicationsReceived 26 May to 10 November 2014 / 13 / 1 / 12* / 26*
Value of Development / $816,900 / NA / $819,900
*Fourstreamlined wastewater OCs were not submitted to the CTP for assessment. The Board has agreed to assess and determine streamlinedwastewater OC applications.
One DA (DA2015-02) involved ‘integrated development’ requiring approval from NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and NSW Marine Parks.
One OC (OC2015-03) has been requested by the applicant to be put on hold.
At the time of writing this report, 3 x DAs (DA2015-08, DA2015-09, DA2015-10) and 1 x OC (OC2015-06) have been submitted to the Board but are on hold for further information from the applicant.
Appendix 2 provides a detailed breakdown of the applicationsthat have been received by the Board during the bi-annual audit period.
3.2Land Use Zones
The majority of the 13x DA’s, 1 x MDCand 12x OC’s were proposed in the Settlement zone.Notable exceptions include:
- DA2015-02 for alterations and additions, change of use of a boatshed from storage to commercial premises, and construction of a paved deck, access way, signage and landscaping located withinaEnvironmental Protection Zone.
- DA2015-04 for the installation of a wind and avifauna monitoring mast, geotechnical investigations and access track upgrade located within the Rural and Environment Protection Zones.
- DA2015-05 for the installation of a commercial wastewater management system for the LHI Golf Club located within the Recreation Zone.
3.3Planning Enquires
The Board’s CTP deals with a number of pre-lodgement and post-lodgement planning enquiries as well as providing advice to various Board staff in respect of town planning matters as they arise.
The CTP and the Board’s Manager Environment and Community Development have at least one teleconference a fortnight to discuss relevant current issues along with regular phone and email communication.
4.0Application Processing Times
4.1Application processing times
Application / ResponseDAs
Average DA processing time from lodgement to issue of Notice of Determination / 21.8Days*
Number of additional information requests / 10out of 12 applications
OCs
Average OC processing time from lodgement to issue of Notice of Determination / 17.2 Days*
Number of additional information requests / 4 out of 13applications
MDCs
Average MDC processing time from lodgement to issue of Notice of Determination / 30 Days*
Number of additional information requests / 1 out of 1 applications
*average excludes ‘stop the clock’ time where the CTP was awaiting response to requested additional information
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (EP&A Regs) states:
…the application is taken to be refused if a consent authority has not determined the application within the deemed refusal period, being:
(a)40 days, except in the case of development referred to in paragraph (b) or (c), or
(b)60 days, in the case of:
(i)designated development, or
(ii)integrated development (other than integrated development that, pursuant to State Environmental Planning Policy No 62—Sustainable Aquaculture, is Class 1 aquaculture development), or
(iii)development for which the concurrence of a concurrence authority is required, or
(c)90 days, in the case of State significant development.
The average time for all DA and OC applications complies with the statutory 40 day deemed refusal period for standard applications. It is noted the average time is about half of the expected time for determination.
In comparison, the days on average to process a DAfrom the beginning of the contract since the last bi-annual report compared to this bi-annual report went from 21.7 days to 21.8 days, and OCs went from 24.5 days to 17.2 days. Therefore, the processing time has generally remained the same throughout the contract.
In comparison to the state average, the days on average to process a DA across all Council’s in NSW in the 2010/2011 financial year, excluding stop-the-clock provisions, was 45 days (Department of Planning and Infrastructure, 2011). The average the since May has been 21.8 days, greatly under the state average.
It is noted that one of the DAs included in the processing time was uncharacteristic. This application relates to Wilson Boatshed DA2015-02 which triggered integrated development as noted above. The OC was approved by the Board with a condition that a Foreshore Management Plan (FMP) is to be developed. Despite the Owners Consent condition requiring a future development application to be consistent with the FMP, the Board’s Administration formed the opinion following the 2 September Board meeting that it would be unreasonable to delay the determination of the DA for up to 9 months while the FMP was being developed. Subsequently, the assessment progressed, however that was 42 days after the lodgement of the application.
4.2Potential improvements for application processing time
Development applications often require internal referral to other units within the LHIB in order to seek expert opinion. Internal referrals are expected to be completed within 14 days of submission. In the six months since the last bi-annual report, internal referrals have taken upto 30 days to complete. The DA report cannot be finalised without certain internal referrals depending on the application, as these may create changes to the DA or result in a request for further information from the applicant. Currently, the length of time that it is taking to receive internal referralsis impacting on the timeframes of DA processing times.
It is recommended that the internal referrals be provided in a more timely manner to facilitate the processing time of applications. This may involve a fortnightly meeting for each internal expert to provide written comments.
As discussed in the last bi-annual report, the Board has been working with the Office of Environment and Heritage to clarify and broaden exemptions under s57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977. A recommendation of the last bi-annual report was to investigate opportunities to increase the delegation role of the Board’s CEO and Chairperson to grant consent to a broader range of applications, as appropriate. This recommendation was realised in part with the approval of the exemption order noted above. While further opportunities may be limited, further changes to the delegation role of the Board’s CEO and Chairperson to grant consent to a broader range of applications should be investigated as appropriate.
The Board should continue to hold out-of-session Board meeting to facilitate the processing times of applications which need determination by the full Board. The last out-of-session meeting on 29 October allowed for four applications to be determined rather than having to wait an additional month for the next scheduled Board meeting.
4.3Transferring Data
The external File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site established by RPS has been in operation since April 2013. The Board has notified the CTP for each application which is uploaded. This has allowed the CTP to begin the assessment process shortly after lodgement, helping improve the processing time. No concerns have been raised to the transferring of data via FTP site.
4.4Advertising
Currently, all Development Applications are advertised, with the exception of minor developments that, in the opinion of the Board, are of minimal social and environmental impact. These applications are not publicly notified, however adjoining leaseholders are provided with written notice and given seven (7) days to comment. This exception has been applied to solar panel and wastewater installations.
It is recommended that the Board continue to apply the exemptions to advertising of development applications that involve minor development as appropriate.
It is noted that The Signal ceased publication in October 2014 and in order to satisfy the requirements under Cl87 of the EPA Regulation, the Board will need to publish applications in an alternate publication produced by the Board (similar to our Community Information Bulletin) as an interim measure.
5.0Quality of Pre-lodgement Planning Advice
There have been few applicants that have requested pre-lodgement planning advice from the CTP, as this has been done primarily by the Manager Environment & Community Development on island. No concerns have been registered with the LHIB in respect of the timeliness or quality of this advice.
TheCTP believes there is a high quality of pre-lodgement advice provided to the Board and applicants.
The quality of development applications, which is discussed in Section 6.0 below, could be improved with more instances of pre-lodgement planning consultation between the application and the CTP. Opportunities to improve this process should be investigated.
6.0Quality of Development Applications
Though improvements have been made in the submission of DAs, the CTP still have concerns regarding the quality of DAs submitted to the Board. Majority of DAs require further information from the applicant.
It is recommended applicants of larger,more complex DAs to engage a professional town planner to assist in the DA process.
It is also recommended the Board continue to use the DA checklist and no accept DAs which are lodged without a clear, concise application and Statement of Environmental Effects including all necessary information.
7.0Feedback from Board regarding quality of planning services and reporting
Periodic feedback (anecdotal and by email) has been provided by the Board on the quality of planning services provided to the Board.
Feedback received has been very positive both in regard to the high quality of reporting and timely delivery of services.
Feedback was received during the October 2014 Board meeting in relation to certain background information not being included in an Owner’s Consent assessment report. RPS have responded to this feedback by proposing to include a section in all assessment reports which discusses previous applications that are relevant to the proposal. The Board will also need to consider in their reviews of assessment reports the need to include background information where relevant. While this has generally been done to date, there was an oversight on the occasion noted above.
8.0Update on Planning Bill 2013
The Planning Bill 2013 (Bill) still remains in the upper house as of early 2014. There has been no progression in the Bill and the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) is to rely on the existing Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act).
DPE believes further information will be provided in March 2015, to coincide with the election. It is believed the direction will be to amend the existing EP&A Act.
9.0Changes to LHI LEP 2010
A Planning Proposal to amend the provisions under LHI LEP 2010 relating to the permissibility of wastewater management systems on LHI was submitted to the DPE on 12 September 2014. The aim of the proposal isto facilitate a simplified and more efficient process for upgrading wastewater management systems on the island. The application is currently with the DP&E for Gateway Determination. Assuming the proposal is approved at Gateway, the proposal will be placed on public exhibition for either 14 or 28 days for comment. Once any submissions are considered the proposal is finalised and considered by the Board for endorsement to ask the department to request that the Minister make the plan together with all relevant supporting information.
The Board is currently preparing a Planning Proposal to amend the mapping of Significant Native Vegetation across Lord Howe Island following the review of existing mapping. The Planning Proposal is currently within the final stages of preparation following substantial consultation with individual leaseholders and is anticipated is likely to be considered by the Board at the February/ March 2015 Board meeting before being submitted to the DP&E for Gateway Determination. See above for next steps following Gateway Determination.
10.0Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (CTH)
An approvals bilateral agreement is currently being negotiated with the Commonwealth. The draft agreement includes accreditation of NSW’s approval processes under Part 4 of the EP&A Act, providing the consent authority is not a local council.This will mean that the Board will no longer need to refer projects for Commonwealth approval under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) for impacts on world heritage. The Board’s approval will be sufficient.
The key impacts on the Board will be making sure that:
- approvals are not inconsistent with Australia’s obligations under the World Heritage Convention, the Australian World Heritage management principles, or a management plan under the EPBC Act
- environmental assessment requirements and documentation and any submissions received are published
- information is provided to the Department of Planning and Environment on any approvals issued and to the Commonwealth on any proposed actions that are likely to have a significant impact on a World Heritage property.
11.0Conclusion
The averageDA and OC processing timefor has remained consistent and lower than the average Council in NSW.
The CTP provides a number of recommendations at Section 12.0 to improve the procedures and efficiencies of development applications.
12.0Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board:
(a)Note the information regarding applications assessment for the period27 May to 10November 2014 in the Bi-annual Planning Assessment & System Audit.
(b)Investigate opportunities to ensure internal referrals for applications are provided in a more timely manner.
(c)Continue to provide out-of-session Board meetings to facilitate the processing time for applications that require approval by the full board.
(d)Where appropriate, continue to investigate opportunities to broaden the conditions which limit the delegation role of the Board’s CEO and Chairperson to grant development consent.
(e)Continue to apply the exemptions to advertising of development applications that involve minor development as appropriate. Board to publish notifications in local newsletter published by the Board
(f)Reject DA applications which are lodged without a clear, concise application and Statement of Environmental Effects including all necessary information.
Report prepared by/ Approved / Not approved
Jaime Ustin
Date: 12 November 2014
LHI Consultant Town Planner / Penny Holloway
Date:
Chief Executive Officer
Lord Howe Island Board
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Appendix 1
Previous Resolutions
Board Resolution / ActionNote the information regarding applications assessment for the period 25 November 2013 to 26 May 2014 in the Bi-annual Planning Assessment & System Audit. /
Continue to provide out-of-session Board meetings to facilitate the processing time for applications that require approval by the full board. /
Continue to investigate opportunities to broaden the conditions which limit the delegation role of the Board’s CEO and Chairperson to grant development consent as appropriate. / Not commenced
Continue to apply the exemptions to advertising of development applications that involve minor development as appropriate. /
Reject DA applications which are lodged without the necessary information. / In progress - continue to work on
Finalise the Order under s57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 to clarify and broaden exemptions. /
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