Bills

Statutes Amendment (Intensity of Development) Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. T.R. KENYON (Newland) (10:33): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Development Act 1993 and the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. T.R. KENYON (Newland) (10:33): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am introducing this relatively simple bill because of matters that have arisen in my electorate as a result of some proposed developments. Gordon Avenue, a street in my electorate in St Agnes, is a cul-de-sac. There are 27 dwellings on that street and on the same street there are two substantially large blocks. Most of the blocks of course are 800 square metres or 1,000 square metres. One block is 6,500 square metres and a second block is of a similar, if not slightly smaller, size. A proponent has purchased the 6,500 square-metre block and is proposing to build 24 dwellings on that block.

Those quick at maths will see that it is almost a 100 per cent increase in the number of houses on that street. They will also realise that there is still another very large, similarly sized block with scope for approximately the same number of dwellings to be built on top. Assuming everyone else does a two-for-one development on their blocks, as they might ordinarily be entitled to, you are starting to get to a point where you might have 100 dwellings on that small cul-de-sac in St Agnes, which was never intended to carry that many houses.

Currently, councils do not have the ability to look at a development, look at a street and assess the total number of dwellings in the event that all blocks were developed to the potential of the zoning in that area. This bill seeks to give councils the power to have a forward look, to essentially determine the carrying capacity of a street to see how that might be evenly and fairly spread across all landholders in a street, and then to make a decision on a proposed development on that basis. The first provisions of the bill seek to do that.

The second part seeks to clarify powers that already exist under the act. The act already gives councils the power to enforce decisions of the Development Assessment Commission, and that is not explicitly stated in the bill. My bill seeks to clarify this to ensure councils know they have the power to enforce conditions of the Development Assessment Commission decisions, and that they have their suite of powers, being able to do everything they would do to enforce the conditions of a decision they made. They also apply to Development Assessment Commission decisions. It is a relatively simple bill and I commend it to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Treloar.