Topics

Development and zoning issues

Councils are responsible for planning and development control for their council areas.

Zoning and rezoning matters are for council to determine in consultation with the community. Rezoning decisions are also subject to a final decision by the Minister for Planning, on the recommendation of the Department of Planning. Further information is available from the Department of Planning..

Neither the Minister for Local Government nor the Department of Local Government have the power to intervene or direct the council in the assessment or determination of development applications. Nor is it the Minister’s or the department’s role to adjudicate on the merits of development applications. Council must assess the merits of each application having given due consideration to all relevant matters it must consider under section 79C of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

If you are seeking approval for a development

If you are dissatisfied with council’s handling of your application, you may have a number of options. If it has been refused, you may amend your application and reapply for development consent. You may alternatively apply for a review of the council’s decision under section 82A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. Finally, you may appeal to the Land and Environment Court against the council’s decision or council’s failure to determine your application in the prescribed time. You may wish to seek legal advice if you are considering appealing council’s decision.

If you have a concern about a proposed development

Many councils publicly notify certain types of development application and invite public comment on them. If council does so, this is your opportunity to put your views on the application before council. To the extent they are relevant to the matters council must consider in determining applications, the council presumably will take those views into account.

Unless the development is a designated development, objectors cannot appeal against the merits of a decision to grant development consent. Objectors’ rights to challenge development consents in the Land and Environment Court are limited to cases where there is some legal defect in the decision taken by the consent authority. If you believe that the development consent raises a serious legal issue or poses a serious threat to the environment, you can consult a community legal centre, the Environmental Defender’s Office or the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

If you have a concern about the conduct of a private certifier

You should complain directly to the certifier in the first instance. If you remain concerned, contact the Building Professionals Board. The Ombudsman and, in the case of alleged corruption, the ICAC, also have the power to investigate private certifiers.

TOP 

TOP