Pre-Application – Getting it right to start with!Rach Lunn

City of Greater Dandenong

The CGD Pre-Application Advice Service

Otherwise known as: “If you liked it then you shoulda got a note on it”

Tran LySenior Statutory

Planner

Afua AdjeiSenior Statutory Planner

Ray Micallef

Senior Statutory Planner

Carolyn Reddy

Customer Liaison Officer

Matt Sacco

Statutory Planner

Norm Kortum

Senior Statutory Planner

Chris Seow

Statutory Planner

MitchSeach

Statutory Planner

Sri Amareswaran

Statutory Planner

Glen Housden

PT SUBDIVISION OFFICER

Paul Iacuone

Team Leader - Statutory Planning

Rod Kean – Team

Leader Statutory Planning

Sarah Salem

Team Leader - Statutory Planning

Rachel Lunn Manager – City Planning and Design

Aisling KeoghStrategic Planner

Darren Wilson

Environmental Planner

Agus Batara

Urban Open Space & Design Officer

James MitchellSustainability Planner

Ceinwen Gould

Senior Strategic Planner

Warren Wood

Team Leader – Strategic Planning

Aime Bigornia

Planning Support Officer

Angela Drakopoul

osPlanning Support Officer

VACANTTeam Leader –Sustainability

Planning

Leanne NichollsBusiness and Project

Support Officer

Rachel Diamond

Strategic Planner

Susan RichardsPlanning Support Team

Leader

Nikki Brock

PT Statutory Planner

Will StewartCoordinator - Statutory Planning Coordinator

Jane BrodieCoordinator - Strategic, Design and Sustainability

Planning

Tony Casciere

Team Leader – Statutory Planning

Dana Mizrachi

Senior Strategic Planner

Sarah Matthews

STATUTORY PLANNER

Hugh Griggs

STATUTORY PLANNER

Amy WagenaarPlanning Support Officer

Anita Collingwo

odPlanning Support Officer

General Applications incl. VicSmart &

Subdivision

Major Developments incl. Priority Paid

Strategic Planning Sustainability

Planning

Planning Administration

Support

Urban Design

and Open Space

Aaron Dyer

Team Leader - Statutory Planning

What is the Planning Pre-Application advice service?...

• The planning pre-application advice service is a service aimed at providing potential applicants with the opportunity to meet with planning officers to discuss their proposal, identify key areas of concern, and gain an understanding of the planning permit application process.

• Planning applicants and agents often request advice on whether a particular proposal is likely to be successful.

• This is a valuable process because it can identify improvements needed to a scheme prior to submission and can save people submitting applications that have little or no prospect of success.

Statutory Planning performance improvements

Applications decided ‘on time’

YEAR 11/12

YEAR 12/13

YEAR 13/14

July and August

2014

PPARS expectation

60% 60% 60% 60%

PPARS actual

27% 49% 56% 68%

Planning Pre-Application Service

• We have implemented a very successful Pre-Application Meeting Service in early 2013

Year 13/14

Planning Pre-Application Advice Service requests & completions

162

Applications lodged after a Pre-App?

153

Refusals on schemes that were ‘Pre-App-ed?’

1

What doesn’t the pre-application advice service do?

• The pre-application advice service does not apply to existing applications or to applications that are currently being considered by VCAT.

• The pre-application advice service cannot provide a professional consultancy service. The Statutory Planning Team is here to assess and make recommendations on your proposals, and advise where your proposal does/does not meet the Planning scheme or Council policy requirements. Officers are not able to offer planning consultancy, design or architectural, traffic, civil engineering services, etc.

• Applicants who are unsure about preparing a planning application are advised to consult with an independent, suitably qualified professional. Details of town planning consultants can be found at www.planning.org.au.

What does the pre-application advice service do?

• Provides a Meeting and Written Document Service

• Consistency in outcomes – the right level of input

• Improve PPARS

• Councillor and Executive buy-in

• Certainty & Transparency

• Negotiate first – play ‘hard ball’ second!

• It stops “Jody Says...”

What advice will I receive? Is it legally binding?

• In all cases, officers will be pleased to offer advice, based upon their own professional judgment, however this will not commit Council to a particular decision or outcome.

• A Council decision will only be forthcoming once the actual planning application has been lodged and determined. Above all, the Council’s discretion to make the final decision cannot be prejudiced in any way.

• All information and correspondence (including plans, drawings, photos, emails, etc.) that you submit to Council in relation to a pre-application proposal, as well as meeting notes and written feedback, will be held in Council’s Records Document Management System.

How does the service work?

• As part of the pre-application advice service, you will have a meeting with a planning officer to discuss your application. Depending on the complexity of your application, you will receive written feedback within one of the following timeframes:

Simple and Average proposals - a written response will be provided to the applicant within two weeks of the meeting.

Complex and Regional/City Importance proposals – a written response will be provided to the applicant within four weeks of the meeting.

WE HAVE A ‘LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY’ TABLE – SEE HANDOUT

.

What level of planning officer will deal with my proposal?

• Simple and average proposals will generally be handled by a Statutory Planning Officer or Senior Planning Officer, with assistance from other council officers as required.

• Complex proposals will generally be handled by a Statutory Planning Team Leader, with assistance from other council officers as required.

• Regional/city importance proposals will generally be handled by the Coordinator Statutory Planning with assistance from Manager Planning and Design and other council officers as required.

• The Director of City Planning, Design and Amenity can be requested to attend the initial meeting for a proposal of regional / city importance, however all such requests must be directed to the Manager Planning and Design or the Director’s Personal Assistant.

How can I access the Service?

• To access the pre-application advice service, you must complete a Planning pre-application advice service request form (PDF) and submit to Council with any required supporting information in person, via fax, post or email (details on form).

• Once we receive a valid request and the necessary supporting information, you will be contacted within a week and a meeting date will be offered to you. We try to arrange a meeting within three weeks of receiving a valid request. Appointments are only during normal working hours.

• Council will provide you with a reference number (PlnPre) and you will be notified of the name of the planner who will lead your pre-application meeting.

SEE SERVICE REQUEST FORM

What does it cost?

• Simple proposals - free of charge

• Average proposals - free of charge for the initial service (up to 2 meetings and 1 written document), then $100 for each meeting or written document thereafter

• Complex proposals - $200 for the initial service (up to 2 meetings and 1 written document), then $200 for each meeting or written document thereafter

• State/City Significant proposals - $300 for the initial service (up to 2 meetings and 1 written document), then $300 for each meeting or written document thereafter

How to our Internal Processes work?

SEE THE PLANNING INTERNAL PROCESS DOCUMENT

How do we organise allocating Pre-Apps?

WE HAVE AN ALLOCATION AND TRACKING SPREADSHEET

What Written Feedback does the applicant get?

SEE THE WRITTEN RESPONSE DOCUMENT

How have we embedded Pre-App in our systems?

• Written Pre-Application Advice Docs go onto each New Application File

• ‘Three strikes’ rule for unsupported developments

• Embedded in Councillor thinking – they ask residents or developers “Didn't you use our Pre-App? Officers could have helped you first!”

• We use it for internal projects too – City Improvement, new Kinders, changes to Sports Pavilions etc

Over to you guys....

What questions can I help you

with??

Thank you

I hope I’ve helped a little in starting or improving your Pre-App journey!