Good news for City residents as Local Housing Strategy amendment approved

“The recoding is good news for both current and future residents,” Mayor Roberts said.

Minister for Planning Donna Faragher has approved Amendment No.119 to the City of Wanneroo District Planning Scheme No. 2 which will increase residential density in parts of Wanneroo and throughout Girrawheen and Koondoola.

Land in the amendment area currently classed as R20 (20 dwellings per hectare) will be classed as R20/R40 (40 dwellings per hectare) subject to infrastructure capacity such as water and sewer, and vehicle access.

Some areas may be recoded to R20/R60 based on their proximity to activity centres.

Mayor Roberts said the recoding was the culmination of six years of work and negotiations with organisations including the Western Australian Planning Commission, the Water Corporation and Main Roads.

“The City’s current population of 195,000 and the recoding will significantly increase potential housing supply and infill development meaning greater housing choices for our residents,” she said.

Should residents have questions about how their land may beaffected by the amendment, should contact the Council’s City Growth team on 9405 5000.

Wanneroo & Girrawheen-Koondoola Scheme Amendment Map

Background:

• The City of Wanneroo’s Local Housing Strategy was adopted in 2005 and considered expected population growth, demographic profiles, and which precincts that could be redeveloped by increasing residential density.
• In 2010, Council adopted a Local Planning Policy titled ‘LPP 3.1: Local Housing Strategy Implementation’ to define the boundaries of these housing precincts and identify the extent of potential density increases.
• In 2011, LPP 3.1 was amended to increase the size of some housing precincts.
• The City engaged consultants to assess the capacity of road, water and sewer networks and their ability to accommodate the higher densities proposed for each housing precinct. These studies identified a number of potential infrastructure upgrades.
• The City prepared new scheme provisions to ensure that development cannot be approved unless essential infrastructure (sewer/water/power) is considered to have adequate capacity to service the lots at the increased density.
• Further provisions to prevent redevelopments from increasing the number of new driveways and crossovers will improve the usability and attractiveness of the streetscape.
• On 11 February 2015, the City wrote to the Western Australia Planning Commission (WAPC) to request consent for Amendment No. 119 to be advertised for public inspection.
• On 15 September 2015, Council considered the submissions received and formally adopted Amendment No. 119, resolving to forward the scheme amendment proposal to the WAPC and prepare a Local Planning Policy to address the consolidated access, design and streetscape development requirements in areas subject to a split density code.
• On the 13 October 2015, the City forwarded the proposed scheme amendment to the WAPC for assessment.
• On 29 February 2016, the City received notification from the WAPC of a requirement to amend the proposed scheme amendment and was given 42 days to action this request.
• The City returned the final scheme amendment to the WAPC for sign off by the Minister for Planning on the 10 March 2016.
• Amendment No. 119 was formally approved by the Minister for Planning on 12 April 2016.
• The approved amendment was published in the State Government Gazette today 29 April 2016, meaning the scheme amendment has now taken affect and redevelopment and subdivision can commence.