Community planning services in Glenelg Shire Council : 1998-2005 ...

Did the council comply with key legislative, planning scheme and other requirements? 35
We found:
Failure to refer. In some instances, applications had not been referred to
appropriate agencies as required by the Act. In others, conditions were
attached to planning permits indicating to applicants that other
legislative requirements needed to be satisfied, rather than referring
proposals to agencies with responsibility for managing these
requirements.
Issuing of permit before referral authority responds. In one instance, a
planning permit was issued prior to the referral authority responding to
the council’s referral. In this case, the referral authority objected to the
proposal.
Inadequate support for assessors to make appropriate referrals. The
application assessment form contained provision for the assessor to
indicate compliance with relevant referral requirements. However, the
form did not include any reference to the specific requirements of the
planning scheme. (This could be addressed by putting a note on the
assessment form where, say, the proposal involved treating and
retaining wastewater on site, indicating that details of the proposal
should be referred to the Environmental Protection Authority.)
Required conditions not always communicated. In relation to some permits
issued, the conditions required by referral authorities were simply
referred to in the permit and not made a requirement of the permit.
Final decisions not always communicated. The council’s final decisions for
permit applications were not always provided to the referral authority,
as required by the Act.
Referral authorities have raised a significant number of objections with
VCAT over the council’s planning decisions.
Conclusion
Open and effective communication between the council, referral
authorities and other interested parties is critical. Without cooperation,
there is a significant risk that planning decisions will be made without
regard to their impact on public services, infrastructure and the state’s
environmental, historic and heritage assets.
In approving planning permits, the council has, on several occasions, failed
to ensure referral authorities were notified of planning applications. This
highlights the council’s inappropriate attention to and, in some respects,
disregard for the concerns of interested parties.
As well, the number of objections made to VCAT reflects poorly on the
council’s compliance with its legislative responsibilities in respect to these
referrals.