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

Did the council comply with key legislative, planning scheme and other requirements? 73
3.6.1 Findings of our review
Our review of the council’s planning files and information disclosed:
A lack of information. There was insufficient evidence on file to show that
the council had considered all relevant matters in assessing planning
applications, and to support its decision to approve or reject planning
permits. Very few planning decisions were supported by a planning
report.
When questioned on the lack of file documentation, the planning
contractor advised us that, although not formally documented, his work
was based on discussions with applicants, surveyors, other specialists
and councillors and supported by site visits, reference to the council’s
computer mapping system, other electronic property databases, and the
planning scheme.
A very low planning permit refusal rate. Of over 1 000 planning
applications received by the council, only 15 permits were refused in a
3-year, 4-month period (January 2002-May 2005).
An extraordinarily quick decision-making time. During 2004, the average
time taken to make decisions on planning permit applications was 1.7
days. In March 2003, comparative information indicated other councils
took an average of 68 days to process permits29 . Under the Act, the
council is normally required to make a decision on a planning
application within 60 days30 . The time taken by the council to process
permits has significantly decreased over the last 10 years from 29.8 days
in 1995 to 1.7 days in 2004.
A reliance on VCAT to resolve contentious issues after approval. Discussions
with the planning contractor and councillors indicated that where an
application was difficult to assess or required considerable additional
work, it was the council’s practice to approve the permit and let any
objections and contentious issues be dealt with at VCAT. A council
review of its involvement in VCAT hearings concluded that although
VCAT appeals generally added 4 to 6 months to the planning process, it
provided “a reasonably inexpensive means whereby parties to an
application can seek review” 31 .
29 J Harris 2003, Best Value Review of Statutory Planning Services, Glenelg Shire Council, Portland.
Council statistics do not include the time the application spends in the hands of referral agencies.
30 Variations in processing can be attributed to different procedures in how applications are processed
(in particular the extent of community consultation), the level of complexity, the adequacy of
supporting information and different types of applications.
31 B Wilder, Town Planner, Glenelg Shire Council, Review of VCAT, Report presented at council
meeting on 13 February 2001, pp. 15-17.