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

96 Did the council have appropriate management arrangements for the delivery of its planning services?
Recommendation
16. In future, the council should respond to any findings and
recommendations of its planning service reviews through
initiating appropriate changes to its procedures and practices.
RESPONSE provided by Glenelg Shire Council
Recommendation agreed.
Council has adopted the recommendations of the review completed in July 2004
and has continued to implement these processes.
4.9 Have recent initiatives by the council led to
better planning outcomes?
Following the 2004 internal review of the council’s planning function, the
council introduced a number of key initiatives in July 2004, which included:
a revised delegation instrument and decision guidelines
a planning procedures manual (including revised notification policy)
a Delegated Planning Committee (with delegated powers).
The council considered the new initiatives were necessary to improve controls
and processes, and to bring council planning in line with industry best
practice.
4.9.1 Revised delegation instrument and decision guidelines
The revised delegation instrument and decision guidelines were prepared
following a review of current practices and procedures – and benchmarking –
against other councils. The delegation instrument and guidelines cover:
statutory compliance
operational efficiency
improved customer service
delegations to council officers and external service providers
procedures to guide notification of planning applications and decisionmaking
working arrangements for the newly created Delegated Planning
Committee
reporting and communication.