Directions Paper - Western Australian Planning Commission

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Directions Paper on the Integration of NRM and Land Use Planningthrough the preparation and amendment ofRegional Planning Schemes including the:• Requirement to refer newly preparedschemes or amendments to the EPA forconsideration for formal assessment• Reservation of lands for public purposesoften provides opportunities to acquireland containing regionally significantbushland or wetlands, although funds todo this in the Peel and Bunbury regionsare limited relative to the Perth region.• Special control areas to identify andprotect surface and groundwatercatchments• Environmental conditions for the regionscheme determined by Minister for theEnvironment may be incorporated intothe region scheme in a schedule ofenvironmental conditions.It is important to note that when land is zonedurban through a region scheme the opportunityto achieve NRM outcomes such as protectionof environmental assets (e.g. bushland andwetlands) is highly constrained and oftendependent on the level of assessment andadvice provided by the EPA. Land zoned urbandeferred, which is land identified for future urbanuses following the extension of urban services,the progressive development of adjacent urbanareas, and resolution of any environmental andplanning requirements relating to development,is often also highly constrained in terms of theNRM outcomes that can be achieved.The use of urban deferred zoning incircumstances where environmental issues stillneed to be resolved is considered inappropriateas it creates the expectation that the land willeventually be fully developed for urban uses.To guard against unrealistic developmentexpectations it is considered more appropriatethat for land where environmental issues havenot been resolved, the land should remain ruralzoned, rather than be zoned urban deferred.From an NRM perspective it is preferred thaturban deferment only be used to facilitate landassembly and stage future urban developmentonce environmental issues have been resolved.5.2.3 Current level of guidanceOwing to varying levels of planning capacity andexpertise, differing State agency administrativeboundaries and the diversity of environmental,social, cultural, economic issues and sizedifferences associated with regional andsub-regional areas in WA, standard modelsof regional planning strategies have beenconsidered irrelevant or ineffective (WAPC,1995). Generally development of regional andsub-regional planning strategies is guidedby the broad principles of the State PlanningStrategy.At the regional forums facilitated byEnviroPlanning throughout the State, localgovernment planners expressed concernsabout the inability of some regional planningstrategies to provide adequate guidance anddirection to local governments on planningto address issues such as managing urbangrowth, facilitating appropriate rural residentialdevelopment, identifying priority agriculturalland and significant environmental assets. Itwas acknowledged that a lack of region specificguidance through State Planning Policiescontributed to the ineffectiveness of regionalplanning strategies. A copy of the regionalforums summary report has been includedwithin Appendix 2.5.2.4 Agency rolesCollection of asset based NRM information (e.g.native vegetation, water, priority agriculturalland etc) by State NRM agencies at a regionalscale is vital for ensuring that both regional andlocal planning processes adequately considerNRM matters. This requires an integrated andcoordinated approach to NRM by the StateNRM agencies to ensure that this informationis available. This can be difficult to achievedue to the differing resource managementmissions and objectives of each of the agencies,along with the different regional administrativeboundaries that each agency operates under. Itis therefore important from a land use planningperspective that DPI effectively communicatesto the key NRM agencies where there in an38
Directions Paper on the Integration of NRM and Land Use Planningimmediate and likely future demand for regionalNRM information to support strategic planningat a regional and local levels. The recentstructural review and realignment of DPI’s Stateand Regional Policy Division to form threeplanning directorates for the southern, centraland northern planning regions provides anopportunity for DPI to provide direction to keyNRM agencies on where information is requiredto support strategic planning at regional andlocal levels.Commitment and support of State NRMagencies for the preparation and implementationof regional planning strategies is vital inensuring NRM is adequately consideredthrough the direction provided by regionalstrategies for matters such as managing urbangrowth, facilitating appropriate rural residentialdevelopment, identifying priority agricultural landand significant environmental assets.There are a number of regional planningstrategies throughout the State and whilst someof these identify strategies or actions to addressgaps in regional NRM information, there is oftenno commitment from the relevant State agencyto the funding of the action. Consequently thereis a tendency for collection of NRM informationidentified in regional planning strategies tobe opportunistic and dependent on fundingsourced external to State agencies. For examplethe Geraldton Regional Flora and Vegetationsurvey was initiated through funding sourcedthrough the EnviroPlanning project to address aninformation gap identified by comments madeby the EPA on the Geraldton Region Plan.The EPA has a potential role in encouragingthe consideration of environmental mattersat a regional scale by facilitating a regionalapproach to undertaking informal strategicassessments under Section 16 (e) of theEnvironmental Protection Act 1986. Forexample the EPA recently began a strategicassessment of environmental opportunitiesand constraints for the coastal strip betweenDawesville Cut and Binningup in recognitionof the important environmental values andincreasing expectations for developmentof the coastal strip. It is anticipated that thestrategic environmental assessment will assistdevelopment of a joint EPA and WAPC positionon the potential opportunities and constraintsto development of the coastal strip betweenDawesville Cut and Binningup. Whilst resourcesfor this type of assessment are limited, similarregional strategic assessments for areas havinghigh development expectations and importantenvironmental values should be considered.In addition, region planning schemes andtheir amendments are referred by the WAPCto the EPA under section 48 of the EP Act1986. Currently all region schemes andamendments are required to be referred to theEPA regardless of the level of potential impacton the environment the amendment may have.The underlying reasoning behind requiringthe referral of schemes and amendments, isto ensure the suitability of particular land forproposed uses prior to rezoning, so that it isnot necessary for all subsequent developmentand subdivision applications to be subject toenvironmental assessment.5.2.5 A new way forward for regionalNRM planningStrategic planning at a regional scale providesthe most appropriate scale for considering thenatural extent and significance of environmentalassets and for ensuring that they are recognisedand protected through strategic and statutoryplanning at the local level. Consideration ofNRM through regional planning can be furtherenhanced by improved coordination of StateNRM agency, local government and NRMregional group involvement in identification ofNRM land use planning priorities (areas wherethere is high development pressure and highenvironmental values), and collection andinterpretation of environmental information tosupport preparation of local planning strategiesand sub-regional structure plans. Facilitationof workshops for each of the WAPC planningregions has potential to be an effectiveway of involving State NRM agencies, localgovernments and regional NRM groups in the39
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Directions Paper - Western Australian Planning Commission

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