SEPP 65 - Apartment Design Guide

05 I Review PanelsMeeting formatThe chairperson should run the meeting in accordancewith the agenda. A suggested format for individual itemsincludes:• site inspections• panel pre-discussion and application overviewby council planning staff including site history,background, surrounding proposed/approveddevelopments, compliance with planning controls,internal referral comments (e.g. heritage, stormwater,traffic / parking) and submissions/objections.Relevant state government agency commentsshould also be provided. Depending on the issue,a representative of the referral agency may also beinvited to attend the meeting• proponent presentation – short presentationexplaining the project within the local context,background and how it addresses key design qualityprinciples of SEPP 65 and the Apartment DesignGuide• panel questions/clarifications of the proponent – asrequired• panel discussion – debate and drafting of advice andrecommendations• confirm agreed advice and recommendations - thechair convenes a vote by panel members on theadvice and recommendationsWhere an application has been considered previously a siteinspection may not be necessary and the council planningstaff briefing will update the panel about the compliance ofthe amended scheme.Providing advice and voting on recommendationsPanel members should be aware of the following pointswhen providing advice and finalising recommendations:• advice should be in plain English that is readilyunderstood by the consent authority, thedevelopment proponent and the community• advice should be consistent between schemeiterations. If significant changes are recommendedthat depart from previously issued advice they mustbe supported by full written justification• when preparing advice, the panel should be awarethat the BASIX State Environmental PlanningPolicy overrides SEPP 65 provisions on thermalperformance, greenhouse emission reduction andwater reduction• either the design review panel or the council mayrequire that additional expert assistance be soughtin the assessment of a particular proposal or othermatter, and• panel members should vote on the recommendationsfor each proposal being considered. In the case of atied vote, the chairperson has the casting voteMinutes and reportingPanel members should be aware of the following pointswhen minutes are being drafted:• minutes should be recorded directly into the templateand preferably wall-projected in the meeting roomto enable recommendations to be finalised at themeeting. A meeting minutes template is provided insection 5E templates• the panel meeting minutes should include anaccurate record of the key discussion points andpanel recommendations• the minutes are to be endorsed by the design reviewpanel and returned to council within 14 days of themeeting. Ideally the minutes should be completed onthe day of the meeting to streamline timeframes• report recommendations should assist council'sdecision making, including suggested amendments,draft conditions of approval and if relevant, optionsfor considerationSEPP 65 requires that the panel’s advice be madepublicly available and accessible. It should therefore bepublished on the council/s website within seven days ofreceipt from the panel.DRAFT | Apartment Design Guide I September 2014139