Saying one thing and doing another: WA's planning system
You’ll remember in May 2022 the City of Perth Council voted 7-0 to reject a change of use for a drop-in homeless centre at 147 James Street in Northbridge. It was the first time our Council had ever called in an application and took such action.
You’ll also remember the State Government then stepped in and overturned this decision before SAT could even hear the applicant’s appeal.
This summary from Paul Murray is an excellent snapshot of the situation at the time: https://thewest.com.au/opinion/paul-murray-labors-undemocratic-support-for-a-homeless-centre-is-bad-for-northbridge-revival-c-8473774
Fast forward to today and the centre is up and running. As expected, complaints roll in about the alleged lack of adherence to the management plan approved by the Minister, the only instrument available to keep them accountable to approval conditions.
You only have to take a drive past the location to make your own mind up if it’s adding to the amenity of the area now it's operational. Would you sign a long-term lease next door? Is this land use compatible with our long-term vision for the Northbridge precinct considering what’s on the horizon with the Perth City Deal?
To ensure Council protected other ratepayers from a similar situation, in June 2022 Council backed my motion to see the City administration prepare a scheme amendment to ensure that any future development applications for land use across the entire City of Perth boundary under the Community Centre definition would be changed from "Preferred" to "Contemplated".
In December 2022 this was again passed by Council after the City completed its important town planning process set out in state regulations and managed by the WA Planning Commission.
This was the right move for our City, our ratepayers and our neighbourhoods because it would have achieved three primary goals:
- Each time an application is lodged citing this land use, proper community consultation must occur - something that was not required under a "Preferred" use,
- Applicants can no longer apply their own definition of what a Community Centre is to suit their aspirations with no regard neighbourhood impact, and
- Council would have the ultimate discretion in refusing an application based on this use without having the threat of State Government interference in a local decision made by democratically elected representatives.
I say “would have” because last month in the middle of the 2023 local election campaign, the City of Perth Council received notification that the State Government had rejected this change.
It’s hard to understand where the State Government is coming from here. They rightfully acknowledge we have an important role to play in setting the long-term vision for our respective neighbourhoods while forcing us to stay out of individual DAs.
That’s reasonable, which is exactly why we moved to change the most important strategic document we have when it comes to planning the future of our city - our town planning scheme.
It took months of work from our ratepayer-funded planning team as they navigated the process set out by the State Government and now they’ve rejected it for no apparent reason other than they seemingly didn't like the decision.
As I said earlier this year, the continual erosion of local accountability means we are worse off, so you cannot blame some councils for having doubts as to the true agenda of this government.
As usual these updates are my personal opinion only and do not reflect the official position of the City or my colleagues on Council
Cr Brent Fleeton
City of Perth