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ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT
(AMENDMENT) BILL 1994*
NEW SOUTH WALES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Explanatory Note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament)
The object of this Bill is to amend the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act
1979:
(a) to define the extent to which the Director of Planning is obliged to consult with
councils and others in the preparation of a draft regional environmental plan;
and
(b) to make it clear that a consent authority may contemporaneously consider a
development application and a proposed amendment to an environmental
planning instrument; and
(c) to limit the discretion of a consent authority in determining a development
application in so far as the proposed development complies with development
standards that are identified in the relevant environmental planning instrument
as being non-discretionary development standards; and
(d) to enable a consent authority to impose performance-based conditions of a
development consent; and
(e) to make further provision or the determination of development applications
made by or on behalf of the Crown; and
(f) to enable the making of regulations under that Act of a savings or transitional
nature consequent on its amendment.
Clause 1 specifies the short title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or days to
be proclaimed.
Clause 3 gives effect to the Schedule of amendments to the Principal Act.
* Amended in committee--see table at end of volume.
SCHEDULE 1--AMENDMENTS
Consultation concerning draft regional environmental plans
Schedule 1 (1) amends section 45 to specify the extent to which the Director of
Planning is obliged to consult with councils and others in the preparation of a draft
regional environmental plan. The Director will be required to provide specified
information to them, they will have the opportunity to comment to the Director on the
preparation of the environmental study or draft regional plan within 40 days after the
information is provided to them and the Director will be required to consider any
comments so made.
Instrument amendments and development applications
Schedule 1 (2) inserts proposed Division 4B (sections 72172M) into Part 3 of the
Principal Act. The purpose of the proposed Division is to make it clear that a consent
authority may contemporaneously consider a development application and a proposed
amendment to an environmental planning instrument.
The proposed Division contains the following provisions:
Proposed section 721 provides for the application of the proposed Division.
Proposed section 727 makes it clear that a consent authority is not precluded from
dealing with a development application pending the amendment of an environmental
planning instrument which, when amended, would enable the development to be
carried out.
Proposed section 72K requires the development application and the proposed
environmental planning instrument to both be publicised in the one notice.
Proposed section 72L will enable an environmental impact statement prepared for
a development application to serve, if appropriate, as an environmental study for the
proposed environmental planning instrument.
Proposed section 72M will enable the same Commission of Inquiry to inquire into
the development and the amendment of the environmental planning instrument.
Non-discretionary development standards
Schedule 1 (3) inserts proposed section 9OA into the Principal Act. The proposed
section will enable development standards in an environmental planning instrument to
be identified in the instrument as non-discretionary development standards. If
development the subject of a development application complies with a development
standard so identified, the consent authority has no discretion under sections 90 and 91
of the Principal Act to give further consideration to the development standard, to refuse
the application on the ground of non-compliance with the development standard or to
impose conditions more onerous than the development standard.
Performance-based conditions of consent
Schedule 1 (4) amends section 91 to enable a condition subject to which a
development consent is granted to be expressed in terms of the outcome or objective to
be achieved without specifying any particular means by which the outcome or objective
is to be achieved.
Development applications by or on behalf of the Crown
Schedule 1 (5) substitutes section 91A to clarify the procedure by which
development applications made by or on behalf of the Crown are to be determined if the
consent authority wishes to impose conditions of consent or to refuse consent to the
application.
Savings and transitional provisions
Schedule 1 (6) and (7) contain savings and transitional provisions consequent on the
enactment of the proposed Act and make amendments to the Principal Act that will
facilitate the making of provisions of that kind as a consequence of future amendments
to the Principal Act.