Councillor Don Palmer Providing Local Leadership & Working for You

I thought it timely as I go to hear the concerns of a ratepayer tonight about our Development plan and what he sees as (in my words) our plan’s shifting goal posts to ask a question in this forum, and attempt to answer it.

Who owns the Development Plan that each Council has?

As a builder I was not aware, until becoming an elected member, that the Minister for Planning owns the Development plan for each Council. The Minister for Planning must be satisfied in other words that our Plan meets his requirements and therefore meets the strategies of the Government (State) of the day.

In other words Councils are asked to police development standards established in the Council’s name by and for the State Government. We do get some say in the Plan relevant to our own “patch” but our opinions it seems only have credence if it mirrors the objectives of the Government.

We are currently negotiating with DPTI regarding a series of Development Plan Amendments linked to the current Government’s 30 year plan for Adelaide. Tomorrow night I am expecting Council to be briefed on our current suggestions and I suspect there are a number of sticking points that may wind up being non negotiable.

Once we can get agreement  between the two parities it will then go to the Minister for signing off ready for us (yes US) to go out for a “final” public consultation. We at Council will then likely cop the flack if they do not like something about the plan, even though we may be in full agreement with the aggrieved person.

This gets us back to why I am writing this post on my blog. I have to explain this to a ratepayer who is aggrieved at Council and that is on the current Development Plan, knowing I then leave his place to get told what we can’t do with the new plans. And I dont’ think he will be too happy with them.

PS   I will post further at another time on the process of Development Applications and Approvals, noting there have recenlty been changes to the Planning Regulations.