The Minister for Planning has introduced the Planning and Environment Amendment (VicSmart Planning Assessment) Bill 2012 into Parliament.
The Bill proposes amendments to the Planning and Environment Act to enable a streamlined assessment process for planning permit applications in planning schemes.
This scheme will be entitled VicSmart.
Application criteria for VicSmart will be clearly set out in all planning schemes so communities know in advance how applications will be managed. The new process will apply to a range of different applications such as:
· minor subdivisions in urban areas;
· building or extending a fence within three metres of a street;
· managing vegetation;
· erecting a pergola;
· development in a flood risk area;
· altering road access where the road is or will be in a Road Zone Category 1; and
· erecting small advertising signs more than 30 metres from land in a residential zone where the sign is not lit, electronic or animated.
The Property Council are strongly in support of this reform and the opportunities it represents for the planning industry.
