Building and Development Policy

Principles

1. The Built Environment includes all built settlements in urban and regional areas (such as cities, towns and villages, industrial centres and tourist resorts), and the public and private developments within them and the infrastructure that supports them.
2. There is a pressing need to move the focus of current planning away from the unrestrained rights of the developer, towards a focus on sustainable development, residential amenity, and community empowerment.
3. Current process is driven by large profits that can be made in the development of land and, in particular, residential and tourist development.
4. The potential adverse impacts on the environment, heritage, and the amenity of the surrounding area and its community are not sufficiently accounted for by the developer.
5. We should support appropriate development that is sympathetic to its environment, heritage considerations and community needs and oppose the sale of public lands such as schools, hospitals and reserves.
6. Inherent in the process of urban consolidation and increased density is the need for additional services, infrastructure and open space.
7. The planning process is undermined by donations from developers to the dominant political parties.
8. The current system of expert submissions and advice to the planning process is biased in favour of the developer, who selects and pays the consultants.
9. The system of private building certification has created a direct conflict of interest between developers and certifiers, whose regulatory role is easily compromised by commercial imperatives.
10. That while increased urban densities afford potential environmental, economic and affordability benefits, current policies of urban consolidation have:

• 10.1 Failed to produce quality living spaces for residents;
• 10.2 Damaged the quality of existing neighbourhoods and the amenity of surrounding communities;
• 10.3 Destroyed the character of many urban areas and produced alienated and unpleasant urban forms;
• 10.4 Produced massive and unsustainable profits for a number of developers that continue to drive unrealistic profit expectations; and
• 10.5 Focused on site development without significant regard to the surrounding area.

11. Heritage is viewed by developers and, in some instances, by planners as an obstacle to the planning process, rather than an asset, as it should be.
12. The demolition industry exerts significant political power and often facilitates destruction of existing buildings, where adaptive reuse may lead to better outcomes.
13. The value of existing materials is rarely measured and, therefore, environmental costs such as embodied energy costs, cost of transport, land fill costs, ground disturbance, damage to neighbouring buildings, noise and dust impacts are overlooked.
14. Community consultation and participation in the planning and development consent process has been successively weakened over the past decade.
15. A balance is required between prescriptive planning (e.g. controls for floor space ratios and height, which gives the community certainty) and performance based planning (such as design principles or character/place based statements), which encourages innovation/best practice design.
16. Government within all spheres does not commit to adhering to planning controls. Developers pressure incremental planning by way of spot rezoning. Site amalgamations, property title manipulation and rezoning change the character and scale of the built environment, resulting in streetscapes and structures that do not relate in scale or height to human needs.
17. Similarly, developers regularly obtain consent for non-complying developments on the basis that planning controls lack flexibility. These developments then serve as precedents justifying further inappropriate development.
18. While zoning is intended to define land use and limit development, it has become the speculative starting point for land values. Developers treat prescribed floor space ratios and height limits as a right rather than as an upper limit. Other considerations such as amenity, privacy, overlooking neighbours, site coverage, and cultural heritage, which are equally valid in determining the merits of a plan but are less easily measured, are inadequately accounted for or ignored.
    
    

    Goals
    

    The Greens NSW will work towards:

19. Built urban environments that:

• 19.1 Reflect and enhance existing cultural and natural values;
• 19.2 Have well integrated infrastructure and services;
• 19.3 Provide adequate open public space; and
• 19.4 Are healthy and sustainable;

• Streetscapes that:
• 20.1 Reflect a human scale;
• 20.2 Protect and integrate existing heritage values;
• 20.3 Reflect and enhance the cultural and aesthetic values of the immediate area;
• 20.4 Incorporate good design; and
• 20.5 Are safe.

21. Homes that:

• 21.1 Provide a safe and comfortable residence, minimise the impact upon natural systems, by using energy, water and materials in a sustainable way; and
• 21.2 Accommodate flexibility and adaptation to the changing whole-of-life needs of individuals and opportunities to share facilities between households;

22. Shifting the emphasis in land ownership from a belief that development is a right to a belief that it is a privilege. This will create a more level playing field between developers and the community;
23. Recognising that community involvement is both vital to achieving good planning outcomes, and has a valid interest in the decision-making process;
24. Increasing the knowledge and application of environmentally sustainable design principles, such as passive solar design, for urban and rural settlements, and individual buildings; and
25. Greater protection of public open space, residual biodiversity and view, skyscape and horizon impacts of developments on the amenity of public space.

    
    Detail
    

    Reforming the Planning Process

    The Greens NSW will:

26. Not allow the approval of proposals to alter zoning to allow more intensive development without comprehensive community consultation and approval. These re-zonings shall not occur where they will impact adversely on biodiversity, energy or transport efficiency, view corridors from public open space, built heritage, or water quality for wetlands, estuaries, creeks and other watercourses;
27. Require prescriptive controls contained in all Environmental Planning Instruments (“EPIs”), i.e. Local Environment Plans (“LEPs”), Development Control Plans (“DCPs”), State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) and Regional Environment Plans (“REPs”), including maximum height, maximum building floor space, minimum setbacks to site boundaries, minimum allocations of open space but excluding minimum car parking provision, to be enforced without exception, and repeal SEPP No. 1, which permits flexibility in this regard;
28. Enhance the definitions of prescriptive controls, such as height, set back, floor space, open space and site coverage in areas of special significance, or particular vulnerability (e.g. near open space, scenic zones, coastal zone and biodiversity zones);
29. Replace EPIs that seek to encourage socially-and environmentally responsible developer behaviour by offering height or bulk trades-offs with requirements on the developer as a condition of development consent;
30. Establish a requirement that developers conserve and adaptively re-use heritage structures and provide affordable accommodation or pay a substantial contribution towards the public provision of affordable housing;
31. Codify public interest rights and responsibilities into NSW planning legislation and all EPIs and repeal Part 3A of the EP&A Act, which weakens public consultation and assessment requirements for ‘critical infrastructure’ projects;
32. Include in all EPIs best-practice in design and site planning to emphasise design quality and appropriate siting on allotments, and protect neighbour's rights, including solar access, open skyscape, privacy, visual amenity and ability to enjoy private open space. EPIs shall also afford greater protection to the public interest in streetscape, viewscape and private open space; and
33. Establish Ecologically Sustainable Development as the guiding principle in building design and construction standards.

    
    Pre-Development Application Process
    

    The Greens NSW will:

34. Allow Councils to refuse to assess a Development Application that exceeds any of the prescriptive controls by more than 5%, or which is clearly unsuitable within the guidelines for the zoning, the site or its surrounding neighbourhood;
35. Place the onus on the developer to exhibit compliance with any relevant EPIs. The developer should obtain the advice of suitably qualified design consultants and Council, prior to lodgement of a Development Application;
36. Involve community stakeholders and Council supplied design staff at the project formulation stage in order to capture the broadest set of ideas and solutions, including those that satisfy all community needs and expectations;
37. Require developers to meet the costs of resourcing for community and council involvement in the Development Assessment process and challenges to that process; and
38. Legislate to protect objectors to applications from litigation for damages.

    
    Development Applications
    

    The Greens NSW will:

39. Support formalising more rigorous development assessment criteria;
40. Require for sites with or without existing improvement (buildings), any development proposal must be demonstrably better for the community and more sustainable, taking into account both the development itself and all surrounding developments or development approvals;
41. Require all assessments to be conducted independently of the proponent but paid for by the proponent as part of the cost of the development;
42. Establish assessment criteria for Development Applications that include:

• 42.1 An environmental audit of demolition and site preparation phase;
• 42.2 An environmental audit of the construction phase;
• 42.3 Environmental audits (which include transport and materials) to include cost of disruption to the broader community;
• 42.4 Special benefits to low-income and public housing;
• 42.5 An assessment of the development’s resource sustainability, or a life-cycle costing for the building(s);
• 42.6 A qualitative design assessment of the building(s) to determine the functional (social and maintenance overheads) sustainability; and
• 42.7 Community consultation.

Development Assessment


The Greens NSW will:

43. In application of the Precautionary Principle, place the onus on the developer to prove that a Development Application has a neutral or positive impact on habitat and complies with other sustainability criteria. Where a developer is unable to establish that the criteria are met, the Application shall be refused;
44. Require Development Applications to be assessed in the context of the cumulative effects of other previous planning decisions and the effects of the precedent established, especially in relation to greenhouse gases;
45. Require Development Applications to be assessed against sustainable alternatives and best practice in environmental management. Other impacts, such as landfill (especially from demolition), use of rainforest timbers and non-renewable resources, water usage, storm water flows and sewerage impacts shall also be similarly assessed;
46. Significantly extend the period of time available to councils to determine Development Applications as the current 40 day limit prior to ‘deemed refusal’ does not allow adequate time for staff appraisal and community consultation;
47. Allow Councils to refuse a Development Application where there is overwhelming community opposition, as measured by a sampled survey conducted at the expense of the developer and initiated by a petition of signatures of a specified size; and
48. Abolish private certification as it has failed to deliver quality outcomes or to protect future residents. It will be replaced with a system where all certification is conducted by an independent public authority.

    
    Expert Evidence
    

    The Greens NSW will:

49. Reform the process of selection of expert witnesses (technical consultants) to remove conflicts of interest and perverse incentives. The developer shall pay for expert witnesses to be chosen by Council from a pool of certified expert witnesses; and
50. Enable Councils, where a developer tenders expert advice, such as a Statement of Environmental Effects or a traffic study, to obtain its own expert advice to conduct an independent review, at the expense of the developer.

    
    Land and Environment Court
    

    The Greens NSW will:

51. Review the laws governing the Land & Environment Court to remove the inherent bias to the developer;
52. Allow appeals on points of law and merit against Development Consents to the Land and Environment Court with any person or community group granted standing in the Court to oppose Consent;
53. Prohibit developers from submitting plans other than those rejected by council, without its agreement and the agreement of the objectors;
54. Establish a system where the Court reports annually on the findings of each Judge and Commissioner, including a summary of the number of cases decided, in whose favour, whether different to council’s decision, length of case, cost of case for council, developer and objector. This information shall be monitored over the same period as local government elections to determine equity and bias in the planning process in the appellate jurisdiction; and
55. Prohibit for a 12-month cooling-off period new Development Applications after the Land and Environment Court has rejected a Development Application for a particular site, without the written permission of the objectors to that development.

    
    The Powers of the Minister
    

    The Greens NSW will:

56. Oppose the introduction of legislation to either override a Court decision against a Development or to stop a court decision process;
57. Limit the power of the Minister to intervene in the development assessment process to a) refusal or b) the imposition of additional conditions of consent; and
58. Repeal Part 3A of the EP&A Act and remove the Minister’s power to take control of a council’s planning powers.

    
    Publicly Owned Land
    

    The Greens NSW will:

59. End ‘trade-offs’ of publicly-owned land that is held in trust by governments and councils on behalf of the people of NSW who own it;
60. Allow only franchises or leases of public land that support a public benefit (eg. surf life saving club, railway station);
61. Oppose the current practice of granting exclusivity of use of public land (such as shopping bridges over public roads or private motorways) to private developments;
62. Oppose the sale of public lands in urban areas where population is increasing, or likely to increase. Urban consolidation and increased densities, by definition, means new schools, hospitals and open space will be required and public land should be reserved for these purposes;
63. Treat streetscapes (roads, streets, footpaths and laneways) as important publicly owned spaces and their amenity is to be protected and maintained for public use. This should include all publicly accessible areas of privately owned shopping centres;
64. Prohibit developments and subdivisions which go to high water mark. All foreshore areas should be available for public access;
65. Protect existing native vegetation and encourage the planting of native and indigenous vegetation in disturbed areas and gardens; and
66. Within the coastal zone, and particularly on steep or elevated sites within the view catchment of the coast, enhanced site coverage constraints and height limits that are sensitive to site slopes and to the protection of view corridors shall be created and rigorously enforced.

    
    Heritage
    

    The Greens NSW will:

67. Broaden the understanding and application of heritage in shaping the built environment, so that it reflects the full range of significance identified in the ICOMOS Burra Charter. These include historical significance, aesthetic significance, social significance through social, spiritual or cultural association, technical and research significance contributing to our cultural history or environment;
68. Recognise that whilst there is a place for faithful restoration, maintenance of heritage may require accretions to the built form over time to address changing uses, whilst retaining fabric, scale and amenity valued by the community;
69. Remove development bonuses for heritage protection, and replace with incentives such as grants, rates relief, tax deductibility and professional and industry support for restoration, alterations and additions to all valued fabric;
70. Require environmental audits for all existing and proposed new built fabric, including environmental costs of demolition and landfill;
71. Require security deposits relative to the value of works and potential to damage public infrastructure and the natural environment;
72. Require utilities infrastructure, both public authorities and private service providers, to respond appropriately to heritage: built infrastructure, including substations, should present as a component of the built subdivision fabric rather than in the road easement. Public roads and streets should make provision for the linear supply lines which should be buried or removed from the airspace; and
73. Support replacement of heritage in the public domain where this has been removed for obsolete reasons, e.g. trees in the “parking” lane of streets and footpath width awnings with posts at the kerb.

    
    Sustainable Buildings - Developer Responsibilities
    

    The Greens NSW will:

74. In the case of speculative residential developments, subject developers to extended liability, or a ‘warranty’ for a period of two years after construction, where developers are liable for any defects related to the construction of buildings, with no cost to be borne by residents or owners;
75. Place the onus of proof on the developer to establish that a development does not pose unacceptable risks to:
    75.1 The amenity of the surrounding area, including both public and private spaces;
    75.2 The heritage values of surrounding built and natural environments;
    75.3 Local employment opportunities (eg when converting commercial/industrial to residential);
    75.4 The local aquatic environment including the storm water system (quantity, quality and timing of flows);
    75.5 Local flora and fauna;
    75.6 Local transport, water and sewerage infrastructure,(in particular, public transport, such as buses, which is vulnerable to traffic congestion from developments that generate excessive numbers of private vehicle movements); and
    75.7 Air quality and sunlight.

    
    Sustainable Buildings - Design principles
    

    The Greens NSW will:

76. Require all new developments, and alterations and additions to existing buildings, to be designed in accordance with sustainable building principles, with regard to consumption and production of energy and water, sourcing of materials, and the minimisation and treatment of wastewater and other products, and with mandatory guidelines set where appropriate;
77. Implement sustainable building principles throughout the life cycle of the development (i.e. construction, operation, adaptation/demolition) and with consideration of social, cultural and economic sustainability;
78. Establish design principles that support sustainable energy use, including:
    78.1 Use of natural light, passive solar design, heating and ventilation;
    78.2 Insulation, (wall, floor and ceiling/roof);
    78.3 Energy efficient appliances, solar/heat exchange hot water heating; and
    78.4 Onsite energy sources, such as photovoltaics where possible;
79. Establish design principles that support sustainable water use, including:
    79.1 Water conservation;
    79.2 Water efficient appliances, flow regulators on taps and showers;
    79.3 Rainwater collection and use, onsite detention of stormwater where possible and
    79.4 ‘Grey water’ recycling and landscaping with native vegetation;
80. Establish design principles that support sustainable material use, including:
    80.1 Recycled and reused materials where possible;
    80.2 Using materials with low embodied energy content; and
    80.3 Using timber products from sustainable sources and utilising adaptable housing design;
81. Establish design principles that support sustainable waste systems, through:
    81.1 Material reuse and recycling, during all stages of development;
    81.2 The provision of composting and/or worm farming facilities in all households, and larger systems within commercial and industrial developments; and
    81.3 Onsite provision of waste and recycling separation for all developments.