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Background

The Minister for Planning gave the direction under section 9.1 of the Environmental Planning Assessment Act 1979 to form local planning panels, appointed by councils to determine certain development applications and to provide advice on planning proposals. This direction took effect from 1 March 2018.

The Panel is composed of a chairperson, two independent expert members and a community representative.

Local Planning Panels determine development applications and modification applications involving development of a kind specified in the Local Planning Panels Direction – Development Applications and Applications to Modify Development Consents made by the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces on 30 June 2020 as follows:

1. Conflict of Interest
Development for which the applicant or land owner is:

(a) the Council,
(b) a Councillor,
(c) a member of council staff who is principally involved in the exercise of council’s functions under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979,
(d) a member of Parliament (either the Parliament of New South Wales or Parliament of the Commonwealth), or
(e) a relative (within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993)** of a person referred to in (b) to (d)but not development for the following purposes:(a) internal alterations and additions to any building that is not a heritage item,
(b) advertising signage,
(c) maintenance and restoration of a heritage item, or
(d) minor building structures projecting from the building façade over public land (such as  awnings, verandahs, bay windows, flagpoles, pipes and services, and sun shading devices).

**Note: A relative in relation to a person, means any of the following–

(i) the parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, lineal descendant or adopted child of the person or of the person’s spouse or de facto partner,
(ii) the spouse or de facto partner of the person or of a person referred to in paragraph (i).

2. Contentious Development
Development that is the subject of 10 or more unique submissions by way of objection.

A unique submission means a submission which is in substance unique, distinctive or unlike any other submission. It does not mean a petition or any submission that contains the same or substantially the same text. Separate unique submissions may be made in relation to the same issue. One individual, or one household, could potentially submit multiple unique submissions.

3. Departure from Development Standards
Development that contravenes a development standard imposed by a planning instrument by more than 10% or non-numerical development standards.

4. Sensitive Development
(a) Designated development.
(b) Development to which State Environmental Planning Policy No 65 – Design Quality of Residential Apartment Development applies.
(c) Development involving the demolition of a heritage item.
(d) Development for the purposes of new licenced premises, that will require one of the following liquor licences:
(i) a club licence under the Registered Clubs Act 1976,
(ii) a hotel (general bar) licence under the Liquor Act 2007,
(iii) an on-premises licence for public entertainment venues under the Liquor Act, 2007.
(e) Development for the purpose of sex services premises and restricted premises
(f) Development applications for which the developer has offered to enter into a planning agreement.

Note: Other categories may require referral to the SLPP in accordance with delegations.

Planning Proposals

Council is required to refer all planning proposals prepared after 1 June 2018 to the local planning panel for advice, unless the council’s general manager determines that the planning proposal relates to:

  • The correction of an obvious error in a local environmental plan
  • Matters that are of a consequential, transitional, machinery or other minor nature, or
  • Matters that council’s general manager considers will not have any significant adverse impact on the environment or adjoining land.

Strathfield Local Planning Panel Annual Written Disclosures of Interests

Under the provisions of Clause 4.17 (b) of the Local Planning Panels Code of Conduct August 2020 issued by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment each Panel Member has completed a Disclosure of Interest for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.They are published below in accordance with Clause 4.23 of the Code.

Meeting Times

Generally, meetings of the Strathfield Local Planning Panel (SLPP) take place on the second Thursday of each month, unless there are no agenda items for that month. *

The Public Meeting will generally commence at 10:00am in the Supper Room at Council Town Hall located on Redmyre Road, Strathfield.

*The Strathfield Local Planning Panel Meeting for March 2024 will be held on Thursday 28 March 2024 in the afternoon. The Public Meeting will generally commence at 4:00pm in the Supper Room at Council Town Hall.

How to Register to Speak at the Public Meeting of the SLPP

Any person(s) who wishes to register to address the SLPP in respect of any particular item listed on the agenda of any particular meeting is required to complete the below application form.

SLPP Register to Speak

Agenda and Minutes

Agendas for meetings of the SLPP are published on Council’s website a week prior to the meeting.

Deliberations of the Panel are carried out in closed session following the public meeting. The Minutes of the Meeting with the Panels’ resolution will be made available on Council’s website.

Plans for Development Application Agenda Items can be viewed via Council’s DA Tracker

Meeting dates are subject to change.

Irregularity in appointment of SLPP Chair 2021-2022

The Strathfield Local Planning Panel (Panel) is constituted under Division 2.5 of Part 2 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (Act).  In particular, s 2.18 of the Act provides that a local planning panel is to comprise:

  • an approved independent person as chairperson, with relevant expertise,
  • 2 other approved independent persons with relevant expertise, and
  • a representative of the local community who is not a councillor or a mayor.

The Act outlines the requirements for local planning panels and criteria which must be satisfied for a person to sit on such a panel.  Relevantly, only the Minister can ‘approve’ a person to be the independent chairperson.

In 2021 the Minister approved Marcia Doheny to sit as Chair of the Panel.  Despite this, the then CEO of Council re-appointed Paul Stein AM QC as the Chair of the Panel.  This re-appointment was invalid.  Whilst Strathfield Council acknowledges that Mr Stein is an eminently qualified person in matters relating to planning and environmental law, he had not been ‘approved’ by the Minster for appointment to the Panel for the purposes of the Act.

In these circumstances, Council’s recently appointed General Manager, Michael Mamo, has removed Mr Stein from the position of Chair. Going forward only persons approved by the Minister as an “approved independent person” under the Act will occupy that position.  A copy of the letter to Mr Stein in this regard can be found here.

Council will contact affected applicants and landowners to discuss the impacts of the above.

If you have any concerns or queries in relation to this matter, please contact Clare Harley, Director Planning and Environment on 9748 9655.

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