SHIRE of Mundaring resolved at its April full council meeting to recommend to the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) that the shire’s Local Planning Scheme No 4 be repealed, and a new scheme be prepared in its place.
The review comes on the back of a recent council decision to support a change in focus in the Stoneville area, away from urban development to rural residential, to reflect community aspirations and challenges with bushfire management.
“The preparation of a new local planning scheme will ensure that the shire has a document which is consistent with the current regulations and provides appropriate development standards throughout the shire for further years,” a spokesperson said.
“Updates need to be made to the planning scheme so that it aligns more with the state planning framework including changing the layout of the scheme text so that it is consistent with the WAPC’s current local planning scheme template.
“This will also amend, where necessary, terminology and definitions so as to be more consistent with the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015.”
Shire of Mundaring President Paige McNeil said council’s commitment to prepare a new and contemporary Local Planning Scheme will ensure that the shire’s zoning and land uses are fit for purpose, aligned to our environmental strategies and compliant under the recent planning reforms, including revisions to State Planning Policy 3.7 – Planning in Bushfire Prone Areas.
A shire spokesperson said this was an important decision for council as it recognises the need to not only update the scheme to align more strongly with state government requirements, but to do more work in gauging community aspirations for the shire.
The scheme review will follow the current review of the council ‘plan for the future’, which council is currently working through and will be used to inform the scheme review.
Local planning schemes set out the way land is to be used and developed, classify areas for land use and include provisions to coordinate infrastructure and development within the local government area.
“More information will be provided in coming months about the Local Planning Scheme review process,” the shire spokesperson said.
