AN amendment to rezone Lot 600 (No. 499) Beechboro Road North, Beechboro from residential to general commercial was passed en bloc at the City of Swan July 9 meeting.

According to the officer’s report the rezoning of the 1674sqm block was sought to align the zoning with the commercial uses which have been operating on the site.

The land is used for a Bottle-O with general commercial land to the south and residential to the north and west of the site as well as east of Beechboro Road North.

Once the consent was received from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the proposed amendment was advertised for a period of 50 days,’’ said the officer’s report.

“A total of seven submissions were received from the public, of which one supported, four objected giving comments, one objected giving no comment and one conditionally supported. The key concern raised by the objections was that the rezoning would result in a loss of businesses and jobs.

“City staff note the amendment is updating the zoning to better reflect the land’s current land use and that the continued operation of businesses ultimately depends on consumer demand and business success.”

In its submission on the proposal Main Roads WA said it had no objection to the amendment but said a transport impact assessment (TIA) should be prepared and provided as a technical document supporting the proposal, considering all permissible land uses within the general commercial zone of the city.

“A TIA is considered required for the proposal rather than at subsequent planning stages given that the proposal results in land use intensification of a broader range of commercial land uses permissible on site, additional to the shop use and are high traffic generating land uses,’’ Main Roads said.

But the officer’s report said city staff considered it unlikely the amendment would cause significant impacts or increase demand on the traffic network as it was not proposing any development, therefore found it unnecessary to require a TIA at that stage.