SATTERLEY has been given a June deadline to file a further ammended North Stoneville SP34 by the State Administration Tribunal (SAT) with strict parameters in place for any third party interventions or submissions.
On March 8 SAT made orders to progress the matter with Satterley required to file a further amended structure plan by June 14.
According to a SAT third party participation in planning matter info sheet there are four ways – being called as a witness by the respondent, making submissions under section 242 of the Planning and Development Act 2005, intervening in a proceeding under section 37(3) of the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004, and possible participation in mediation.
Being called as a witness usually involves giving evidence on behalf of a respondent – in the case of the North Stoneville structure plan the applicant is Satterley Group while the respondent is the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC).
Regarding intervention the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004 says the Attorney General may, on behalf of the state, intervene in a proceeding of the tribunal at any time and the tribunal may give leave at any time for a person to intervene in a proceeding on conditions, if any, that the tribunal thinks fit.
A North Stoneville update by the Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage (DPLH) – listed on the state government’s website – said following the submission of a further amended structure plan the respondent and applicant would each file a statement of issues, facts, and contentions and documents relevant to their case by July 12 and August 9 respectively.
“Applications to intervene under section 37(3) of the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004 or to make submissions under 242 of the Planning and Development Act 2005 are to be made to the tribunal by August 23,’’ the update says.
This follows an earlier advice note by the WAPC when it refused the amended structure plan on December 7 last year saying there were typographical and reference inconsistencies and discrepancies in the structure plan documentation that needed to be addressed.
The SAT third party participation in planning matters info sheet said a third party should usually first speak to the respondent or its representative if they wish to give evidence.
“Anyone giving evidence to SAT usually needs to prepare a witness statement of their evidence,” the info sheet said.
The DPLH update said Satterley is allowed to address the errors and provide clarification about certain issues to help streamline a final hearing for determination by SAT.
“The order does not allow the applicant to substantially change the structure plan proposal,’’ the update says.
North Stoneville, which proposes a new townsite in the Perth Hills, was first refused by the WAPC in July 2020.
Satterley then applied for a SAT review of the WAPC’s refusal and in November 2022 ordered the applicant (Satterley) to provide an amended structure plan and supporting information to the respondent (the WAPC) and also asked the respondent to reconsider their refusal.
The amended structure plan was advertised for public comment between March 10 and May 8 last year.
Interested parties including the community, Save Perth Hills, the Shire of Mundaring, the City of Swan, and government agencies such as the Department of Fire and Emergency Services were invited to provide comment.
The WAPC was given an extension to reconsider the amended structure plan to allow referral agencies more time to assess Satterley’s traffic and bushfire modelling.
On December 7 last year, the WAPC refused the amended structure plan following the recommendation of the statutory planning committee on November 30.
