The ACT Government has accepted all recommendations of a review into pre-Development Application community consultation. See the link to the Review report here.
It is pleasing to see that from 1 January 2021, the types of proposals subject to pre-DA community consultation will expand to include Estate Development Plan DAs in established suburbs, and major projects considered by the new National Capital Design Review Panel.
In particular, it is pleasing to see that where proposals are reviewed by the Design Review Panel (DRP), the DRP’s comments must be presented to the community during consultation. This is important as it means the community will be better informed in making comments on proposals as a result of having access to an independent, professional assessment of those proposals.
So in future, the triggers for pre-DA community consultation will be:
- NEW: Estate Development Plan DAs in established suburbs
- NEW: Major projects required to be considered by the Design Review Panel
Plus the EXISTING triggers:
- A building for residential use with 3 or more storeys and 15 or more dwellings, OR
- A building with a gross floor area of more than 5000m, OR
- A development with more than 1 building and the buildings have a total gross floor area of more than 7000m, OR
- A building or structure more than 25m above finished ground level, OR
- A variation of a lease to remove its concessional status.