On 18 October 2017, the NSW government introduced the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Bill 2017 (‘Planning Bill‘) into Parliament. The Planning Bill substantially amends the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘) in a number of important respects. This blog takes a…
Testing the waters – the Court of Appeal rules on the proper application of the Catchment SEPP
A recent decision of the Court of Appeal (‘Court‘) has ruled on the proper application of the State Environment Planning Policy (Sydney Drinking Water Catchment) 2011 (NSW) (‘Catchment SEPP‘) when a proposal for development will involve the discharge of water…
Analysis: Raising the Cap – Local Infrastructure Contributions for Dwellings and Residential Lots
In our recent ALERT, we notified of the new Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Amendment Direction 2017 (2017 Amendment) The 2017 Amendment amends the contributions cap for new dwellings and residential lots imposed under the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Direction 2012…
The Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Amendment Direction 2017 was published today on the website of the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. It is accompanied by a Circular. The Direction is given by the Minister for Planning…
Conditions of consent requiring VPA compliance
A Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court has held that a condition of development consent that required a voluntary planning agreement (‘VPA‘) which had already been entered into to be complied with before the issuing of a strata subdivision…
New Planning Laws for NSW – An initial overview
Earlier this week the NSW Government released an exposure draft of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Amendment Bill 2017 (Amendment Bill) which proposes to make a range of amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act).
The Court of Appeal has upheld the earlier decision of the Land and Environment Court that Council water supply authorities may require development servicing charges (DS Charges) to be paid as a fee for services under s608 of the Local Government Act…
Who are you? – Verification of Identity and the Right to Deal in Conveyancing Transactions
Lawyers and conveyancers around NSW are now required to take “reasonable steps” to verify the identity of their clients and establish their clients’ right to deal in a wide range of “Conveyancing Transactions”. This requirement is the result of new…
My previous article examined the concept of value capture, provided a basic land economics justification, and described how it is typically implemented through voluntary planning agreements (‘VPAs‘) under s93F of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘) in connection with planning proposals in an urban…
Section 93F of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘) establishes a statutory system of bargaining for community benefits between planning authorities and persons interested in the use and development of land, such as landowners and developers (‘landowners‘). The bargain…
Valuing works-in-kind – a reminder
A recent decision in the Supreme Court of New South Wales highlights the difficulties that can arise when valuing works-in-kind under agreements between a council and developer under s94(5)(b) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act).
As noted in the previous post titled “Voluntary Planning Agreements in NSW – Ten Years On”, dated 12 July 2015, voluntary planning agreements (‘VPAs’) under s93F of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act’) have become an important planning tool…