Exhibition: Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (eplanning) Regulation SydneyNSW2000

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Clementine Bailey
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1 Exhibition: Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (eplanning) Regulation 2017 Date submission received: 14/03/2017 Name: Veronica Bondarew Location: Submission form content: SydneyNSW2000 N/A Attachment/s: eplanning Regulation 2017.pdf r Page 1

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3 6 March 2017 The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Organisation: ABN: Contact Person Office Address: Postal Address: Address: Telephone: Number of Page

4 Introduction ACS NSW represents over 200 Consulting Survey firms in NSW and approximately half of those firms are located in regional NSW. The type of activities undertaken by survey firms cover a range of disciplines that directly relate to the creation of new Torrens and Strata titles including planning, infrastructure design, construction management, survey and project management Survey firms, particularly in regional areas, are the primary consultant in a large proportion of land and property development activities and as such we believe it is important to provide a submission to the inquiry based on our experiences and the problems being encountered by our members. It is our view that a modern, agile and responsive planning system is an important structural element to economic and social growth in regional NSW. The system should be capable of arresting the decline in populations in rural communities but it should also be capable of handling the growth pressure that exists in coastal areas and larger tree change regional centres. The planning system should be well resourced and make significant use of code complying development provisions to reduce application processing times and eliminate the need for large bureaucracies within local councils. Feedback on a proposed regulation change to help enable people to lodge development applications online. We welcome the introduction of a system that simplifies the lodgement of development applications which is consistent with the stated philosophical perspective. However in relation to proposed boundaries the only person qualified to offer advice on property boundaries is a land surveyor registered under the provisions of the Surveying and Spatial Information Act Although we note that Councils commonly advise applicants that they should seek assistance from a qualified person this is not always the case and the on line lodgement system proposed can exacerbate problems already being experienced by the industry. Currently we are seeing plans being prepared by unqualified people (particularly drafting companies) showing proposed boundaries in Torrens Title and Strata Subdivisions. These plans are generally prepared without requisite knowledge of the legislation, the immediate requirements or later consequences. In particular there are concerns in relation to Detail Survey Plans and matters relating to boundary dimensions and existing setbacks. Architects, engineers, planners and councils

5 6 March 2017 all rely upon these surveys. By not showing boundary dimensions and setback checked on site by a Registered Surveyor (Surveying and Spatial Information Act 2012) can result in significant delays and costs when physically building on a block that has dimensions shown that were not verified. In the worst case scenario it may cause an approved building to be constructed over the boundary and the costs to adjoining owners and rectification open ended. The same is true of Easements and Rights shown on the land to be the subject of an assessment. Registered Surveyors understand intimately the effect and implications of Rights, Easements, Covenants and Restrictions and provide location and notes on each plan prepared. With regards to Development Applications for Land, Stratum and Strata Subdivision it is imperative that Draft Plans be prepared by a Registered Surveyor. We have received many complaints/enquiries from Councils that have received a Draft Subdivision plan only for the dimensions and areas of proposed lots calculated incorrectly by non Registered Surveyors/Draftspersons/Architects/Owners. These errors cause unnecessary delays as requests for more information take time not to mention possible redesign issues. We estimate that there is a significant amount of work done by unregistered surveyors defining boundaries. Anecdotal data suggests up to 40% of the details lodged are not from firms of registered surveyors. The cost of future rectification of incorrect plans is an issue that impacts significantly on the public interest. We therefore strongly propose that the Department consider adopting a policy that requires any development application involving a proposed subdivision requiring the proposed subdivision plan to be prepared only by a registered surveyor and signed and dated as part of any application involving a survey showing boundary and property boundaries

Exhibition: Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (eplanning) Regulation LeichhardtNSW2040. Rachel Josey Team Leader Assessments

Exhibition: Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (eplanning) Regulation 2017 Date submission received: 24/03/2017 Name: Inner West Council Location: LeichhardtNSW2040 Submission form content: