What is a Local Council Planning Permit?
In relation to any development work or changes to property in your area, the local Council has a legal document known as a Planning Permit. This
Planning Permit sets out the types of land uses and developments allowed for certain properties. Not all development needs a Planning Permit, some sites are prohibited completely and others will need a Planning Permit - especially in the case of properties on heritage zoned areas. If a Planning Permit is required for your development, then this must be obtained and approved before you obtain your Building Permit. The Building Permit then needs to comply with the conditions and endorsed requirements of the
Planning Permit.
How do I check if my property is affected by an Overlay?
An Overlay only affects certain properties.
There can be more than one Overlay affecting a property.
You can check whether your property has an Overlay or a zone affecting it, by checking with your local council Planning Scheme.
Typical examples of an Overlay include Heritage Overlays, Significant Vegetation Overlays, Flood Prone Overlays, as well as Design and Development Overlays etc.
Information pertaining to the Overlay affecting your property will state whether or not you need to obtain a Planning Permit to construct a building or make any changes to your property.
Will I need a Planning Permit?
If your zoned property is affected by an Overlay, this could contain requirements which set out whether or not you will need to obtain a Planning Permit to undertake subdivision, development or other works to your land. Depending on your plans, you may be required to lodge an Application for a Planning Permit at the Planning Department of your local Council. This Planning Permit is the legal document which allows you to develop or change your property.
How much will I have to pay for a planning permit?
The planning fee which you will be required to pay when lodging your application is included in a Schedule of Planning Application Fees which is held at each Victorian Local Council.
This Schedule of Planning Fees is derived from the Planning and Environment (Fees) Regulations, 2000.
The amount you will need to pay for your planning fee will depend on the nature of your planning application, whether for development or renovation use and will also depend on the cost of this proposal.
Can I lodge an objection to a planning application?
An objection to a planning application can be made to your Local Council during the advertising period - if there is genuine concern.
Up to the time that your planning application is processed and granted, anyone can lodge an objection to the Local Council.
If you have concerns about a specific planning application, you should check with your Local Council as to whether they consider your objections are valid and reasonable. You can usually obtain a standard Objection Form which is available from the Local Council.
Your objection, once received by the Council, will become a public document and will be stored in the Council’s planning file where it can be made available to all other parties.
In the event of lodging an objection with your Local Council against a planning application, this enables you to lodge a further Application for Review (appeal) at VCAT against the Local Council should it decide to issue a Notice of Decision to Grant a Permit in support of the planning application.
Is it possible to make changes after my planning application has been lodged?
Your planning application and your plans can be changed simply by contacting your Local Council Planning Department, making a request to them and showing them the intended changes.
In some cases changes to the plans may have to be considered if there have been objections after your advertising period has expired. Your planning and plans can be changed only to address these concerns.
However, you could be asked by the Local Town Planning Department to re-advertise the application showing the intended new changes, especially if they will be visible from the outside of your property.
You could be required to lodge a new planning application by the Local Council in cases where you propose significant new changes to your application - such as new floor levels, or adding an additional unit and these changes are made after the advertising period has expired.
Can you give an idea of how long it would take to get a Town Planning Permit?
Obviously this depends on many factors associated with your project. This part of the building process is most unpredictable and is dependent on several things - your design expectations, local planning laws and council planning departments.
Neighbours’ response to your project should also be taken into account. It is advised you start your planning at least eighteen months before you select your proposed builder because of the number of people and steps involved in this often lengthy process.
If your permit is granted earlier you can start your project sooner. Please also refer to our article on the time frames with the planning process: “How long will my planning application take to process”
How many dwellings can I fit on my property?
As simple as the question seems, that answer is a little more complicated. There are set rules and guidelines for each and every area and property within that area.
The shape, orientation and slope of your lot and any other site-specific features that may prevent development must be firstly acknowledged. When proposing new development there are a number of other factors to take into consideration that will influence how many units you can fit on your property.
Even with set rules, each property has a different orientation and the slope boundaries are also in different lengths and positions. So when looking at a proposed development site there are number of key factors to take into account that may determine the number of dwellings you can fit on your property.
Key factors
- Vehicle access, turning arrangements and driveways
- Minimum private open space areas required for each unit
- Number of bedrooms will dictate the number of car parks required
- Energy efficient design requiring good northern solar access to windows and private open space areas
- Minimum site and permeability coverage areas required for your property
- Setback distances required from property boundaries
- Setback distances required to the street frontage
- Impacts upon adjoining and surrounding properties including overshadowing, overlooking and excessive building bulk and scale
- Building height proposed with respect to adjoining and surrounding building heights in some case the building height is imposed as an overlay specific to your property.
In addition to the above, your local council will also have local planning policies that include specific planning controls for your local council area.
This may well include additional requirements that control development and potentially limit the number of units allowed on your property. There is no easy answer to the number of units you will fit on your property until you take all of the above factors into account.
Property Subdivision will look at all these factors and ascertain the amount of dwellings allowed for your project before you outlay any money. Please also refer to our article “How many units can I fit on the property?”
