On 30 October 2020, the Brisbane City Council adopted amendment v20.00/2020 which comprises Citywide Update – Major amendment Package C and Citywide Update – Major Amendment Package E. The amendment supersedes the previous version of the planning scheme, being v19.00/2020 (more information on this below).
V20.00/2020 includes major amendments to the following existing planning scheme policies:
- Air quality planning scheme policy
- Structure planning planning scheme policy
- Transport, access, parking and servicing planning scheme policy
- Transport air quality corridor planning scheme policy
- Vegetation planning scheme policy
Brisbane City Council lists the following aims which are sought to be achieved by the amendments:
- Maintain the diversity of Brisbane’s habitat, plants and animals through strengthening waterway provisions.
- Ensure that the locations of Brisbane’s waterway corridors are accurately reflected in the planning scheme using the most up-to-date information.
- Support Brisbane’s subtropical lifestyle through the identification of significant landscape trees in the planning scheme, incorporating vegetation protected under Vegetation Protection Orders and significant trees identified through the neighbourhood planning program.
- Ensure that the planning scheme appropriately zones land.
- Support economic need and employment growth by refining provisions for appropriately zoned industrial land and discouraging development of industrial land for uses that are more appropriately located elsewhere.
- Ensure a diversity of housing choice for current and future populations, through the coordination of infrastructure and land use planning for new development in emerging community zones, facilitating and guiding residential growth at appropriate densities and locations.
- Provide a variety of housing options to meet diverse community needs, and achieve housing choice and affordability, while ensuring that the design of Brisbane’s buildings and spaces maximise the region’s climate and lifestyle attributes, through improvements to the multiple dwelling and subdivision provisions.
- Maintain and enhance Brisbane’s character by updating the city’s Traditional building character overlay.
- Incentivise the expansion of car sharing schemes in Brisbane within off-street car parking in new developments.
- Ensure the long-term future of the music-based entertainment industry in Fortitude Valley by amending the Newstead Teneriffe neighbourhood plan to expand the special entertainment area to incorporate additional live music venues.
- Clarify the requirements for air quality modelling.
- Protect community health and liveable communities by ensuring that sensitive development within transport air quality corridors is appropriately sited and designed to mitigate adverse impacts of road traffic air emissions.
Superseded Planning Scheme Request Deadline
The Planning Act 2016 provides a mechanism for a land owner to make a request to the Council that a development application be accepted, assessment and decided on the basis of a superseded planning scheme (SPS Request). An SPS Request must be made within 1 year of the planning scheme becoming a superseded planning scheme, however it is recommended that any SPS Request be made as soon as possible after the change to the planning scheme takes effect.
For example, if the planning scheme is amended to reduce the development potential of land, there is a one year window to seek to take advantage of the previous, more favourable planning scheme provisions. Accordingly, the deadline to make an SPS Request to the Brisbane City Council is 29 October 2021.
If the Council agrees to the SPS Request and an SPS application is made, the Council must assess the application as if the superseded planning scheme is in effect, instead of the new or amended planning scheme. In this case, it would mean Amendment v20.00/2020 would be ignored.
If your SPS Request is refused, there is a process which may allow you to claim compensation from the Council for an “adverse planning change”. Whether you can claim this compensation is a complex question.
These changes may also impact the assessment of change applications or extension applications for current development approvals, where relevant.
Please contact us if you would like advice about whether you should consider lodging an SPS Request in relation to this amendment or any other planning scheme amendments. We can also provide advice and assist you with lodging an SPS Request.