Town Planning & Development Approvals

Overview

Whenever a person or business would like to develop their land, they are required to submit a plan and its intended use to the Shire and Council to check if it abides by planning guidelines and aligns with strategic goals of the Shire. In context, this means that your development does not unduly impact land owned by others, has free and clear access to public utilities, has a visual style is cohesive with the surrounding neighbourhood, is structurally sound, does not increase the risk of injury to passersby and the public at large, and is designed in a way that minimizes the chance and spread of fire.

There are two different approvals that must be received from the Shire before any construction can start. These approvals are broadly separated into two systems: the development approval process and the building approval process. Approval in one system does not mean approval in the other. Development approval must be received before proceeding to the building approval process, unless an exemption applies.

If you have already received your development approval and are ready to start applying for your building approval, please navigate to the Building Approvals page.

Otherwise if you have any further questions, or require clarification on a point, you may contact the Shire at shire@lakegrace.wa.gov.au or call 9890 2500. We prefer you to send your enquiry by email as a response may require time and research to formulate.

Legislative References

The powers granted to the Shire for administering and enforcing planning matters is granted principally under the Planning and Development Act 2015 (the "Act") and the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 (the "Regulations"). Below are links to each.

External Link: Planning and Development Act 2005

External Link:  Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015

Development Approvals

Introduction

Development is defined as below:

Development means the development or use of any land, including any demolition, erection, construction, alteration of or addition to any building or structure on the land and the carrying out on the land of any excavation or other works and, in the case of a place to which a Conservation Order made under section 59 of the Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990 applies, any act or thing that: is likely to change the character of that place or the external appearance of any building; or would constitute an irreversible alteration of the fabric of any building.

A development approval, also known as a planning approval or Council approval, is an approval granted by the Shire of Lake Grace Council to a person or business after assessment of their development application against the Shire of Lake Grace's Local Planning Scheme No. 4 ("The Scheme").

Link: Lake Grace Local Planning Scheme No. 4

The Local Planning Scheme is a document which guides the way the Shire grows its townsites and rural areas at a strategic level, and provides a consistent set of guidelines for Council to assess proposals against.

Criteria that are assessed are:

• whether it complies with the relevant provisions of the Local Planning Scheme;
• is an appropriate use on the property according to its zoning classification;
• has no detrimental impact upon the locality and nearby public land; and
• has no adverse impact upon landowners and occupants of adjacent properties.

On top of the Scheme, proposed developments must also follow State Planning Policies (SPP) which are written by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC). These policies cover a very wide range of situations in planning, including the R-Codes. If your proposal is commercial, industrial or agricultural in nature there is a high chance at least one of the SPP will apply. Our town planner will assess your proposal under the relevant SPP and advise of any changes you may need to make.

External Link: State Planning Policies

Finding out your zoning

Properties are zoned as one of seven types. These are:

• Residential;
• Commercial;
• Service Commercial;
• General Industry;
• Townsite Development;
• General Agriculture; and
• Rural Residential.

When you are looking at purchasing new land or thinking about developing your own land, it is advisable to know what the zoning is to see whether your future development is allowed. Zoning of lots is managed by the Department of Lands and Heritage (DPLH) as opposed to the Shire, and this information can be found in a set of .pdf maps published on the DPLH website.

External Link: Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage - Lake Grace Planning Information

Changing the zoning of a lot is also the responsibility of DPLH, though later in the process the Shire will be asked for comments by DPLH as part of their due process. Rezoning is a very lengthy process even for simple and small lots, taking upwards of one year, and sometimes to three years for especially complex configuration of lots.

The Zoning Table and what development requires an application

The Zoning Table on page 19 of the Scheme above shows what you can do on each of the prescribed zones. The levels of permissions are:

• P - Permitted (development approval not required if all requirements met)
• D - Discretionary (development approval always required)
• A - Special Notice (development approval always required and proposal is advertised for objections and comments)
• X - Not Permitted (development approval cannot be granted in any and all cases)

Any new development or modifications that fall within 'D' or 'A' level permissions requires a development application to Council.

Change of use class

Changing the use of your lot will also require a development application even if no works are to take place. The list of use classes is taken from the aforementioned Zoning Table. The use class you wish to change to must also be allowed under the current zoning of the lot i.e. changing a Commercial lot's use class from a "Club Premises" for your photography club to a "Bed & Breakfast" is allowed if your application is approved by Council, but changing your clubhouse to a "Winery" is explicitly not permitted.

Changing your use class from a "Discretionary" or "Special Notice" permission level to a "Permitted" level still requires development approval, even if your proposal meets requirements to gain exemption.

Residential developments and interaction with the R-Codes

The Scheme formally adopts the current version of the Residential Design Codes ("R-Codes") for the assessment of residential developments under clause 4.2, with no exclusions or variations. The R-Codes details the planning requirements for residential development.

Volume 1 of the R-Codes covers residential density zones of R35 and below, which constitutes all residential zoned lots in the Shire of Lake Grace. There are two sets of requirements in the R-Codes, the design principles, and the deemed-to-comply provisions. The design principles are written in a general and explanatory tone to allow the Shire Council to discuss whether a proposal meets its requirements. On the other hand the deemed-to-comply provisions are written in a strict and quantifiable fashion such that a proposal can be marked as a binary "Complies" or "Does Not Comply".

Satisfying the deemed-to-comply provisions means automatically complying with the design principles, granting your proposal exemption from requiring development approval. If your proposal is unable to meet the deemed-to-comply provisions, then your development application should address the relevant design principles.

Note: The R-Codes have been amended as of 10 April 2024. The links below have been updated to the newest version.

Link: R-Codes Volume 1

Link: R-Codes Explanatory Guidelines for Volume 1

Link: R-Codes Practice Notes

Developments that don't require approval

Except as otherwise provided in the Scheme, the following developments do not require the development approval of Council.

If your development satisfies any of the exemptions below, you will not require a development approval from Council. As previously mentioned, you will still need to submit a development application so that the Shire can confirm that your development is exempt.

Making a Development Application

Who can apply

An application can be made by anyone, though the most common applicants are the landowner, the occupier or tenant of the land, a town/urban planner, or a builder. For applicants other than the landowner, they will require permission from the landowner to act on behalf of them, which is done by having them sign the "Owner" section of the application form.

The applicant is our first point of contact if we have any further questions or need additional documents.

Application forms

Below are links to the required forms to apply for development approval from Council, and a checklist covering everything the Shire will need to assess your development application. Please run through the checklist before submitting your application to the Shire, otherwise we may request more information, delaying the processing of your application.

Link: Development Application Checklist

Link: Application for Development Approval

Link: Application for Development Approval - Additional Information for Advertisement

Link: Adjoining Properties Form

The Shire will advise if an Adjoining Properties Form is required with your development application.

Certificate of Title

All applications will require the submission of a copy of the Certificate of Title for the relevant lot. Additionally all owners specified on the Certificate of Title need to be identified in the Owners Details section on the Application for Development Approval form.

The applicant is responsible for procuring and supplying a copy of the Certificate of Title. The owner may have a copy or the original, or a copy can be purchased from Landgate.

External Link: Landgate - Certificate of Title Order

Cover letter

A cover letter providing the details of the existing and proposed development and/or use of the land the subject of the application.

For all residential development including carports, pergolas and outbuildings (i.e. sheds), written justification is required for any proposed variation/s to the deemed-to-comply requirements of the Residential Design Codes. A covering letter will be helpful for assessment even if you do not plan to deviate from the deemed-to-comply requirements, and we advise you to place details such as reason for proposal, construction materials used, colour scheme, stormwater management and/or disposal,

For any commercial or industrial development the following details must be provided:

1. 1. a brief description of all existing and/or proposed uses on the land and their days and hours of operation;
   2. the total number of people to be employed on the land;
   3. any processes to be conducted on the land including the type of machinery and equipment to be used;
   4. the type of goods to be stored, manufactured, assembled or sold from the land;
   5. the total anticipated traffic volumes likely to be generated by both heavy and light vehicles including the type, length and frequency of heavy vehicles attending the site; and
   6. all waste likely to be generated including management and disposal arrangements.

Site, floor and elevation plans

Covered in the checklist but repeated here due to its importance; unless the Shire waives any particular requirement, then per regulation 63(1) every application for development approval is to be accompanied by:

(a) a plan or plans to a scale of not less than (not zoomed out further than) 1:500 showing

1. 1. the location of the site including street names, lot numbers, north point and the dimensions of the site; 
   2. the existing and proposed ground levels over the whole of the land the subject of the application and the location, height and type of all existing structures, and structures and vegetation proposed to be removed; 
   3. the existing and proposed use of the site, including proposed hours of operation, and buildings and structures to be erected on the site; 
   4. the existing and proposed means of access for pedestrians and vehicles to and from the site; 
   5. the location, number, dimensions and layout of all car parking spaces intended to be provided; 
   6. the location and dimensions of any area proposed to be provided for the loading and unloading of vehicles carrying goods or commodities to and from the site and the means of access to and from those areas; 
   7. the location, dimensions and design of any open storage or trade display area and particulars of the manner in which it is proposed to develop the same; and 
   8. the nature and extent of any open space and landscaping proposed for the site;

(b) plans, elevations and sections of any building proposed to be erected or altered and of any building it is intended to retain;

(c) any specialist studies that the Shire may require the applicant to undertake in support of the application such as traffic, heritage, environmental, engineering or urban design studies;

(d) any other plan or information that the Shire may require to enable the application to be determined.

All plans are to be accurate and to-scale, or annotated with dimensions. Plans can be hand-drawn but still need to be accurate and to-scale.

Display of advertisements

If your proposal includes advertisement signage or branding for your business (including that of a home business), you will need to complete Form 2. For existing buildings, submission of the advertisement superimposed on its proposed position over a photo of the premises is required. For buildings yet to be constructed, dimension and details of the advertisement are to be placed on the plans.

In Schedule 5 of the Scheme there is a table showing what kinds advertisements are exempted from Development Approval (i.e. a Form 2 is not required).

Additional material for bushfire prone areas

When a proposed development lies within a bushfire prone area, additional requirements may be required to be submitted along with your development application, such as a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) report and a bushfire management plan. These reports will also influence your building plans, as additional bushfire building performance requirements will need to be met before a building permit can be issued.

External Link: DFES website - Explanation of Bushfire Prone Areas

To check if your proposal lies within a bushfire prone area, you can look up your development site on a mapping system managed by the Department of Fire & Emergency Services (DFES).

External Link: Mapping system of Bushfire Prone Areas

If it does, you may reach out to a Bushfire Planning & Design practitioner to look over your proposal to see what may need to changing.

Consideration for flood prone areas

When a proposed development lies within or on the border of a flood prone area, we may ask for you to submit your proposal to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) to receive advice on whether your structures need to be elevated further than the existing natural ground level, and if so, by how much.

If you are requested by us to seek DWER's flood advice for your development, you will need to have a feature and contour survey drafted of your site to confirm existing ground levels, and your proposed site plan. Then you would send the surveys and the proposed site plan to flood@dwer.wa.gov.au to request that advice. After incorporating the changes as advised by DWER's flood team into your proposal, you may then resubmit your development application to us.

DWER maintains a webpage containing information about flood prone areas with a link to their mapping system showing the extent of 1 in 100 flood events.

External Link:  DWER website - Floodplain Mapping Tool

Additional material for heritage matters

Where an application relates to a place entered on the Heritage List or within a heritage area, the Shire may require an applicant to provide one or more of the following to assist the Shire in its determination of the application:

1. street elevations drawn to a scale not smaller than 1:100 showing the proposed development and the whole of the existing development on each lot immediately adjoining the land the subject of the application, and drawn as one continuous elevation;
2. a detailed schedule of all finishes, including materials and colours of the proposed development and, unless the local government exempts the applicant from the requirement or any part of it, the finishes of the existing developments on the subject lot and on each lot immediately adjoining the subject lot.

A property can either be on the Shire's heritage listing, or the State Register of Heritage Places. We have a page for the Shire's Heritage Listing, and for the State's listings you can navigate to inHerit below, which is a database the State Heritage Council maintains that is publicly accessible. inHerit keeps track of more than just State listings; it also displays other types of listings (such as the municipal listing that Shires maintain) so it would be the first place to visit to find all relevant heritage matters tied to a property.

External Link: inHerit Database

If the above information is not received, there will be significant delays in assessing the application.

Fees & charges

Processing a development applications carries a fee, however this is only asked after the town planner has resolved outstanding issues with your application. Please refer to our Fees & Charges page for the cost. Please note that if your application is rejected by Council, the fee is not returned to you.

If we have determined that your proposal is exempt from development approval, then you will not have to pay these fees.

Final Decision

Council at an Ordinary Council Meeting will either approve, approve with conditions, or reject your development application. The results of this determination can be found in the Council Minutes released publicly on our website a few days after the OCM. We will also send out a notification of approval or rejection by letter and by email.

Once you have received approval or conditional approval you may proceed with applying for a building approval (building permit). That process can be found at the Building Approvals page. Please note that development approval from Council does not allow you to start any earthworks or construction works on-site; you still need a building permit in place.

If you disagree with the decision made by Council on your development application, or with a condition set by Council, you may get in touch with the Shire to discuss your issues either by email, over the phone or in-person, and we can try to find a solution.

After this process you still feel aggrieved, you may submit an application for review to the State Administrative Tribunal within 28 days of the decision in the OCM.

External Link: State Administrative Tribunal website

Frequently Asked Questions

When does my development application get approved?

Development applications can only be approved by the Shire of Lake Grace Council during an Ordinary Council Meeting (OCM), or a Special Council Meeting (SCM) if the proposal has Statewide impact. Applications need to be submitted to the Shire two weeks before a scheduled OCM, to give the town planner time to assess your proposal and write an agenda item to Council. Complex applications (works greater than $500,000) may require more time to be assessed so may be pushed to back to a later OCM.

The two week deadline is assuming that the application is complete and the Shire does not need to request additional documents, and the town planner is not overloaded with other proposals. If you are working under a strict deadline please submit your application as soon as possible to allow yourself a good amount of buffer time.

What happens if I don't have a development approval and commence construction/development?

First, a building permit is required for most construction work and is only issued if there is a corresponding development approval from Council, or a development approval exemption applies. Any works without development approval or exemption would also become illegal works under the Building Act (the consequences for that are covered in the Building Approvals section). This is separate from penalties under the development approval system, with the Planning and Development Act 2005 allowing the Shire to:

1. Issue written direction to the owner or builder of the development to stop works, or remove/revert development carried out so far to return the site to its original state. The owner also commits an offence, regardless of whether they complied with the written direction.
2. If the owner or builder fails to carry out the written direction, the Shire can remove/revert development carried out themselves, with expenses from doing this recoverable from the owner or builder.
3. For every offence, the Shire can pursue a fine of $200,000 in a court of competent jurisdiction.
4. For ongoing offences, the Shire can pursue a fine of $25,000 per day in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Additionally, if an accident happens involving the unauthorised development, insurance will not cover damages as it is an illegal build.

Can I change the conditions of my development approval?

When Council approves of a development application at an Ordinary Council Meeting, conditions will be attached to the approval that must be fulfilled within a given time, also determined by Council. If you wish to change the conditions for any reason, you will need to go through the development application process again. This new application would also be submitted with amended site plans and a cover letter detailing why certain conditions should be modified or removed.

If the modifications are minor, the Shire can approve of changes without the need for Council approval.

How long does a development approval last for?

A development approval's period of validity is determined on approval in an Ordinary Council Meeting. For most non-complex constructions (usually up to a single dwelling or shop in complexity) this period is 2 years. Applicants may also request the Shire to extend this period.

If construction has been finished according to an issued building permit but the development approval conditions are still outstanding at the end of the period of validity, the developer commits an offence under the Planning and Development Act 2005. If no development or construction has occurred by the end of of period of validity, the development approval becomes void but no offence will be committed.

If I had already developed my land, can I seek a retrospective approval?

The Shire does allow retrospective approval of developments. This will go through mostly the same process as seeking development approval the regular way, but with increased scrutiny. If the assessment of your development turns up anything that requires rectifying, the developer/landowner must do so at their own cost to receive retrospective approval.