City of Belmont wants to see DAPs improved, not removed

Belmont calls to improve, not scrap DAP panels

THE City of Belmont is calling for Development Assessment Panels to be improved instead of scrapped.

“It reached the conclusion that rather than seek the abolition of DAPs, it would be constructive to offer improvements in operational aspects of this planning reform,” chief executive Stuart Cole said.

The council compiled a list of suggestions for consideration by the Planning Minister, the chairman of the Western Australian Planning Commission and the director general of the Department of Planning.

They included having independent members appointed on the basis of their specialist expertise in particular land uses, such as residential, commercial or industrial.

“A specialist in planning law would be a welcome addition,” Mr Cole said.

“This would mean that rather than the DAPs being geographically based, they would deal with types of land use.”

The council called for a member of the WAPC to chair the DAP meetings to ensure the State’s strategic plans and policies were given sufficient weight.

It suggested that JDAP members were adequately briefed and had an understanding of the relevant council’s Local Planning Scheme and Council policies.

“The City is of the view that DAPs may be raised as an election issue, but it understands that both major political parties see there is a place for DAPs,” Mr Cole said.