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Draft MRS amendment for east Wanneroo causes concern for City of Wanneroo

Laura PondWanneroo Times

At its June 28 meeting, the council endorsed a submission to the WA Planning Commission that said the Metropolitan Region Scheme amendment to rezone areas in east Wanneroo should not be finalised until issues regarding the draft Perth and Peel Green Growth Plan for 3.5 million were addressed.

The amendment is open for public comment until July 8 and proposes to rezone 2100ha of land from rural to urban deferred.

A report by the City noted that about 150ha of land that was shown as potential urban in the East Wanneroo Structure Plan released by the commission in 2011 was not part of the amendment area.

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“Administration suspects that this is due in part to five of these six areas being proposed for protection for environmental reasons under the draft Green Growth Plan,” it said.

One area is identified as having a threatened ecological community (Banksia attenuata woodland), three have broad commitments relating to remnant vegetation complexes and/or Carnaby’s black cockatoo feeding habitat and the sixth was possibly excluded due to it being a priority one public drinking water source area.

The report said the amendment was “strongly related to and impacted by” the plan, with about 300ha of the amendment area subject to commitments and Environmental Protection Authority advice recommending the plan’s proposals for the area be implemented through the City’s District Planning Scheme.

The City’s submission requested information regarding land acquisition and management to assess implications, more detailed mapping to identify the commitments being applied to specific areas and details about possible financial contributions from developing landowners.

“The above issues need to be adequately addressed prior to this area being rezoned urban deferred,” it said.

“Having such a large proportion of the area being subject to broad commitments for protection under the draft (plan) and the highly dispersed and fragmented nature of those commitment sites poses potential problems.”