Amendment 40 Como Hotel

The questions are in relation to the City of South Perth Town Planning Scheme No. 6 Amendment No. 40 which closed for comment on June 14.

Please attribute the following comments to City of South Perth Deputy Mayor Kevin Trent:

Has the City been approached by concerned residents who want the Town Planning Scheme No. 6 Amendment No. 40 to be placed back out for comment? If so, what is the City's response to this?  Will they consider re-advertising it? Has this ever been done before? 
Amendment No. 40 to the City’s Town Planning Scheme No. 6 was open for public comment for more than six weeks and closed on 14 June 2013.  

Three weeks after the closing date, the City received a letter from the Save Como Action Group asking the Council to extend the submission period by at least two weeks.  

The City has advised this group that, because the submission period had closed some weeks earlier, it was not possible to extend it. 

The statutory town planning regulations do not provide for a second submission period after the advertising process has concluded.  This Scheme amendment should be non-controversial and there is no justification to re-open the public consultation period. 

How many residents provided feedback to the Town Planning Scheme No. 6 Amendment No. 40 after the June 14 deadline?
The City is currently assessing the submissions.  When this assessment has been completed, Council will consider the report on the submissions. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?
It is evident that there is some confusion in the community as to the purpose of the proposed Amendment No. 40.  If approved, the amendment will rezone one un-used residential-zoned lot, 148 South Terrace, to the Highway Commercial zone to enable the Como Hotel to expand its car park onto this land. 

The amendment will not result in the demolition of the Como Hotel, or conversion of the Hotel into a liquor store.

Although the hotel owners have stated they wish to construct a new liquor store to replace the existing liquor store, this is not being considered as part of the current Scheme Amendment. 

The amendment needs to be approved by the Minister before the applicant can submit detailed development drawings. The approval by the Minister could take around 18 months.

Once the scheme amendment is approved the applicant can submit detailed development drawings for a replacement liquor store to be advertised for community comment.  

The drawings contained in the amendment document are conceptual only, illustrating one possible design option for a replacement liquor store.  Council has not yet seen, received or considered definitive building plans which may differ from the concept drawings.

At the present time, no assumptions can be made about the Council’s support or otherwise, for a new liquor store. 

Any future development application for replacement of the existing liquor store would be subject to the normal neighbour consultation process, so neighbours in the near vicinity would have the opportunity to view the actual proposal and to comment on it at that later time. Any development proposal would need to meet all requirements of the City’s Town Planning Scheme No. 6 and meet all of the requirements of the Liquor Licensing Court.