Delay to Civic Heart DA

Enquiry from Reporter, WA Today

We will be running a story on how the JDAP delayed the Civic Heart decision after being confronted with a 1400-page RAR from the City including 109 conditions, with new information being added to the pile even five minutes before the meeting. 

I understand the City will be asked to consolidate and validate the conditions before the next meeting. 

I would welcome a comment from the City regarding whether the RAR size is typical/reasonable and whether the City is disappointed by yet more delays to development in its centre. 

Please attribute the following responses to City of South Perth Mayor, Sue Doherty.

What are the details around the length of the report and late additional information? 

The Civic Heart is the most significant and iconic site at the gateway of the City. It is also a complex site, bounded by busy roads including an entrance to the Freeway. 

The JDAP members were presented with a 1,445 page report to review prior to yesterday’s meeting. The length of the report and accompanying attachments is considered reasonable given the complexity, scale and significance of the development application.

The City provided the report and attachments in accordance with the rules set by the Western Australian Planning Commission, in respect to preparing reports on large and significant developments for consideration by the JDAP.  

The City met all its obligations under the Development Assessment Panel regulations with respect to the timing and provision of information. 

The Western Australian Planning Commission is the responsible authority for the DAP process and timelines and therefore the issue of timing is something that would need to be raised with them.

Is the RAR size typical/reasonable?

This is a significant site for the City, and this application has been developed over four years with the applicant. 

The length of the report and accompanying attachments were extensive given the complexity and scale of the development application. 

Is the City disappointed by yet more delays to development in its centre?

The City remains committed to the best possible development on the most important site in the South Perth Peninsula.

The Council acknowledges the efforts the applicant has made to address heritage issues on this site and keep the Council informed of its developing views of building on this site – including responding to comments from the City’s Design Review Panel.

Additional comments on this matter:

The JDAP determined it needed a further 90 days and more information from the City to make a decision on this matter, as it did not have adequate time to determine the matter at the meeting.

The Metro Central JDAP professional members had to consider and deal with separate matters on the previous two days before yesterday’s hearing. 

Providing information at the beginning of the meeting was a consequence of the abbreviated timeframes of the State Government to process DAP matters.

A greater length of time for the JDAP members to consider the 1,445 pages of the report - which included 109 proposed conditions on this application, given its scale - was warranted.