April 2021

Message from the Chair of the State Planning Commission

It is with much pleasure that I pen my first column for Planning Ahead as Chair of the Planning Commission. What a busy month we have all had!

I was extremely proud to see the new planning system for South Australia come into effect last month. This was precipitated by a huge amount of work by PLUS staff to ensure the launch of Australia's first electronic planning system was robust, that planning policy was finalised, training was conducted and a service desk was in place to assist and support our customers.

I have heard many good things from our external stakeholders about the smooth roll out and how users are transitioning to the new system.

With this major milestone now complete, we move to the next phase of settling in to our broader "business as usual" role. This includes putting the appropriate structures in place for the Commission to deliver on its stipulated roles and functions to ensure our approach is appropriate, durable and sustainable. It is also expected that our attention will now turn to any required policy adjustments and refinements via Code Amendments, to ensure the full potential of the new system is realised, and that it remains dynamic and provides for good planning for South Australia.

One key area of policy that now requires the Commission's attention is the 5-year statutory review of the Environmental Food Production Areas (EFPAs). The Commission will be conducting this review from April - September this year via a two stage approach. The first stage is an internal review of land supply; and the second stage, a review of the EFPA boundaries including public consultation. You will hear more on this in the coming months.

Another key component will be to actively implement the increased transparency measures for the Commission, instigated under Michael Lennon's leadership, and to identify further opportunities in this respect that will lead to an appropriate balance of community input and regulatory leadership.

We have also announced an Expression of Interest for an additional member to join the State Commission Assessment Panel.

I look forward to working with you and delivering on these commitments.

Helen Dyer
Chair, State Planning Commission

Message from the Executive Director

It has been an exciting first quarter for Team PLUS in 2021.

I would like to congratulate Helen Dyer on her appointment as the new Chair of the State Planning Commission. Helen is well placed to steer the new planning system through its next phase and ably build on the invaluable experience of the former Chair, Michael Lennon, whose significant contribution to planning and development in South Australia now also includes overseeing the delivery of Australia's first ever state-wide Planning and Design Code within an ePlanning platform.

It has been a great pleasure working with Michael and we wish him all the best for his future endeavours.

Since going live on 19 March 2021, the new planning system now has over 7520 active users and has received over 1395 development applications worth over $628 million from within metropolitan Adelaide alone. This builds on the successful delivery of the Phase Two Code, which from 31 July 2020 until 18 March 2021 saw 3070 applications lodged worth in excess of $624 million.

We are continuing to work with our stakeholders to optimise the ePlanning system over time and expect the number of development applications and users within the new system to ramp up progressively in the coming weeks. Sustained training and business readiness support has been pivotal to our objective of improving system adoption and optimisation – having hosted over 76 of training sessions with more than 5200 registrations from industry, council, government and community members.

As the system evolves, we are refining outeam's focus to new and emerging priorities. A top priority will be working alongside the Commission to support the Code Amendment process and ensure communities and stakeholders have every opportunity to have their say.

The updated Practice Direction 2 – Preparation and Amendment of Designated Instruments has now been gazetted and provides detailed directions on how to undertake Code Amendments. A Code Amendment Toolkit will also be released shortly to provide further support and guidance.

The more recent introduction of the new Urban Tree Canopy Off-set Scheme (Scheme) will support our efforts to mitigate and adapt to the rigours of climate change. The Scheme's balanced approach to tree planting (and offsetting in special conditions) will contribute to enhancing and preserving our State's green infrastructure, which underpins our State's economic prosperity, wellbeing and our quality of life.

There are a number of other exciting pieces of work we're looking forward to getting underway this year including the review of the Environment and Food Production Areas (EFPAs) and the regional planning program to name a few.

Looking forward, we will continue to build on your ideas and feedback and keep you posted every step of the way.

Sally Smith
Executive Director, Team PLUS

State Planning Commission launches review of SA's valued food and wine regions

The State Planning Commission (Commission) is undertaking a statutory review of South Australia's Environment and Food Production Areas (EFPAs). The EFPAs require a statutory review every 5 years under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, with the first review to be completed by 2022.

Established in 2017 as part of the state's new planning system, the EFPAs help protect prime food and wine regions from urban encroachment by supporting sustainable growth in Greater Adelaide's existing urban footprint where supporting infrastructure already exists.

The EFPAs currently cover the rural areas of the Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, Alexandrina, Barossa, Burnside, Campbelltown, Light Regional, Mid-Murray, Mitcham, Mount Barker, Murray Bridge, Victor Harbour and Yankalilla Council and operate in a similar way to the Character Preservations Districts (CPDs) in the Barossa Valley (covering Barossa and Light Regional Councils) and McLaren Vale (covering Onkaparinga Council).

The outcomes of the Character Preservation Districts Review, completed in 2018, will be an important input into the EFPA review.

The EFPA review is planned to be delivered via a staged program from April to September 2021 with Stage 1 of the review involving an internal analysis of Greater Adelaide's 15-year land supply and Stage 2 providing opportunities for external stakeholder and community engagement.

On completion, the Commission will deliver its 'Findings Report'.

Learn more about the EFPA Review.

Urban Tree Canopy Off-Set Scheme announced

On 25 March 2021, the Minister for Planning and Local Government announced the introduction of the Urban Tree Canopy Off-Set Scheme (Scheme) to ensure that new development preserves and enhances the urban tree canopy across metropolitan Adelaide.

As part of a nation-leading set of residential infill policies in the new planning system, the Planning and Design Code includes the requirement to plant trees when new dwellings are built in residential areas.

In limited cases where planting a tree is not feasible (e.g. when soil types are prohibitive), the Scheme enables contribution into the Urban Tree Canopy Off-Set Fund (Fund), which can be used by councils to plant trees in reserves, nature strips, parks or to create new parks. The option to pay into the Scheme is available in the following areas:

Housing Diversity Neighbourhood Zone
Urban Renewal Neighbourhood Zone
City Living Zone
or, an area with a 'Designated Soil Type'.

The proposed Fund contributions are:

$300 for a small tree (4 metre mature height)
$600 for a medium tree (6 metre mature height), and
$1200 for a large tree (12 metre mature height).

Payments are not mandatory, as applicants can choose to plant a tree or elect to pay into the Fund in lieu of planting a tree.

It is noted that the Scheme's Fund is separate to any Urban Trees Funds established by councils. Existing Urban Trees Funds will continue under the PDI Act in relation to payments for regulated or significant tree removal.

Learn more about the Scheme.

Local Design Review Scheme approved

The Minister for Planning and Local Government has approved the Local Design Review Scheme for South Australia (the Scheme) to come into effect on 1 July 2021.

The new Scheme extends the availability of Design Review to development proposals that are assessed by relevant authorities appointed by councils. It also sets out a consistent approach to Local Design Review to support those councils who choose to provide the service within their communities, as well independent Design Review providers.

In 2020, the Office for Design and Architecture SA (ODASA) drafted the Scheme in close collaboration with the State Planning Commission, council staff from across the State, representatives from peak industry bodies and interstate government agencies with experience in Local Design Review.

The draft Scheme was made available for an eight-week public consultation (26 June 2020 to 21 August 2020), receiving a total of 39 submissions in response. The Scheme was updated to reflect the feedback received and in early 2021 ODASA undertook a targeted consultation with council staff and representatives from peak industry bodies to further test and refine it.

ODASA is now preparing for the Scheme to come into operation across the State, which involves a number of statutory and regulatory requirements, as well as preparing supporting materials and guides prior to commencement.

While the Scheme comes into effect on 1 July 2021, an amendment to the Planning and Design Code will also be required to apply the Scheme to specific classes of development

An Engagement Summary Report has also now been released summarising the drafting and engagement process related to the Scheme and discusses the key themes that emerged from the feedback.

The approved Scheme and Engagement Summary Report can be accessed online via ODASA and the PlanSA portal.

Expression of Interest - State Commission Assessment Panel

The State Planning Commission (the Commission) is inviting expressions of interest from qualified and experienced planners with extensive development assessment experience, to be appointed to a vacancy on the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) for a term commencing 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2023.

SCAP membership comprises a Presiding Member, a Deputy Presiding Member, four ordinary members, and occasional / specialist members as determined by the Commission. The Commission will seek to ensure that members of SCAP collectively have qualifications, knowledge, expertise and experience in the following areas:

urban and regional planning, building, environmental management, or a related discipline
local government
urban or regional development, commerce or industry
environmental conservation or management, or the management of natural resources
the provision of facilities for the benefit of the community
urban design, building safety or landscaping design

Expressions of interest, comprising a covering letter (no more than two pages) and a curriculum vitae (no more than four pages), must address the following:

The candidate's qualifications, knowledge, planning expertise and development assessment experience; and,
whether the candidate holds, or is eligible to hold, accreditation as an Accredited Professional - Planning Level 2.

Expressions of interest must be received no later than 5:00 pm Wednesday 22 April 2021 by email (saplanningcommission@sa.gov.au). For all inquiries please contact Alison Gill, Senior Governance Officer at 08 8343 2653 or alison.gill2@sa.gov.au.