The Perth council set to spend $50,000 to review its planning department
Perth council is set to spend $50,000 to launch an independent review of its planning department after ongoing complaints from residents.
Swan City councilors will vote on Wednesday night on a motion to include funds in the draft 2026/27 budget so they can review the last six years of the City’s planning processes, procedures, report preparation and devolution.
The motion put forward at the city’s annual voter meeting in February also calls for the establishment of a committee to oversee the review.
A brief history
At the selectmen meeting on February 2, The Vines resident Gavan Troy made the motion for review after claiming local residents were “deeply concerned with the comments and reactions of council planning staff on planning matters.”
“That’s why we’re requesting that a thorough review be submitted to the city’s planning department by an independent agency,” Troy said.
“Such a review would be an all-encompassing review, taking into account town planning matters undertaken by the City of Swan over the last six years, with particular reference to matters concerning The Vines area.”
At the city’s regular council meeting on March 11, council members were advised to take note of all motions made at the annual selectmen’s meeting.
In a council report, City staff said the historical record of decisions made on matters involving The Vines over the past six years “does not indicate that regulatory requirements or community input were ignored.”
“However, the principles of the planning system require strict adherence to the assessment of applications in accordance with the regulatory framework,” the report said.
According to the report, 15 issues were considered by the Council and other decision-makers; six of these related to sheds, four to the telecommunications mast, and other matters including the driveway, retrofit, outhouse and proposed redevelopment of the driving range.
“If Mr. Troy or any other person is aggrieved, it is considered that his interests would be best served by representation to the Minister, who is able to consider matters separately and independently of the Council and City government and has the legal authority to take action,” the report said.
Despite this, councilman Rod Henderson’s motion to support the independent review and committee passed 13-2; Details of funding and who will form the committee will be agreed at a future council meeting.
After the meeting, a spokesperson for the City of Swan told this imprint that the council approved the ordinance “as part of its commitment to continuous improvement and transparency.”
“Periodic reviews of systems and operations are considered best practice for local governments,” the spokesperson said.
next decision
At Wednesday night’s meeting, councilors will vote to determine who will be appointed to the Planning Process Review Committee.
According to the council agenda report, staff recommends that the committee be composed of “council members only” with five members and two associate members.
The committee’s responsibilities include overseeing the City’s planning department’s review, determining the scope of the review, selecting independent counsel, and reporting the results of the review at a future regular council meeting.
Councilors will also vote to allocate $50,000 in the draft 2026/27 budget to appoint an independent professional to undertake the review
The report states that council staff envisaged the funding “will be sufficient for high-level review of the processes and procedures implemented, but the funding will not cover detailed analysis of individual development applications”.
A City of Swan spokesperson said the review was expected to be carried out throughout the year and the findings would be reported to Council by the end of the year.
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