PLANNING AND LAND POLICY

2.GLOBAL SYDNEY

Sydney is currently a beta global city (sub-global city), to achieve the goal under
the Metropolitan Plan strategy, it aims to offer 454, 000 jobs by 2036,
development of Barangaroo and Darling Harbour will help achieve that, as well
as housing and population growths, and improvement on transport and
infrastructure. To achieve this, the NSW Government will partner with the City of
Sydney Council to develop these initiatives. The strategy as indicated by the
Metro Plan, will be for economic and employment to grow and develop, to
achieve that through planning, we must attract and promote economic activity.
Job growth is expected to stretch to Western Sydney and a further 30% growth in
the economic corridor from Macquarie Park to the City through to the Sydney
Airport and Port Botany. To promote and attract this movement, re-zoning of land
to suit commercial needs and incentives given to businesses and financial
services. As well as provision and release of suitable commercial sites and
employment lands in strategic areas. In the Metro strategy, it has objectives that
it plans to achieve by 2036: strengthening of global business and investment,
improvement of communication and transport, promote a cultural strength as to
improve tourism, support major events in iconic locations, and to identify and
plan for infrastructure to support global Sydney. In governance, the broad neo-
liberal deregulatory agenda enacted at federal and state levels since the late
1980s has witnessed state government planning systems evolving towards
increasingly entrepreneurial roles and the use of facilitating legislation to create
attractive investment and development environments. In statutory planning this
has involved a selective deregulation in the name of flexibility and re-regulation
to enable the privatization of other investment environments for local and
international elites. This will help promote a global Sydney.

3.REGIONAL CITIES AND POLYCENTRISM

In Sydney, as the urban area sprawls into regional areas, there is a creation of
multiple smaller centres, but with the work locations largely based in the CBD
area, it results in a rise of commuters travelling long distances to work, and with
the rise in fuel prices. As a result there has been a drive to restructure Sydneys
greater metropolitan region into a series of city centres that become the focus
for local jobs, this has been the initiative of the NSW government. A task force
was established to work closely with six councils: Newcastle, Gosford, Penrith,
Parramatta, Liverpool and Wollongong. The taskforce will develop these six
councils to form new city centres, and through the creation of new centres in
regional cities, result in a polycentric city. Taking Gosford as a case study, it
required four planning instruments to facilitate the regeneration of a new city
centre. The Vision, which was a report that outlined the context of the area, and
the location of regeneration, as well as the city specific vision for the area, the
LEP will provide key development standards, zoning controls, and statutory
documents. A new/revised DCP with detailed design guidelines which deals with
the built form, accessibility, amenity and environment, and a CIP (civic
improvement plan) which focuses on public domain projects, and how it will be
funded. These planning instruments are vital to the success of developing the
regional city centre, which leads up to a polycentric city.
4.SYDNEYS GROWTH CENTRES AND PRECINCT PLANNING

In terms of planning, the objective for Sydneys growth centre, is to prepare

plans for funding and development of regional infrastructure, control precinct
planning for each precinct, recommend to the minster for planning new precincts
for staged land release, implement regional infrastructure in consultation with
State agencies to support new development, and negotiate with government,
landowners and developers to ensure development is facilitated in a sustainable
and timely way. Under the Metropolitan Strategy, Sydney will release 181,000
lots, and expect up to half a million new residents. To guide the objectives, the
State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Region Growth Centre) was
established. The SEPP sets out the planning rules for which the local councils
must apply when making planning decisions about the land. Other planning tools
used will be planning maps, biodiversity certification of SEPP, growth centre
development code, and precinct planning and indicative layout plans. A Precinct
plan has to be drafted and exhibited to the community, if there are any
objections or comments to be made by the councils or stakeholder groups or
even individuals, they can be submitted and they will be taken into
consideration. One case study example would be East Leppington Precinct Plan,
when the Draft Indicative Layout Plan was submitted, it caused great concern
amongst the community, Liverpool council said that there wasnt enough council
consultation, and that they never said that they endorsed the PCG package.
Stockland group said that they could not fragment their land like the plan
suggested, and the task group should have consulted them further about the
alterations to the land, before they went ahead. So in regards to growth centres,
and precinct planning, the process of change is a lengthy process with
consideration of various groups and stakeholders which have to be taken into
account.

8.TRANSFERABLE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS

(TDRs) resulted from the release of strategic planning schemes from the NSW
Governments City of Cities A Plan for Sydneys future. The idea behind it is
that, there is constant tension between developers, local councils, government
agencies and community, everyone wants different things, and have different
goals to achieve. As to reduce the tension, is the use of TDRs. TDRs is the
redirection of the rights to develop to another area, where the community has
identified such growth to be sustainable and desirable. One case study example
would be New York City, where they wanted to prevent the destruction and
redevelopment of historic landmark buildings, but realised that the regulatory
controls alone placed a large financial burden on land owners through both
maintenance cost and lost potential income. What the City council did was to
amend the town plan to allow the owners of the heritage buildings to transfer
useable floor space to adjacent properties. One defining advantage of TDRs is
that it stresses on conserving ecosystems and provides private investment in
conservation and as well as promote urban compact development. To apply this
planning tool to Sydneys current strategic planning scheme, the provision of
200,000 new dwellings in the Lower Hunter region, with an estimated population
of 125,000 over the next 25 years. The Lower Hunter, being rich in biodiversity
and Aboriginal heritage. There is a case for using the TDR tool in order to aid in
the conservation of heritage sites and biodiversity.

9.AFFORDABLE HOUSING SCHEMES IN SYDNEY

One of the interests and issues of the Government is the issue of affordable
housing, and there is a clear interest in improving the availability of affordable
housing. House prices in Australia have risen faster than average household
incomes since 1970s in 2007-2008, 49.3% of low income households with a
mortgage in NSW were found to be in mortgage stress (nationally 46.6%). There
are many reasons for the cause of housing affordability, some include higher
incomes, demographics, lower interest rates, speculative demand, and taxation
influences. To interest developer groups into considering affordable housing as
profitable method was not an easy process. Inclusionary zoning for example was
a method of implementation of affordable housing. The idea behind this form of
zoning, was that if developers wanted to develop on the land, they had to
provide a number of affordable housing as part of the development or monetary
contributions. This did not sit well with the developer groups, as they argued that
it wasnt their responsibility to provide that form of housing. This opposition lead
to the amendment of the Affordable Housing Scheme (SEPP 70), which allowed
developer groups to negotiate with the councils, this scheme was short lived, as
it wasnt enough incentive for the developer groups. Eventually in 2009, the
Affordable Housing Schemes was revised, which gave incentives to developer
groups to invest, this meant that any development that was granny-flat,
boarding house, affordable housing was considered as complying development,
any development that includes affordable housing were given bonus floor space,
and that the affordable housing would be back to normal market price in 10
years time, the FSR ratios were relaxed as well. As a consequence, the
communities suffered from neighbouring developments, for example, granny
flats were being built in low residential areas, as well as town houses located
inappropriately, and created other issues of overshadowing, pollution and traffic.

10.URBAN CONSOLIDATION IN SYDNEY

Urban consolidation is the process of increasing or maintaining the density of

housing in the established residential area, to consolidate the population to a
framed area and maintain density of housing. In Sydney, the response from the
government to urban consolidation was SEPP 53 Metropolitan Residential
Development. This SEPP aims to encourage the provision of housing in
metropolitan areas, and will broaden the range of building types and locations
available in the housing market. This will apply to all local councils in the
Illawarra Sydney Hunter region. Under this SEPP, it allows for dual occupancy
on a single allotment of land, which will result in two dwellings on one piece of
land. The SEPP will also provide opportunities to encourage redevelopment of
specific sites and localities that are suitable for multi-unit housing.

People were also concerned that through urban consolidation, the social and
environmental aspects might prove detrimental to the land. In response to that,
Premier (Bob Carr) set up the Residential Flat Design Code. In March 2000, the
Premier wrote a letter on the horrible designs along the main streets of Sydney,
and stressed the need for a design code and for architects input into designing a
better Sydney. This sparked great debate amongst the community, as to whether
who was to judge what was presentable and what was not. As a result, SEPP 65
was introduced, design review panels were initiated as to regulate developments
of significance, the use of qualified designers and the Residential Flat Design
Code and Pattern Book, as the means to create a better Sydney.