Over the past couple of years the South Perth Council has seen some spirited discussions about public access to development plans. While the City has a commitment to open and accountable government, some people have held that a property owner has the right to not allow their plans to be seen by interested parties. Others maintain that members of the community have a right to know what is happening next door and nearby.
There have been some examples where neighbours have successfully pointed out ways that proposed developments do not meet criteria for approval. In other cases it seems to me just plain common sense that people should be informed about what is happening.
As the density of population increases, plenty of research shows that conflict increases even faster. I believe that an informed community will probably have less conflict than one where people have developments sprung on them by surprise.
The present situation is that people can access development plans by making a Freedom of Information application, a process taking both time and money. We have even had a prominent lawyer provide opinion that it might be in breach of copyright- an opinion that I don’t share (but I’m not a lawyer.) Surely if you can get a document under FoI, and our commitment is to open administration then we should make plans easily available
I have seen many other cities where this sort of information is freely available and openly published. This picture shows an advisory panel that I saw recently in Hong Kong. Similar things are common on our east coast.
Please have your say by clicking “Comments” below.
5 comments:
I agree that access to development plans should be public but it's also fair to argue that the detail on the public plan should be the external features of the construction and which opening windows and doors are connected to shared rooms or entertainment areas that may be a source of noise. In that way, any details about the building that have no impact on the neighbours remain private. With computer aided design tools it would be simple for plans to have an additional layer so that a "public" plan can be provided to council in addition to full plans for approval.
Harry
I totally agree with Harry. Development plans should be available for viewing at any time at council not as a result of a protracted FOI application. Makes me think they are trying to hide something or get away with it - so to speak.
Totally agree with your views Pete, I was in a situation some time ago when a two storey home was build next to my single storey and all sorts of things were done, such as overlooking windows into our bedroom, without so much as a by your leave. Fact was the plans were shown at the council offices, but then who goes there, except to pay your dog licence, but the interested parties were not approached at all until things came to a head and then a lot of angst and compromise had to take place.
The thing is that much of this could have been avoided by prior knowledge, and that doesn't mean the power to veto, merely to be aware and have a say and be constructive and to remain on speaking terms with you neighbour.
As Harry says you only need to know the external details not internals, unless they can affect nearby homes.
I think all adjacent homes should be made aware of such developments, as said not for veto, but at least to know what is going on.
All plans should be made public, in the interest of common courtesy. If applicants don't want their plans viewed then they are obviously hiding something. Neighbours have a right to know if the "Taj Mahal" is going up to their right, left, front or back and what impact it is going to have on their privacy.
I think some people are concerned about criminals getting access to house plans. I think that courtesy to neighbours outweighs any such concern by a big margin. Making plans generally available is more problematic.
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