Frequently Asked Questions
- Stage 1 – convert the Scheme into the model provisions format, transfer existing TPS1 and Precinct Plans provisions that warrant retention in the Scheme and implement the short-term recommendations of the Local Planning Strategy and any other ‘quick win’ updates to the planning framework. This is the current body of work which has produced the new draft Scheme No.2.
- Stage 2 – for more complex places like activity centres (Albany Highway, Burswood mixed use precinct), the local planning framework will be updated through the Town’s Precinct Structure Plan Program and progressive strategic amendments to the Scheme over the next five years.
- Environmental Conservation Resere
- Emergency Services Reserve
- Local Distributor Road Reserve
- District Distributor Road Reserve
D uses – meaning uses not permitted without development approval (for which advertising is optional).
A uses – meaning uses not permitted without development approval and must be advertised.
I uses – meaning uses that are permitted if they are incidental to the predominant use of the land.
- On the direction of the Western Australian Planning Commission, LPS2 removes restrictions that prohibits multiple dwellings (apartments) in residential areas zoned R20, R30, or within the Town’s Residential Character Area. The restrictions have been removed on the basis that other development controls, particularly building height limits, already restrict the construction of large-scale apartment complexes in these areas, so the WAPC deemed this condition redundant. This proposed modification is explained fully in our fact sheet available here.
- Removing the requirement to develop a minimum number of car bays as provided for in the R-Codes, and providing an option to impose maximum car parking requirements to reflect the Town’s Integrated Transport Strategy and Parking Management Plan objectives for reduce dependency on private cars.
- Allowing for the redevelopment of existing apartment buildings where actual densities are greater than those Scheme densities to allow for demolition and redevelopment in these special cases (ie. permit a ‘like-for-like’ development).
What will happen with my feedback?
The Town's project team will analyse all feedback and propose modifications to draft LPS2 as appropriate, which will then be considered by Council. Once endorsed by Council, draft LPS2 and all feedback received will be forwarded to the Western Australian Planning Commission for consideration and then to the Minister for Planning for a final decision.
What is a Local Planning Scheme?
A Local Planning Scheme is a legal document and set of maps that set out zones, densities and other planning controls to guide development and the use of land across the Town.
The Scheme is used to assess Development and Subdivision Applications, along with the Town’s set of Local Planning Policies and other statutory planning regulations and strategic polices of the State Government.
What are the R-Codes?
The Residential Design Codes (R-Codes) control the design of most residential development throughout Western Australia and provide a comprehensive basis for local governments to control residential development.
The R-Codes are available for viewing and download from the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage website.
How often is the Scheme rewritten?
The Planning and Development (Local Planning Scheme) Regulations 2015 require the Town to review the Scheme every 5 years. This review process makes a decision whether to rewrite the Scheme or whether to amend the existing Scheme to ensure it complies with contemporary regulations, policy and growth requirements as outlined in the Town’s local planning framework and the State government’s planning framework.
Council resolved to prepare a new scheme in March 2022. The minutes from the March Ordinary Council Meeting are available here.
Who prepares and approves the Scheme?
The Scheme is prepared by the Town of Victoria Park. Council gives permission to advertise the draft Scheme and endorses a final Scheme after advertising, however the Minister for Planning gives final approval of the Scheme.
Throughout the preparation of the draft Scheme, the Town has worked closely with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage to maximise compliance and consistency with statutory planning regulations and strategic polices of the State Government.
How is the format and content of the Scheme developed?
The format and some content of the Scheme must comply with ‘Schedule 1 - the model provisions for local planning schemes’ contained in the Planning and Development (Local Planning Scheme) Regulations 2015.
The local content of the Scheme is guided by the Town’s adopted Local Planning Strategy 2022.
To make this clear when reading the draft scheme text, black text shows changes relating to the model provisions and red text shows local content changes which have been added or modified by the Town.
The Local Planning Strategy recommends the preparation of a new Scheme in two stages:
This approach is intended to minimise any delays in adopting LPS2 by not having to solve all planning issues of the Town in one go.
What are the Deemed Provisions?
Changes to the Planning and Development (Local Planning Scheme) Regulations 2015 introduced ‘Schedule 2 - deemed provisions for local planning schemes’ which are statutory provisions that have the effect of applying to all Planning Schemes, including the new Scheme No.2, but which are not necessarily included in Scheme No.2 text
A ‘deemed provision’ prevails where there is any inconsistency between the Scheme and the deemed provision.
Do Town Planning Scheme 1 Precinct Plans still form part of the new draft Scheme?
No. The TPS1 Precinct Plan format does not comply with the ‘Schedule 1 - the model provisions for local planning schemes’ contained in the Planning and Development (Local Planning Scheme) Regulations 2015.
The provisions contained in TPS1 Precinct Plans that were worthy of retention have been transferred to draft Scheme No.2. These are mostly contained in Schedules C and D.
How can I find out whether the proposed changes affect my property?
Our online mapping tool is a quick and easy way to find out if your property’s R-Code, zone or any significant development controls are proposed to change. You can also use this tool to look at any other areas in the Town that may be of interest to you.
You may also find the LPS2 key changes map useful, which gives a broader overview of the proposed changes across the Town.
Will the changes affect my property value?
The Town cannot comment on whether changes proposed in draft LPS2 will affect property values. It is recommended you get in touch with a licensed property valuer and/or private planning consultant to provide professional advice on these matters.
What are the key changes in the proposed new Scheme?
Scheme Aims (in Part 1 of the draft Scheme)
The Scheme Aims outline the key goals of the Town’s strategic planning framework. They have been drawn from the aims of the Strategic Community Plan, Local Planning Strategy and other informing strategies such as the Integrated Transport, Economic Development, Public Open Space, Urban Forest and Social Infrastructure strategies of the Town.
Reserves (Part 2 of the draft Scheme)
Various parcels of land around the Town are ‘reserved’ for broad community use and benefit. Refer to the Scheme maps for their location and designation. The Scheme maps also show Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) reserves which cannot be altered by the Scheme (for example, MRS Parks and Recreation reserves along the River). Any change to an MRS reserve is through a different and separate process governed by the WA Planning Commission.
The names of Local Scheme reserves have been updated in the new Scheme to reflect the model provisions – see the table below for an explanation.
Town Planning Scheme No.1 | Proposed Local Planning Scheme No.2 |
Parks and Recreation reserve | Proposed to convert to Public Open Space reserve which is equivalent. |
Public Purposes – Civic Use and Community Purposes reserve Public Purposes – Civic Uses reserve | Proposed to consolidate these reserves and convert to Civic and Community reserve which is equivalent. |
Public Purposes – Primary School reserve | Proposed to convert to Education reserve which is equivalent. |
Public Purposes – University reserve | This Reserve is no longer relevant as the portion of land is a road. |
In addition to the above, the following new Reserves have been introduced:
Clause 14 of the draft Scheme includes Objectives for reserves which describe the intended purpose and use of each type of local reserve. The Objectives in black text are the model provisions and cannot be changed. The Objectives in red are additional provisions proposed.
Additional Objectives have been added to the ‘Civic and Community’ and ‘Public Open Space’ reserves to encourage the activation and use of the land to reflect the intent of the Town’s Public Open Space, Social Infrastructure and Economic Development strategies.
Additional Objectives have been added for road reserves which recognises their importance as significant public spaces and to reflect the objectives of the Town’s Integrated Transport and Urban Forest Strategies. The objectives aim to encourage street design that contributes positively to the public realm and green network and prioritises active forms of transport where suitable.
The audit of land in the Town has uncovered eight parks currently zoned Residential and the draft Scheme proposes they be changed to Public Open Space reserves to reflect their existing and future use as parks.
Zones (Part 2 of the draft Scheme)
The names of some zones have been updated in the new Scheme to reflect the model provisions – see the table below for an explanation.
Town Planning Scheme No.1 | Proposed Local Planning Scheme No.2 |
Residential zone | Proposed to retain the Residential zone. |
Residential/Commercial zone Office/Residential zone Commercial zone | Proposed to convert these zones to the Mixed Use zone which is equivalent. |
Local Centre zone | Proposed to retain the Local Centre zone. |
District Centre zone | Proposed to retain the District Centre zone. |
Industrial (1)’ and ‘Industrial (2) zones | Proposed to consolidate these zones and convert to the Light Industry zone which is equivalent. |
Special Use (at Belmont Park Racecourse) zone | Proposed to convert this Special Use zone to the Urban Development zone which is the equivalent. |
Special Use (other various categories) zones | Proposed to consolidate these zones to a single Special Use zone with land use categories being replaced with individual numbers to cross reference to Schedule D to provide specific guidance and land use permissibility for each site. |
Clause 16 of the draft Scheme includes Objectives for zones which describe the intended purpose of each type of each zone and assist with decision making under the Scheme. The Objectives in black text are the model provisions and cannot be changed. The Objectives in red are additional provision proposed in the draft Scheme.
The objectives have been informed by the goals and objectives of the Town’s Local Planning Strategy and other key informing strategies such as the Integrated Transport and Urban Forest strategies. The objectives for each zone effectively replace the existing ‘statements of intent’ in the TPS1 Precinct Plans.
Land Use Permissibility / Zoning Table (Clause 17 of the draft Scheme).
The zoning table (Clause 17) guides the permissibility land use in each zone. The use permissibility categories have been updated to reflect the model provisions – see the table below for an explanation.
Town Planning Scheme No.1 | Proposed Local Planning Scheme No.2 |
P uses | P use means the same in Scheme No.2, that is “the use is permitted if it complies with any relevant development standards and requirements of this Scheme” |
X uses | X use means the same in Scheme No.2, that is “the use is not permitted by this Scheme”. |
AA uses (discretionary) | AA uses have been split into 3 types of discretionary uses: |
The permissibility of land uses in the zoning table has been updated to ensure the range of land uses permitted reflect the zone objectives, to reflect the Town’s existing policy positions and to provide a greater degree of flexibility in zones that support commercial activity.
Clause 19 Additional uses operate the same as TPS1. They provide for conditional land use permissibility for specific sites that would otherwise not be permitted under their zone. Examples of this include historic convenience stores, shops, café and offices that exist within residential zones. An audit of non-residential uses within the residential zones of the Town has seen a number of additional properties listed for additional uses that serve the day-today needs of residents. These sites have been added to encourage the re-use of existing purpose built non-residential buildings and to support the Town’s Integrated Transport objective to be a 15 minute town where residents can easily access local services within their immediate locality. The clause 19 additional uses are outlined in Schedule D.
New to the scheme is Clause 20 which covers restricted uses. Sites listed in the Restricted uses table are only subject to the special land use permissibility outlined in the table and not the zoning table. This clause is generally used sparingly in local planning schemes and the only example in the new draft Scheme is for some lots located on the Burswood Peninsula where the proposed restricted uses reflect those which are already limited by the existing Burswood Lakes Structure Plan.
Clause 21 special use zones is new to the draft Scheme. Special Use Zones can apply to special categories of land use which do not comfortably sit within any other zone in the Scheme. As per TPS1, Technology Park and the Residential Aged Care and Special Use Facilities special use zones within Bentley are retained in LPS2. Special Use zones also allow for combined land use permissibility and development control. Provisions relating to Special Use zones are set out in Schedule D.
Clause 22-24 guide non-conforming uses. Generally speaking, a non-conforming land use is a land use that received development approval in the past, but due to subsequent changes to the Scheme zoning, would be a prohibited use under the existing Scheme if development were proposed.
The Town has created a non-conforming use register, available here.
Development Controls
Part 4 contains the General Development Requirements of the Scheme, although some sections are contained in Schedules at the back of the Scheme because of their length.
Clause 26 – Modification of the R-Codes contains allowable changes to R-Codes including:
Clause 32 Additional site and development requirements cover sites where development requirements in addition to those set out in the R-Codes, an activity centre plans or local development plan should apply. An example of this is the Visibility site in Victoria Park or the Empire Bar site in Lathlain. Clause 32. Is where many of the bespoke development controls of the TPS1 precinct plans have found a home including the development controls relating to Albany Highway pending the outcome of the current precinct planning exercise for that area.
Clause 33 covers additional site and development requirements covered by a structure plan, activity centre plan or local development plan which can be utilized if the Town is seeking to normalise specific requirements within the scheme to provide greater statutory force to these planning instruments.
Part 5 covers Special Control Areas which are areas that are significant for a particular reason and where specific special provisions in the Scheme may need to apply. These are generally applied sparingly in planning schemes with the only one currently proposed for LPS2 relating to the Environmental and Geotechnical Special Control Area currently applicable to Burswood Lakes as per TPS1.
Terms (see Division 1 and 2)
Part 6 covers key definitions for general terms (see Division 1) and land use terms (see Division 2).
The draft Scheme No.2 has a much shorter list of general terms than existing TPS1, to remove repetition where terms are already defined in other planning instruments (eg. R-Codes or the Planning and Development Act). Some bespoke terms have been included, for example the term ‘research and development’ to support the interpretation the purpose of the Technology Park Special Use zone and ‘sensitive land use’ to support interpreting the objectives of the light industry zone.
The land use terms are generally defined by the model provisions. Only one new land use terms is proposed - ‘fast food outlet/lunch bar’ and ‘fast food outlet – drive through’ to distinguish between fast food outlets with and without drive through facilities.
Refer to the Key Changes map for further details.
How does this project relate to the Albany Highway Precinct Structure Plan?
You may have heard that the Town is in the middle of developing a Precinct Structure Plan for Albany Highway.
When the Albany Highway Precinct Structure Plan is drafted and approved by Council (anticipated second half of 2024), the development controls contained in the plan will form the first major amendment to the Town's new Local Planning Scheme No. 2.
The graphic below explains the relationship and timeline of the two closely related projects.
The Albany Highway Precinct Structure Plan is currently in its second phase of community engagement. To find out more click here.
