A MELVILLE councillor has moved to pull back powers from planning staff, warning there is potential for corruption to flourish.

Cr Nick Pazolli has convinced his colleagues to recommend that multi-unit developments that don’t abide by planning guidelines be advertised to neighbours and presented to the council’s development application unit.

Currently staff have wide discretion to simply pass applications without referring them on, if they believe breaches are insignificant.
Cr Pazolli says that approach paves the way for backhanders from developers, with the first that neighbours know about massive developments next door being when the bulldozers move in.

He’s not alleging bribery has occurred but says there have been two recent cases where three-storey projects have been approved without neighbours’ knowledge. The policy also keeps elected councillors in the dark.

Cr Pazolli’s motion is only a recommendation at this stage: the relevant policy is under review and the motion will be considered as part of it.

Meanwhile, mayor Russell Aubrey wants the CEO to look into amending the town planning scheme to limit multi-unit developments in areas zoned R40 and below. The call follows the WA planning commission conceding it botched the state’s model design codes, by allowing “excessive local variations”.

It has already advertised to amend the model code to “manage the risks associated with unintended and undesirable consequences arising from the 2010 changes to the R-Codes relating to multiple dwellings”.

Comments are open until November and it’ll be months before the amendments are adopted into local schemes.

by STEVE GRANT