Under Section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 s2

REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF INTERVENTION

UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987

BAW BAW PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C108

The Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act), the Heritage Act 1995 and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 provide for the intervention of the Minister for Planning in planning and heritage processes. In exercising my powers of intervention, I have agreed to:

. Make publicly available written reasons for each decision; and

. Provide a report to Parliament at least every twelve months detailing the nature of each intervention.

REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION 1. The Baw Baw Shire Council (council) has requested my intervention under Section 20(4) of the Act to prepare, adopt and approve Amendment C108 to the Baw Baw Planning Scheme. WHAT POWER OF INTERVENTION IS BEING USED? 2. I have decided to exercise my powers to exempt myself from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect to Amendment C108 to the Baw Baw Planning Scheme. 3. Section 20(4) of the Act enables the Minister for Planning to exempt an amendment which the Minister prepares from any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act or the regulations. 4. In seeking to exercise this power, section 20(4) of the Act requires that the Minister must consider that compliance with any of those requirements is not warranted or that the interests of Victoria or any part of Victoria make such an exemption appropriate. BACKGROUND 5. Baw Baw Shire Council has since 2012, in partnership with the Metropolitan Planning Authority, been preparing Precinct Structure Plans and Development Contribution Plans for the Shire’s main urban growth areas of Warragul and Drouin. The Precinct Structure Plans operate within the township boundaries set by the Baw Baw Settlement Management Plan, August 2013 that has been adopted by council. The precinct plans provide the next level of detail for the future growth of Warragul and Drouin by planning for township character and landscape, public open spaces, roads and path connections, biodiversity, infrastructure management and future schools and neighbourhood centres. 6. The Precinct Structure Plans apply to approximately 2370 hectares of land within Warragul and Drouin and plan for approximately 20,000 future dwellings and provide direction for the future growth of these towns which is expected to be 80,000 by 2050. 7. Public consultation on the Precinct Structure Plans and Development Contributions Plans was undertaken between 18 June and 18 July 2014. This included notice in local newspapers and a letter and information brochure mailed out to residents and adjacent landowners likely to be affected by the proposed amendment. The letter invited people to respond about the project and the brochure provided details of information sessions and an opportunity to present to councillors. All documents relating to the Precinct Structure Plans and Development Contributions Plans and proposed planning scheme changes were available on council’s website. Community information sessions were held in Warragul and Drouin. BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION 8. The main benefit of the exemption will be that it will enable a prompt decision on the adoption and approval of the amendment 9. Exemption will enable the prompt introduction of the Precinct Structure Plans that have been recently placed before the community, avoiding the duplication of further exhibition that would be required if the amendment were not exempt from providing notice. 10. In addition to the distribution of over 2000 letters and information sheets to all landowners, targeted consultation with affected land owners has been undertaken. Submitters to the proposal had the opportunity to address Council directly at a Special Council meeting convened on 22 July 2014. Two hundred and sixteen submissions were received from residents and agencies. Each submission was considered and the Precinct Structure Plans were adjusted in several cases. EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES 11. The effects of the exemption will be that third parties will not have the opportunity to make submissions to or have any concerns they may have heard by an independent planning panel. 12. However, the effects of exemption on third parties is likely to be nugatory given that notice of the proposed Precinct Structure Plans has been provided to affected parties directly and to the general population of Warragul and Drouin generally by notice given in local newspapers. ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH EFFECTS ON THIRD PARTIES 13. The views of third parties are known and have been reasonably addressed; it is therefore considered that the process efficiencies of exemption of further notice outweigh the effects upon third parties 14. It is considered that the amendment outcome through a panel process would not be substantially different and that any changes to the plans recommended by panel are unlikely to be transformative. 15. Accordingly I consider that the benefits of exempting myself from sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the exemption on third parties. DECISION 16. I have decided to exercise my power to exempt myself from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect of Amendment C108 to the Baw Baw Planning Scheme. REASONS FOR INTERVENTION 17. I provide the following reasons for my decision to exercise my power under section 20(4) of the Act. 18. I am satisfied that - Compliance with any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations is not warranted because:  Notice of the Precinct Structure Plans has been widely provided and the views of affected parties are known and have been reasonably addressed; and  Compliance would only serve to duplicate process, which is undesirable.

SIGNED BY THE MINISTER

MATTHEW GUY MLC Minister for Planning

Date: 22 October 2014