Planning

“I support a communities-driven approach to land use planning. Coastal development and transport infrastructure are major challenges in our region. We need to plan today for a changing landscape where the cost of oil will transform transportation and the shape of our city.”

As Western Australia continues to grow and develop at a rapid rate, it is vital to promote sustainable urban planning that is environmentally sound, public transport friendly and facilitates community interaction.  Cities and towns must be designed and built to minimise environmental harm and maximise social well-being. We must develop urban planning standards that protect bushland, public open space and groundwater sources, yet provide for high density housing and commercial buildings close to public transport.

Lynn supports a community driven approach to land use planning. She is fighting to ensure full community involvement in every stage of planning decisions at local and state levels, as many community groups feel that they are not being listened to. Lynn also believes that planning decisions should be made by locally elected councils.

The Greens WA support sustainable rural and regional communities to reduce the pressure on metropolitan Perth as well as a growth boundary around metropolitan Perth and regional cities/towns to limit urban sprawl. We need designated areas of little or no development to maintain a healthy ecosystem that provides safe drinking water, air free from harmful toxins, and thriving animal, bird, plant, insect and marine life. Transport fuel supply should be a pivotal issue in land use planning due to the global decline in cheap oil production.

We encourage initiatives that:

• Ensure adequately resourced community engagement processes for all industrial and urban planning proposals
• Require land use planning to connect and integrate activity nodes with residential areas to favour walking, cycling and public transport use over car use
• Strengthen the Western Australian Industrial Buffer Zone Policy to adequately protect the environment and public health from adverse industrial impacts
• Ensure full community involvement in every stage of planning decisions at local and state levels
•  Promote sustainable rural and regional communities to reduce the pressure on metropolitan Perth
• Assess the agricultural value of land proposed for rezoning from rural to urban to ensure that sufficient fertile land adjacent to population concentrations is retained for food production
• Ensure that information being used by local and State planning authorities to make decisions is publicly accessible

We strive to ensure that the right of affected third parties is protected not only to be notified but also to have a right of appeal regarding development planning. Part of responsible planning is to:

• Ensure that the appeals process is affordable and accessible
• Require all town planning studies, schemes and regional plans to take account of the approaching decline of cheap oil and the consequent rising cost of transport
• Require the WAPC to include someone with environmental/conservation experience
• Ensure planning incorporates recommendations of full environmental, health and social impact assessments of any large scale or strategic industrial or urban development plans in Western Australia

Useful Links:

WA Greens Policy on Planning 

Australian Greens Policy on Sustainable Planning and Transport

Conservation Council WA

Southwest Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC)

Cockburn Wetlands Education Centre

Visit these sites to keep up with the latest planning developments and proposals:

Southmetro Connect

Mainroads WA

Western Australia Planning Commission (WAPC)

Landcorp