Aged Care Development Victorian Planning and Building Approvals Issues Forum

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Aged Care DevelopmentVictorian Planning and
Building Approvals Issues Forum

• Matthew Evans, Planning Consultant, MAV

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Planning and Building Approvals Issues Forum

• Convened by the Commonwealth Department of Health
  and Ageings Aged Care Liaison Group
• A response to the perceived lack of alignment
  between the annual allocation process for
  distribution of aged care places, and aged care
  facility development
• Forums membership included representatives from
  the 3 levels of government, the Aged Care
  Association, the Victorian Association of Health
  and Extended Care, RSL and Ethnic Communities
  Council.

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Background to the Forum

• Legislative requirement that allocated places
  become operational within 2 years
• November 2001 - review of the provisional
  allocation process nationally which strengthened
  the emphasis on timely implementation (including
  quarterly reports)
• The 2002 2003 Aged Care Approvals rounds
  included built beds as a priority
• This highlighted delays in development approval
  for aged care facilities
• November 2002 - forum convened for the first time
  in.

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Terms of Reference

• The primary aim of the Forum was
• To quantify frequency of issues relating to aged
  care facility planning and community opposition
  to aged care facility development in Victorian
  metropolitan regions, and to identify strategies
  to take those issues forward.
• Terms of Reference included
• Identification of systematic issues
• Developing consistency between council planning
  processes
• Report and quantify issues with developers.

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Local Government Input into Forum

• Local Governments involvement in the forum
• MAV has undertaken a survey of a sample of
  metropolitan, interface and rural councils/shires
• The survey examined
• Timeframes to process planning approvals for
  Aged Care development.
• Quality of information provided by applicants
  and number of requests for changes to
  applications.
• The means to improve the planning process and
  align with allocations

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Local Government Input into Forum

• The survey pointed to the following preliminary
• conclusions
• Some councils are offering incentives for the
  establishment of aged care development (zoning,
  use of council land)
• Applications for aged care development were
  processed in between 13 days and 9 months
• The size of aged care development is increasing
• The complexity of DAs is increasing
• Quality of information provided by applicants is
  poor, e.g. details of disability access

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Local Government Input into Forum

• The survey pointed to the following preliminary
• conclusions
• A relatively high proportion of permits or
  development approvals require revision due to
  redesign to cater for a new mix of high care
  low care
• State planning policy is inadequate it does not
  distinguish between residential development from
  aged care development, e.g. car parking controls
• Arguably, the State Planning Tribunal (VCAT) is
  devising policy to favour aged care development,
  and State Planning Policy has not caught up

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Planning Improvements for Aged Care Development

• Recommended improvements to the planning process
  for Aged Care development includes
• Production of a Planning Practice Note offering
  specific planning guidance
• Review of provision of car parking spaces in the
  Victorian Planning Provisions to better reflect
  actual demand
• Ensure Aged Care development receives due
  consideration in implementation of Melbourne
  2030, Melbournes Metropolitan Plan.

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Planning Practice Note

• A Planning Practice Note
• A new planning practice note specifically for
  Aged Care development would provide practical
  advice to aged care developers about specific
  aspects of the Victorian planning system
• It could ensure that adequate information is
  provided in an application and,
• Could reduce uncertainty in relation to specific
  application requirements for Aged Care
  development.

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Relevant Statutory Controls

• 2. Car Parking for Aged Care Development
• The Planning Scheme requires 1 car parking space
  to be provided per bedroom in a residential
  building. There is no parking ratio for an aged
  care building.
• The State Section of Planning Scheme should
  include a definition corresponding car space
  ratio for Residential Building Aged Care.
• This would include a more realistic ratio of 0.3
  to 0.4 spaces per bed.

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Strategic Planning

• 3. Align the Metropolitan Strategy
• Melbourne 2030 sets up a framework to identify
  and progressively develop strategic
  redevelopment sites in the Melbourne
  metropolitan area.
• Many of these sites may be more appropriate than
  infill sites in established neighbourhoods.
• Local government social, strategic and statutory
  planning must drive more coordinated outcomes.

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Broader Planning Initiatives

• The Forum recognised that broader planning
• reform could contribute to improved outcomes
• Planning Pre-lodgement certification
• Development Assessment Forum initiatives
• Planning in Victoria A Councillors Guide
• Electronic Lodgement of Permit Applications

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Pre-Lodgement Certification for Aged Care
Development

• Pre-lodgement certification is an initiative of
  the MAV/ DSE Continuous Improvement Program,
  designed to improve the quality of information
  provided with planning permit applications.
• It offers faster planning approvals and
  effectively brings the finish-line closer to the
  starting-line.

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Pre-lodgement CertificationPilot Program
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Key Recommendations

• A range of communications strategies
• between aged care developers and local
  government
• within local government, between social,
  strategic and statutory planning departments
• pre-lodgement consultation between local
  residents, council and the developer
• between state planning departments and the aged
  care industry developers
• Between the DHA aged care developers.

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Key Recommendations

• Enhanced Planning Instruments Guidance
• tailored for Aged Care development, and distinct
  from other forms of residential development
• to identify land in metropolitan strategies that
  is suitable for larger scale aged care
  development
• The creation of a single assessment tool and
  guide for local government and the development
  industry to assist in assessment of suitability
  of location, building design, safety, amenity and
  access issues.

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The Forum Next Steps

• Stage 2 is to include
• Establishment of a Communications Protocol and
  implementation of a range of communications
  strategies
• Expansion of stakeholder representation to
  include broader community representation
• A greater emphasis on strategic planning
• Renewed commitment from 3 levels of government
• Recognition of the development approval system
  in annual allocation of places.