REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
CASEY PLANNING SCHEME
AMENDMENT C175
The Planning and Environment Act 1987, 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 the Minister’s powers of intervention, including action taken under delegation
from the Minister for Planning, the Minister has 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. Casey City Council requested that the Minister for Planning prepare, adopt and
approve Casey Planning Scheme Amendment C175 under section 20(4) of the
Planning and Environment Act 1987.
WHAT POWER OF INTERVENTION IS BEING USED?
2.
Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exercise
the power to exempt the Minister from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the regulations in respect to
Amendment C175 to the Casey Planning Scheme.
3.
Section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 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
Significant Trees
5.
Casey Planning Scheme Amendment was approved in 2012, providing interim
protection to those trees identified as significant under the City of Casey Significant
Tree Study 2011 while permanent controls are considered through Amendment
C148.
6.
Amendment C148 was authorised on 20 January 2012, and has gone through the
exhibition process. The arborist appointed by Council has reviewed the assessments
for trees that are the subject of submissions to this amendment. The submissions are
expected to be considered by Council in May 2013, and Council planning officers
have recommended that Council refers these submissions to a panel, which is
expected to convene later this year.
7.
The trees which will be affected by this amendment have been identified by the City
of Casey Significant Tree Study 2011 as ‘significant’ because of their rarity,
localisation, size, form, age, habitat value, historic or cultural association, aesthetic
value, and/or their contribution to the landscape. They are considered to be a
valuable asset to the municipality and their protection through the introduction of
appropriate planning controls will safeguard their future for the benefit of current and
future communities.
8.
The amendment is required to extend interim planning controls to protect significant
River Red Gums and significant exotic and native trees that have been identified in
the City of Casey Significant Tree Study 2011 as being important to the municipality
while Amendment C148 undergoes the normal amendment process. The controls are
extended for 12 months and will now expire on 17 May 2014.
9.
The amendment also removes the asterisk in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay
against HO190, which was erroneously applied through a previous amendment to the
Casey Planning Scheme and incorrectly limits the protection of the land to which the
HO190 applies.
Site-specific Controls
10. In 2013 Amendment C161 introduced into the Casey Planning Scheme the DDO2
and DPO18 to the area north of Pound and Shrives Roads in Hampton Park. These
controls provide a development framework for the area, but are in conflict with the
requirements of the site-specific control of Clause 52.03 which restricts subdivision to
that which is allowed through the incorporated document Site Specific Control, Low
Density Areas in the Hampton Park Development Plan, May 2012. It is appropriate
that these site-specific controls are removed from the Planning Scheme.
11. The amendment deletes a site-specific control in Clause 52.03 which applies to land
in the Pound/Shrives Road, Hampton Park area, and removes the associated
incorporated document under the Schedule to Clause 81.01 Site Specific Control,
Low Density Areas in the Hampton Park Development Plan, May 2012.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
12. The amendment achieves the objectives of planning in Victoria, as per Section 4 of
the Act.
13. Further, pursuant to General Practice Note Ministerial Powers of Intervention in
Planning and Heritage Matters, the following circumstances are considered relevant
in the exemption from notice:
a.
The matter will be the introduction of an interim provision or requirement and
substantially the same provision or requirement is also subject to a separate
process of review (such as the introduction of permanent controls in a planning
scheme).
b.
The matter will raise issues of fairness or public interest, where:
the mechanisms of the planning process have created a situation that is unjust,
unreasonably causes hardship or is clearly in error;
anomalous provisions apply and the valid intent is clearly evident or simple
inconsequential correction is required;
there is a need for urgency and the public interest would be served by
immediate action;
the matter is unlikely to be reasonably resolved by the processes normally
available.
14. The extension of the controls will allow Council to continue its assessment of the
permanent controls and removes a control that is no longer required. The
amendment will ensure consistency and that the Planning Scheme is up to date.
-
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
Significant Trees
15. Amendment C148 proposes to introduce permanent protection to significant trees in
the municipality. This amendment has been on exhibition and is currently under
consideration by Council with the view to go to Panel. By exempting this amendment
from notice interim protection is afforded to trees which have been identified as
important while their significance is comprehensively assessed through the C148
process.
Site-specific Controls
16. Amendment C161 was introduced into the Casey Planning Scheme in April 2013,
applying development controls to the area which the site-specific controls in question
affect. Amendment C161 was exhibited and received no submissions. It is considered
that removing controls made redundant by an uncontroversial amendment will not
unfairly affect third parties.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH EFFECTS
ON THIRD PARTIES
17. It is appropriate to exempt this amendment from notice.
18. Accordingly I, acting under delegation from the Minister, consider that the benefits of
exemption from sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the
exemption on third parties.
DECISION
19. Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exercise
the power to exempt the Minister from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the regulations in respect of
Amendment C175 to the Casey Planning Scheme.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
20. I provide the following reasons for my decision under delegated authority to exercise
the power under section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987.
21. I, acting under delegation from the Minister, 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:

In the case of the extension of interim controls, these will only exist until the
time that the true significance of the trees in question is identified through the
resolution of Amendment C148; and
 In the case of the deletion of the site-specific controls, removing these
redundant controls will ensure consistency and certainty for the community in
regard to the future of Pound/Shrives Road, Hampton Park, as was established
in the approval of Amendment C161.
Signed by the Delegate
JANE MONK
Director
Planning Statutory Services
Date: 23 May 2013