ARCH2003 Development Control Assignment

Mechanics:

This assignment could require you to visit a local council (or equivalent) and arrange to meet with a planning officer for help in selecting a suitable development application and also asking for assistance during the latter stages of the assignment. The unit coordinator, Mark Crowley, is happy to speak to council, if they require an explanation of the assignment. You are seeking only publicly available information and are not to infringe the privacy of anyone involved in the selected project.

If documentation is sparse concerning the development application, you can include interviews from the main stakeholders in the development application process (developer, property owner, council planning officer, neighbouring property owners, architect, environmental consultant, representatives of local resident groups, infrastructure representatives [Sydney Water, RMA, etc.]). You should aim for a balanced description of the development issues, by comparing and contrasting the opinions of each stakeholder. The interview material must be referenced using the Harvard Referencing system. At the very least, you must include in the reference list:

1. The name of the stakeholder
2. His/Her position
3. His/Her Organisation
4. Place of Interview
5. Date of Interview

You should apply the rules of evidence that are used in a court of law. You cannot use hearsay (information that the stakeholders gained by talking to someone else) or slander (information that cannot be confirmed by other sources).

Because they have a standard format, development applications can overlook or minimise important issues in the development process. Even if you have abundant written material, interviews can still embellish your description of the development application.

Guidelines

In preparing a case study report make sure that you explain the context of your project, the issues/ controversy, the solutions proposed, the stakeholders and the events. It is not intended to dictate your presentation style nor prevent you from including additional information to complete your case-study.

You may add any other information/ topic you may feel important and relevant.

You may modify certain questions or change their order/sequence.

You may choose to emphasize certain aspects more than others.

Context and Issues

Explain the site, its location and surroundings, any significant features, any development restrictions or constraints. Drawings and photographs are helpful for this.

Explain the development proposed, the nature of development, scale, size, etc.

Explain any environmental, heritage, legal or other issues or concerns present.

Stakeholders

Identify and list the various stakeholders that were involved in the process. Describe each stakeholders role and interest/motivation.

Events

Outline the chronology of the events. You should provide a timeline in table-form to summarise the development application process. Trace the various stages of the application process, starting from the conception of the idea to lodge the development application up to its final outcome. Identify and explain the statutory basis for each step of the process. Provide a step-by-step account of issues that emerged and attempts to solve them. Identify and discuss critical stages at which there were options and decisions were made. Describe who made the decisions and justify the reasoning behind these decisions. Explain the actions/response of the stakeholders at various stages of the process.

Comment on the process followed

Could certain steps be eliminated, shortened or simplified, that is, could efficiency be improved without losing effectiveness of the process?

Do certain existing steps/controls need to be elaborated or new ones introduced to improve the effectiveness of the process?

Comment on the outcome

Were there winners and losers in the final determination of the development application?
What were the alternative options for the site?
Was the best possible outcome achieved?

Comment on the approaches to the process by various stakeholders

What was the approach taken by the various stakeholders involved in the process?
Could that have been improved?
Would you, in the roles of the developer or the planning officer, have approached the issue differently?
Would you have played a more positive/ effective role?

Comment on what have you learnt from preparing this case-study.

Required fieldwork

Visit the site and include four photographs of the site and/or surroundings.
Visit the local council and ask for assistance from the planning officer.
Visit the council library and check the availability of council business papers and planning reports.
Speak to resident action groups or people who made submissions on the application. Be sure to say that you are a student and that they are under no obligation to speak to you.

Things to do

Discuss your chosen project with the lecturer during the tutorial sessions after the lecture.
Include a diary giving details of the dates you visited the site and the local council in an Appendix.
Include in your diary details of the dates you spoke to the owner, residents and council officers providing their names, official positions and telephone numbers.

Prepare a reference list providing full bibliographic details of all documents you use in your assignment (including plans and maps).

Use quotation marks and exact references in text for all material quoted from other sources. If required, use diagrams and sketches to help you get your point across.

Things to avoid

Do not pad the assignment with extraneous detail. Focus on the issues that are problematic or potentially controversial.

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