City of Canning – Zoning Amendments
CITY OF CANNING IMPROVES SUBDIVISION POTENTIAL OF THOUSANDS OF LOTS IN LOCAL AREA
If you own land in the City of Canning or are considering make an investment in the area, this information on amended residential density coding will certainly be of interest.
The City of Canning adopted a Local Housing Strategy in October 2014 in order to guide future residential growth in the local area. The strategy was informed by a local housing study conducted by Curtin University which identified strong community support for further residential development along with state government planning policies including Directions 2031 and Beyond which identified additional dwelling targets for the City, particularly around activity centres and corridors.
Two recommendations from the Housing Strategy that have a direct impact on redevelopment potential of residential land in the City of Canning are the recommendations to discontinue dual density codings and secondly to increase the coding of existing R17.5 areas to R20.
Both of these recommendations have recently been put into action via Scheme Amendments No. 211 and No. 212 of the Town Planning Scheme in the aim to encourage better infill development and improve development potential of many lots in the local area.
DUAL DENSITY CODING REMOVAL
The City of Canning has advised us that Scheme Amendment No. 211 acts to remove all dual density codings throughout the City of Canning, and replace them with the higher density applicable to those relevant lots. Except for a small number of lots that are exempt from this amendment, all residential zoned lots will be allocated the higher coding as specified in their former dual density coding.
The existing dual density codings are not considered by the City of Canning to serve a useful purpose within the planning framework, due to a redundant requirement for connection to sewerage, and the fact that minimum frontage requirements have commonly been circumvented through subdivision of lots prior to the development application process.
Further to this, it is considered the minimum frontage requirement for subdivision does not serve an adequate purpose in guiding streetscape and built form in these areas. Not to mention that dual density codings add another layer of difficulty to the planning framework which is not necessary.
Overall, the Amendment affects 7,548 lots in the Residential zone.
INCREASED BASE DENSITY CODING
Scheme Amendment No. 212 has been developed to increase the base density coding in the City of Canning from R17.5 to R20. Until 2008, R17.5 coded lots with a site area of 900 square metres or greater were capable of subdivision into two grouped dwelling lots with a 450 square metre average site area. Revisions to State Planning Policy 3.1 Residential Design Codes in 2008 removed this capability, and therefore instituted a reduced development potential for R17.5 coded lots. By increasing the density of all R17.5 coded lots to R20, this development potential is replaced.
The City of Melville also recently undertook a similar amendment in order to achieve the same outcome.
The Amendment affects 12,055 lots in the Residential zone.
In respect to both of these scheme amendments, the documentation advises that subject lots predominantly comprise single house development with some built and survey strata developments.
For more detailed information about the City of Canning’s Local Housing Strategy, a copy can be downloaded here: Local_Housing_Strategy
Or the individual scheme amendments here:
• Scheme Amendment 211 Report for initiation
• Scheme Amendment 212 Report for initiation
