1. Pre-Application – Getting it right to start with!
Rach Lunn
City of Greater Dandenong
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2. The CGD Pre-Application Advice Service
Otherwise known as: “If you liked it then you shoulda got a note on it”

3. Rachel Lunn Will Stewart Jane Brodie
Manager – City Planning and Design
Will Stewart
Coordinator - Statutory Planning Coordinator
Leanne Nicholls
Business and Project Support Officer
Jane Brodie
Coordinator - Strategic, Design and Sustainability Planning
General Applications incl. VicSmart & Subdivision
Major Developments incl. Priority Paid
Planning Administration Support
Strategic Planning
Urban Design and Open Space
Sustainability Planning
Tony Casciere
Team Leader – Statutory Planning
Aaron Dyer
Team Leader - Statutory Planning
Rod Kean – Team Leader Statutory Planning
Paul Iacuone
Team Leader - Statutory Planning
Sarah Salem
Team Leader - Statutory Planning
Susan Richards
Planning Support Team Leader
Warren Wood
Team Leader – Strategic Planning
VACANT
Team Leader –Sustainability Planning
Ceinwen Gould
Senior Strategic Planner
Agus Batara
Urban Open Space & Design Officer
Darren Wilson
Environmental Planner
Afua Adjei
Senior Statutory Planner
Tran Ly
Senior Statutory Planner
Norm Kortum
Senior Statutory Planner
Ray Micallef
Senior Statutory Planner
Amy Wagenaar
Planning Support Officer
Dana Mizrachi
Senior Strategic Planner
James Mitchell
Sustainability Planner
Carolyn Reddy
Customer Liaison Officer
Glen Housden
PT SUBDIVISION OFFICER
Aime Bigornia
Planning Support Officer
Matt Sacco
Statutory Planner
Chris Seow
Statutory Planner
Rachel Diamond
Strategic Planner
Sarah Matthews
STATUTORY PLANNER
Sri Amareswaran
Statutory Planner
Mitch
Seach
Statutory Planner
Nikki Brock
PT Statutory Planner
Angela Drakopoulos
Planning Support Officer
Aisling Keogh
Strategic Planner
Hugh Griggs
STATUTORY PLANNER
Anita Collingwood
Planning Support Officer

4. What is the Planning Pre-Application advice service?...
The planning pre-application advice service is a service aimed at providing potential applicants with the opportunity to meet with planning officers to discuss their proposal, identify key areas of concern, and gain an understanding of the planning permit application process.
Planning applicants and agents often request advice on whether a particular proposal is likely to be successful.
This is a valuable process because it can identify improvements needed to a scheme prior to submission and can save people submitting applications that have little or no prospect of success.

5. Statutory Planning performance improvements
Applications decided ‘on time’
YEAR 11/12
YEAR 12/13
YEAR 13/14
July and August 2014
PPARS expectation
60%
PPARS actual
27%
49%
56%
68%
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6. Planning Pre-Application Service
We have implemented a very successful Pre-Application Meeting Service in early 2013
Year 13/14
Planning Pre-Application Advice Service requests & completions
162
Applications lodged after a Pre-App?
153
Refusals on schemes that were ‘Pre-App-ed?’ 1
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7. What doesn’t the pre-application advice service do?
The pre-application advice service does not apply to existing applications or to applications that are currently being considered by VCAT.
The pre-application advice service cannot provide a professional consultancy service. The Statutory Planning Team is here to assess and make recommendations on your proposals, and advise where your proposal does/does not meet the Planning scheme or Council policy requirements. Officers are not able to offer planning consultancy, design or architectural, traffic, civil engineering services, etc.
Applicants who are unsure about preparing a planning application are advised to consult with an independent, suitably qualified professional. Details of town planning consultants can be found at

8. What does the pre-application advice service do?
Provides a Meeting and Written Document Service
Consistency in outcomes – the right level of input
Improve PPARS
Councillor and Executive buy-in
Certainty & Transparency
Negotiate first – play ‘hard ball’ second!
It stops “Jody Says...”

9. What advice will I receive? Is it legally binding?
In all cases, officers will be pleased to offer advice, based upon their own professional judgment, however this will not commit Council to a particular decision or outcome.
A Council decision will only be forthcoming once the actual planning application has been lodged and determined. Above all, the Council’s discretion to make the final decision cannot be prejudiced in any way.
All information and correspondence (including plans, drawings, photos, s, etc.) that you submit to Council in relation to a pre-application proposal, as well as meeting notes and written feedback, will be held in Council’s Records Document Management System.

10. How does the service work?
As part of the pre-application advice service, you will have a meeting with a planning officer to discuss your application. Depending on the complexity of your application, you will receive written feedback within one of the following timeframes:
Simple and Average proposals - a written response will be provided to the applicant within two weeks of the meeting.
Complex and Regional/City Importance proposals – a written response will be provided to the applicant within four weeks of the meeting.
WE HAVE A ‘LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY’ TABLE – SEE HANDOUT .

11. What level of planning officer will deal with my proposal?
Simple and average proposals will generally be handled by a Statutory Planning Officer or Senior Planning Officer, with assistance from other council officers as required.
Complex proposals will generally be handled by a Statutory Planning Team Leader, with assistance from other council officers as required.
Regional/city importance proposals will generally be handled by the Coordinator Statutory Planning with assistance from Manager Planning and Design and other council officers as required.
The Director of City Planning, Design and Amenity can be requested to attend the initial meeting for a proposal of regional / city importance, however all such requests must be directed to the Manager Planning and Design or the Director’s Personal Assistant.

12. How can I access the Service?
To access the pre-application advice service, you must complete a Planning pre-application advice service request form (PDF) and submit to Council with any required supporting information in person, via fax, post or (details on form).
Once we receive a valid request and the necessary supporting information, you will be contacted within a week and a meeting date will be offered to you. We try to arrange a meeting within three weeks of receiving a valid request. Appointments are only during normal working hours.
Council will provide you with a reference number (PlnPre) and you will be notified of the name of the planner who will lead your pre-application meeting.
SEE SERVICE REQUEST FORM

13. What does it cost? Simple proposals - free of charge
Average proposals - free of charge for the initial service (up to 2 meetings and 1 written document), then $100 for each meeting or written document thereafter
Complex proposals - $200 for the initial service (up to 2 meetings and 1 written document), then $200 for each meeting or written document thereafter
State/City Significant proposals - $300 for the initial service (up to 2 meetings and 1 written document), then $300 for each meeting or written document thereafter

14. How to our Internal Processes work?
SEE THE PLANNING INTERNAL PROCESS DOCUMENT

15. How do we organise allocating Pre-Apps?
WE HAVE AN ALLOCATION AND TRACKING SPREADSHEET

16. What Written Feedback does the applicant get?
SEE THE WRITTEN RESPONSE DOCUMENT

17. How have we embedded Pre-App in our systems?
Written Pre-Application Advice Docs go onto each New Application File
‘Three strikes’ rule for unsupported developments
Embedded in Councillor thinking – they ask residents or developers “Didn't you use our Pre-App? Officers could have helped you first!”
We use it for internal projects too – City Improvement, new Kinders, changes to Sports Pavilions etc

18. What questions can I help you with??
Over to you guys....
What questions can I help you with??

19. Thank you I hope I’ve helped a little in starting or improving your Pre-App journey!
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