Perth Voice Interactive

FOR four months, amidst huge decisions affecting the city’s amenity, Vincent council’s development assessment panel has been missing half its local representation.

When the WA government set up DAPs to supposedly streamline the development approval process for big projects, they were supposed to comprise of three state-appointed expert members and two local elected councillors.

But at October’s election most of the elected members trained and approve to sit in on the DAPs—Alannah MacTiernan, Dudley Maier and Warren McGrath—retired.

That’s left Josh Topelberg on his own.

When the DAP sits this Friday he and appointed members Clayton Higham, Ian Birch and Lou D’Alessandro will consider four projects worth between $3 million and $12.7 million—the latter a gamechanger four-storey project for Charles Street that’s up for approval, and another a five-storey development on Fitzgerald Street.

At its first meeting after the October elections the council voted for three new members to join, but in the four months since the Barnett government has failed to approve them.

WA planning minister John Day says his department only received the council’s submission in December—more than a month after the election—and it has “recently forwarded it to my office”.

“As is the usual practice with DAP appointments, I consider the submission which is then presented to cabinet for a final decision to be made.”

“The appointments will be announced in the near future”.

Cr Topelberg says the DAPs were created to “diminish community sentiment” in planning decisions and having just one elected member rather than two risks thinning it further.

“I don’t see it as a burden for me personally; it doesn’t impact my decision-making being the only one there.

“But for my community I think it’s fair that they have two voices there.”

by DAVID BELL