Council staff recommend adoption of submissions policy
Central Coast Council staff have recommended that the council's Environment and Planning Committee support the adoption of the "Local Planning Panel - Development Application Submissions Policy".
The policy would double the number of objections required to refer a development application to the Local Planning Panel.
Currently, the threshold is 10 or more unique objections, a number set by Ministerial Directions.
Adoption of the policy would mean the trigger is increased to 20.
Central Coast Council would be unique in NSW in raising its submission requirement above the default.
The recommendation was made to the committee meeting on Tuesday, August 5.
Minutes of the committee meeting have not been released.
If the council adopts the policy, it will be submitted to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for final approval.
During a 28-day public exhibition that ended on June 2, six of eight submissions received objected to the increase.
The staff report attached a summary of eight objections raised in submissions, with comments by Council officers.
Council officers stated that the change in the required number of submissions would not affect the requirement to consider all matters raised in public submissions, regardless of the application's assessment pathway.
They also noted that applications with potential conflicts of interest or those seeking variations to a development standard of more than 10 per cent would still be automatically referred to the panel under separate directives.
Coincidentally, the council's administrative policy has also recently changed to no longer display residents' submissions on its online portal until after the submission period has closed.
The reasons given for this change are "streamlining" and preventing residents from copying submissions and presenting them as their own.
SOURCE:
Agenda 1.10, 5 Aug 2025
Planning and Environment Committee, Central Coast Council