About the Policy

The City of Cockburn is proposing amendments to its Local Planning Policy 1.15 (LPP 1.15) to merge its contents with the existing Local Planning Policy 1.6 (LPP 1.6). This policy aims to create clear development standards for different types of land use defined in Town Planning Scheme 3 (TPS3), which include:

• Hosted and Un-hosted Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA)
• Tourist and Visitor Accommodation
• Workforce Accommodation
• Hotels.

Background

At the 12 November 2024 Ordinary Council Meeting, Council resolved to initiate a standard scheme amendment (amendment No. 183) to align Town Planning Scheme 3 (TPS3) with recent state government planning reform pertaining to Short Term Rental Accommodation (STRA).

Amendment No. 183 included new definitions for (tourist and visitor accommodation, workforce accommodation and roadhouse) and removed existing land use definitions in accordance with the deemed provisions in the Planning and Development (Local Planning Scheme) Regulations 2015.

Amendment No. 183 has triggered a review of Local Planning Policies 1.6 (Lodging Houses) and LPP 1.15 (Tourist Accommodation) to align with the new set of land use definitions. Accordingly, a new Draft Local Planning Policy 1.15 has been prepared.

Local Planning Policy 1.6 – Lodging Houses

LPP 1.6 was first adopted in October of 2012 and aimed to establish development standards for lodging houses.

Lodging houses were defined under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911 (Health Act), and regulated backpacker lodges, boarding houses, recreational campsites, services apartments, refuges, and hostels.

With the removal of the Lodging House definition under Amendment 183, most of these operations are now regulated under the Tourist and Visitor Accommodation or Residential Building land uses pursuant to TPS3.

However, these operations may still be considered lodging houses for the purposes of the Health Act and the City’s Health Local Law.

To consolidate information for proponents into one document, the Local Law requirements for lodging houses have been included as an appendix within the draft policy.

In addition, the development standards from the existing LPP 1.6 have been carried across and consolidated.

Local Planning Policy 1.15 – Tourist Accommodation

LPP 1.15 was first adopted in September of 2016 and aimed to provide guidance for a variety of land uses that fell under the umbrella of ‘accommodation’.

The provisions of LPP 1.15 have been mostly retained, with the below changes being proposed:

1. Land use definitions have been removed/added/modified to align with Amendment 183.
2. Addition of Waste Management under the ‘Management Plan’ requirements (clause 2). This is to align with current practice, as the City can request waste management details when assessing accommodation proposals.
3. Removal of clause 3.2 from the existing LPP. This clause seeks to discourage grouped dwellings and multiple dwellings (apartments) from being used as tourist accommodation. This was included to address concerns around the use of common areas, and concerns from residents within strata properties. These concerns are best managed through each strata company.
4. Adding a reminder under Clause 3 of the mandatory registration process established under the STRA Act 2024.
5. Insertion of Workforce Accommodation section. This has been done to capture development standards for the newly defined land use. The development standards for this land use have been informed by other local governments with existing policies for Workforce Accommodation and the WAPC’s position statement on the matter (Position Statement Workforce Accommodation)
6. Insertion of an ‘Exemptions’ clause that articulates which proposal may commence without prior approval to reflect the recent amendments to the LPS regulations.
7. Addition of a Bushfire Requirements section. These requirements reflect planning officers’ current practice in their assessment of development applications.
8. The addition of lodging house requirements (as explained above).

What will happen next

Following the public advertising period, City Officers will review the submissions and considerations, which may lead to amendments to the draft Local Planning Policy 1.15 (LPP 1.15). The draft policy will then be considered by the City’s Governance Committee, and a report will be presented to Council for adoption.