Our Development Control Plan (DCP) outlines the planning controls that apply to development proposals. You will need to look at this document to see what you need to consider when planning your development.
 
Our DCP applies to the entire Shellharbour City Local Government Area, except the Calderwood Urban Development Area.

Where does the DCP sit in the hierarchy of land use and planning policy?

DCPs are part of an overall planning hierarchy for development applications.

At the top sits state environmental planning instruments such as the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) and State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure). For many developments, SEPPs are the principal planning document.

Next on the planning hierarchy are Local Environmental Plans (LEPs). An LEP describes what development can be undertaken on land and also contains development standards for floor space ratio, height, minimum lot size and other provisions which affect DAs.

At the end of this hierarchy are DCPs. Our Development Control Plan (DCP) provides detailed planning and design guidelines that support our LEP.

What is covered in the DCP?

The DCP applies to all of the Shellharbour Council area, except the Calderwood development area, and is set out in six parts.

Part 1 contains information about how the DCP operates, its relationship with other planning documents and an overview of the development assessment process. It also includes information on DA assessment, notification and submissions and what to do before lodging a DA.

Parts 2 & 4 provide planning objectives and advice for specific uses of land. These uses include:

  • Different forms of residential development and associated provisions on things like private open space, streetscape, fencing, building lines/setbacks
  • Residential subdivision
  • Commercial development, including specific provisions for centres such as Albion Park, Shellharbour City Centre and Shellharbour Village
  • Child care centres
  • Industrial development
  • Advertising and signage
  • Telecommunications and radio communications
  • Bank stabilisation for rivers, lakes, estuaries and other water bodies

Parts 3 & 5 provide planning objectives and advice that apply to various types of land uses. These include:

  • Parking, traffic and transport
  • Waste minimisation and management
  • Access for people with a disability
  • Crime prevention through environmental design
  • Public art
  • Reflectivity
  • Landscaping
  • Preservation and removal of trees or vegetation
  • Contamination
  • Cutting, filling and retaining walls
  • Floodplain risk management
  • Stormwater management
  • Bushfire hazard
  • Aboriginal heritage
  • European heritage
  • Social impact assessment
  • Building height
  • Acoustic protection
  • Development on or near the airport
  • Development in deferred areas (i.e. still zoned under LEP 2000 or LEP 2004)

Part 6 contains the appendix with the site-specific provisions for Tullimbar Village.

What force does a DCP have?

Under Section 74BA of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, DCPs are not statutory documents (law). State Environmental Planning Policies and Local Environmental Plans are.

Section 79C of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act lists matters for consideration in determining a development application. These matters include any DCP. DCPs, therefore, must be considered in determining development applications.

Does the DCP have exempt and complying development?

Except for a provision exempting business identification signs for home businesses/occupations from the need for development consent, exempt and complying development provisions are not included in our DCP.

This is because the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) and State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) include an extensive range of development types as exempt and complying, generally making it unnecessary to include additional exempt/complying categories in our own DCP.

How are Aboriginal heritage issues managed with development proposals?

There are many reasons Aboriginal Cultural Heritage needs to be assessed with development proposals. We see the benefit and importance of respecting the local Aboriginal people, their culture and identity by acknowledging, protecting and keeping alive the cultural history connected to our local area.

Aboriginal cultural heritage values, objects and tangible sites or features as well as intangible spiritual and cultural values, need to be fully and effectively addressed in the development application and assessment process and afforded appropriate protection or management consistent with legislative requirements. Chapter 27 of our DCP, Aboriginal Heritage, has information and questions which determine whether Aboriginal heritage needs to be addressed and assessed with any development application.

For further information visit our Cultural and heritage advice page or the Office of Local Government and Heritage.

How do you use the DCP?

This DCP has been designed so the user can pick and choose requirements relevant to their development proposal. Essentially a user of this DCP would:

1. Read through part 1 to understand the development process and get an overview of the DCP

2. Read through the provisions in Part 2 and the appendices in Part 4 as relevant to their proposal. For example:

  • if an industrial proposal, it would be the industrial chapter
  • if it included signage, the advertising/signage chapter too
  • if town houses, it would be the relevant sections in the residential chapter
  • if a non-urban house, again the residential chapter and possibly the appendix on onsite wastewater management

3. Read through Part 3 and the appendices in Part 5, where numerous chapters/appendices could apply to a particular land use. This would depend on things like whether the land is flood-prone, contaminated, bushfire prone, heritage affected or whether access for people with a disability is required.

Last updated : Wed 26 Apr 2023