What is a Pre-DA? In the NSW planning system a Pre-DA meeting is a formal meeting between the applicant of a proposed Development Application (DA) and Council planning staff.
At this meeting the applicant is expected to provide preliminary documentation on their proposal such as plans and reports, and there is usually a fee required.
The meeting is usually attended by the applicant's architect and/or urban planner and Council's senior planning staff.
The good old days of the Council planner assisting to draw the plans over the counter for the applicant are long gone.
A Pre-DA is essentially the only formal opportunity to meet with Councils planning staff to discuss the likelihood of their proposal and resolve any issues Council may have.
As with everything there are benefits and limitations of a Pre-DA meeting, and I have summarised these below.
Benefits Avoid delays in the assessment process by getting quality advice from council.
These delays can include re-designing the plans and concerns from neighbours.
It saves the applicant money from having to pay the architect to change the plans.
If a model is submitted for large scale proposals it may need to be altered, which is also costly.
A Pre-DA gives the applicant assurance whether to proceed with DA.
Limitations Considering at a Pre-DA meeting the discussions are based on a proposal, there is no guarantee Councils decision will be that which was expressed at the meeting.
For example, Council may have indicated that they would support the proposal in it's current form, but the applicant changed the design, lodged the application and the proposal is not supported by Council.
The public perception of a Pre-DA is a tough topic for Councils.
eg.
The neighbours could perceive the applicant as being 'friends' with Council which gives them an unfair advantage.
State Government Proposal In August 2009 the Department of Planning released Draft Development Assessment Guidelines to make changes to improve the current assessment process.
These changes consisted of implementing required timeframes to assess applications, standard application forms across all Councils, ensure applications have the correct documentation and to promote Pre-DA meetings for applicants.
Essentially the proposed changes intended to speed up the assessment process, however the progress made with adopting these guidelines is unknown.
In my opinion these changes will increase the publics more confidence in Councils and could even encourage people to apply for DA, who were previously concerned about the delay in the assessment process.
These proposed changes will also be beneficial to the economy.
Summary Overall the Pre-DA service provides by Councils is highly recommended for controversial proposals and those which have non-compliances.
The public should be more aware that such a service exists so they can utilise Council's advice to avoid delays in the assessment process.
Even though a Pre-DA is a costly and time consuming exercise for Councils planning staff, it is a beneficial process for both the applicant and Councils.