NSW Planning Law Reforms – The Real Implications

The most significant reforms to NSW Planning Laws since the introduction of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act in 1979 are now only a month or two away. In this update, we explore a number of critical consequences of the planning reforms which do not appear to have been recognised in the media coverage (or government announcements) surrounding the proposed reforms to date.

In our December 2007 update (to view click here), gadens lawyers described the proposed planning reforms, following the release of a Discussion Paper released by the State Government in November 2007. Broadly, the reforms will:

• fast-track the making of Local Environmental Plans for the rezoning of land, by introducing an up-front "gateway" assessment to determine whether the proposal should proceed.