Property zoning in Western Australia is an intricate topic, that can take you a while to get your head around. It’s important though, so you can fully understand what the type of development you can do on that land, and the permitted uses of dwellings on that parcel of land. For residential development in western Australia, its particularly important to be able to navigate a local planning scheme to understand the permitted uses and dwelling typologies, and the number of dwellings (density) you can subdivide or develop on the parent lot. Just because something is zoned for “residential development” doesn’t automatically mean you can put all types dwelling on it, as we will learn. Let’s dive in and take a look.
On an overarching level, the zoning of all land (present and future) is captured in the Metropolitan Regional Scheme (MRS), a state level document that is constantly being updated. It is fed by ongoing demographic, hydrology, environmental and other land use studies to help the state government make informed decisions on how best to address the state of Western Australia’s needs for land usage. This can include but is not limited to things such as the need for more schools, roads, rail, hospitals and recreation facilities, residential housing areas and industrial precincts. It also looks carefully at the interface with bushland, rural and agricultural land adjoining the metropolitan area, where there may be carefully considered decisions made for long term rezoning to accommodate land use needs (such as for housing, industrial land or agriculture expansion).
Land use at MRS level informs Local government (also called councils or shires) what correlating land use must be planned for in their correlating Local Planning Scheme (LPS). Each local government has delegated authority and responsibility to manage land use on their portion of administrative area of the metropolitan area, in a way that aligns with the metropolitan regional scheme objectives. Think of the MRS as outlining what we are going to do with land, and a local government LPS as providing further contextually appropriate guidance on how that area will be developed to meet those objectives.
An LPS has 2 parts, the LPS map, which shows the areas that are denoted for specific land uses (like recreation, residential, industrial, etc). The second part is the LPS text, which provides the written statutory objectives on land use and planning ; essentially the measurable and quantifiable rules on what you can and can’t do with that piece of land in that local government area ( industrial or light industrial will be separate definitions for example, and what these definitions are and what is acceptable will be different in city of swan to City of Stirling, and may even be different in different industrial precincts within say the city of Stirling) .
The start point is to go to the Local planning scheme Map and find your property on it (made easier with tools like the local governments “Intramaps” these days). This will let you know what your properties Zoning is, for example “residential” or “mixed use” or “commercial”. Then, you need to consult with the “Zoning and use of land” section and tables in the correlating Local planning scheme text. There will always be a table in the scheme, that you consult next. Horizontally, there will be the “Zones”, of which you need to find the one that matches your property. Then, scrolling down the table on the vertical plane, you will see “Uses” or “Use classes”, to see what things you can do on the land. An example is below from the city of Bayswater LPS.
An X use is not permitted, a D use is at the local governments’ discretion, an A use is at the local government’s discretion provided sufficient notice is given and sought (typically with public advertising), and a P use is permitted, meaning you can make a normal planning application for this type of dwelling and usage.
It’s important to note that regardless of being a “P” (or any other type of use), you will, in 99% of cases, still need to lodge a planning application with local government before you can obtain a build permit or occupancy permit.
In the next part of the scheme text, there will descriptions for what each of the uses are, and the specific planning controls around them (ie. Light industrial will describe what it’s for, the parking and landscape requirements, etc). remember that this will vary from local government to local government area, so don’t assume it’s the same across the board.
As a final note, each local government will have parts of its scheme map that may have special controls, such as a:
- Structure plan area
- Precinct plan area
- Town centre or activity plan area
- Special use or control area
This will also be highlighted on the scheme map and/or Intramaps, with further details on the scheme. If this applies to your property, investigate carefully what added restrictions apply. For example, the city of Bayswater has several special control areas (SCA’s), one being Meltham street precinct. These have numerous, additional planning controls in the scheme text. Whilst much of the land is classified mixed use or residential, single houses and grouped dwellings (townhouses and villas essentially) are X uses (not permitted). Ie. The local government are driving the construction of apartments. The normal scheme single houses and grouped dwellings are ordinarily P or D uses, but in the SCA, this changes. See below
To get your head around Property Zoning in Western Australia, the devil is in the detail. Be diligent and careful as you map what you can and cannot do with your property, and do not make assumptions!
You can learn more about zoning, density, and the Rcodes in our online books and courses
To discuss property zoning in western Australia and the best ways to develop a property you own, contact us and we can get in touch to discuss
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