Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Local Housing Strategy?
A Local Housing Strategy is a plan that identifies how future housing needs can be met within a Local Government area. A Strategy of this type is a requirement for local authorities when preparing a new District Planning Scheme, as the City is currently doing. It has to take into account issues such as population growth, an ageing population, changing lifestyle choices and gaps in the available range of housing types to meet these needs.
In the City of Joondalup, research has confirmed that the City’s population is ageing and household sizes are decreasing. Housing options for people in these circumstances are limited, given that most homes built from the 1970s onwards were three bedroom dwellings on large blocks compared with the type and variety of developments now being built.
The City’s draft Local Housing Strategy has also been developed to comply with the State Government’s Directions 2031.
What is Directions 2031 and why do we need to think about the needs of people living outside the City of Joondalup?
Directions 2031 was developed by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) in anticipation of an increase in the current population from 1.65 million, to more than 2.2 million by 2031. In order to accommodate this level of growth in the future, the WAPC estimates that we will need another 328,000 houses and 353,000 jobs across the whole of the Perth region.
What is a Housing Opportunity Area?
Housing Opportunity Areas are close to railway stations, major commercial centres and frequent bus services. Given their proximity to these amenities and facilities, the areas are ideally suited for potential development opportunities. Right now, most of these proposed Housing Opportunity Areas only provide single housing of three or four bedroom homes on relatively large blocks. The proposed Housing Opportunity Areas will allow for greater housing density and variety. View the map which shows where the proposed Housing Opportunity Areas are.
What is housing density?
Housing density relates to the number of houses or dwellings that can be built on a single block of land. This is covered under the Residential Design Codes (R-Codes). Some R-Codes only allow for single houses on a block, whereas others allow for two, three or more. A home in a proposed Housing Opportunity Area may have its R-Codes changed to allow for more than one home to be built on a block, depending on how much land is available.
Will I have to pay more rates if my land is recoded or rezoned and I don’t develop?
There is no straightforward answer to this question. Rates are determined by a rate in the dollar set by Council multiplied by the Gross Rental Value of your property which is determined by the Valuer General’s Office.
Rate in the Dollar - The City applies a different rate in the dollar based on zoning but not based on coding. Therefore the rate in the dollar is not affected by a recoding eg R20 to R20/30 but it would be affected by a rezoning eg Residential to Commercial. In this example because the Commercial rate in the dollar is higher than the Residential rate in the dollar it would result in higher rates.
Gross Rental Value - As a general rule a change in coding or zoning alone where there is no redevelopment is unlikely to impact on the Gross Rental Value of your property. This value is influenced by the sorts of demand factors that impact on property rentals such as location, age of the house, number of bedrooms, features of the property etc. Because of these factors it is important to understand that Gross Rental Values will change over time regardless of whether there are coding or zoning changes.
The City’s website has more information about rates and how they are calculated.
This all sounds great ... but is there more?
Homeowners within a proposed Housing Opportunity Area who wish to take advantage of the chance to subdivide their block will need to ensure that ALL development, including the original dwelling, meet certain criteria. These include energy efficient building design, water sensitive design, ‘fitting in’ with surrounding homes and incorporating the general principles of good urban design. The details are contained in the draft Dual Density Code Policy which is part of the draft Local Housing Strategy.
The comment period has closed, what happens now?
The Council will consider all submissions and feedback before deciding whether or not to endorse the draft Local Housing Strategy.
If endorsed, the recommendations of the Local Housing Strategy will be used to determine the new density codes and policies in a new draft District Planning Scheme. The draft District Planning Scheme will then be advertised giving residents another opportunity to comment prior to being adopted by Council, the WA Planning Commission and the Minister for Planning. This process is likely to take at least 2 years to complete.
