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Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan
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Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan Hawkesbury City Council Draft Report Local Government May 2019
ii IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan © Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (2019) With the exception of any: (a) coat of arms, logo, trade mark or other branding; (b) third party intellectual property; and (c) personal information such as photos of people, this publication is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivs 3.0 Australia Licence. The licence terms are available at the Creative Commons website: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/legalcode IPART requires that it be attributed as creator of the licensed material in the following manner: © Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal ([Year of Publication]).
ISBN 978-1-76049-341-7 The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) IPART provides independent regulatory decisions and advice to protect and promote the ongoing interests of the consumers, taxpayers and citizens of NSW. IPART’s independence is underpinned by an Act of Parliament. Further information on IPART can be obtained from IPART’s website: https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART iii Tribunal Members The Tribunal members for this review are: Ms Deborah Cope Ms Fiona Towers Ms Nicola Gibson Enquiries regarding this document should be directed to a staff member: Mariyan James (02) 9113 7791 Cameron Shields (02) 9019 1901 Invitation for submissions IPART invites written comment on this document and encourages all interested parties to provide submissions addressing the matters discussed.
Submissions are due by 28 June 2019 We would prefer to receive them electronically via our online submission form .
You can also send comments by mail to: Local Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal PO Box K35 Haymarket Post Shop NSW 1240 Late submissions may not be accepted at the discretion of the Tribunal. Our normal practice is to make submissions publicly available on our website as soon as possible after the closing date for submissions. If you wish to view copies of submissions but do not have access to the website, you can make alternative arrangements by telephoning one of the staff members listed above.
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If your submission contains information that you do not wish to be publicly disclosed, please indicate this clearly at the time of making the submission. However, it could be disclosed under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) or the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Act 1992 (NSW), or where otherwise required by law. If you would like further information on making a submission, IPART’s submission policy is available on our website.
iv IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan Contents Tribunal Members iii Invitation for submissions iii 1 Executive summary 1 1.1 Costs in the plan should be reduced 2 1.2 Contributions plans should be regularly reviewed 2 1.3 Overview of findings 2 1.4 Overview of recommendations 5 1.5 List of draft recommendations 9 1.6 Structure of this Draft Report 11 1.7 How you can have a say on this Draft Report? 12 2 Context and approach for this assessment 13 2.1 What are contributions plans? 13 2.2 Why has the council submitted the plan to IPART? 13 2.3 What is the aim of our assessment? 14 2.4 What approach did we use for this assessment? 15 2.5 What consultation process do we follow? 16 2.6 What happens next? 16 3 Overview of the Vineyard Contributions Plan 17 3.1 Status of Vineyard Precinct CP 17 3.2 Development in the Vineyard Precinct 17 3.3 Cost of land and works in the plan 20 3.4 Contribution rates 20 4 Transport 22 4.1 Criterion 1: Essential works 24 4.2 Criterion 2: Nexus 24 4.3 Criterion 3: Reasonable costs 27 4.4 Criterion 5: Apportionment 37 5 Stormwater management 40 5.1 Criterion 1: Essential works 41 5.2 Criterion 2: Nexus 42 5.3 Criterion 3: Reasonable cost 44 5.4 Criterion 5: Apportionment 45 6 Open space 47 6.1 Criterion 1: Essential works 48 6.2 Criterion 2: Nexus 50 6.3 Criterion 3: Reasonable cost of open space works 51 6.4 Criterion 4: Apportionment 53 7 Community services 54
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART v 7.1 Criterion 1: Essential works 55 7.2 Criterion 2: Nexus 55 7.3 Criterion 5: Apportionment 55 8 Plan administration 56 9 Cross category issues 59 9.1 Criterion 3: Reasonable cost – land 59 9.2 Criterion 3: Reasonable cost – loan interest costs in the plan 63 9.3 Criterion 3: Reasonable cost – indexation of contribution rates 65 9.4 Criterion 4: Timing of infrastructure delivery 66 9.5 Criterion 6: Consultation 67 9.6 Criterion 7: Other matters 68 A Terms of reference 69 B Assessment against information requirements in the EP&A Regulation 71
vi IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 1 1 Executive summary Hawkesbury City Council (the council) submitted the Vineyard Precinct Section 7.11 Draft Contributions Plan (Vineyard CP) to IPART for review as it wishes to process development applications for the Vineyard Precinct, and levy the full amount of local infrastructure contributions under the plan. Currently, contributions on new residential development plans are capped at $30,000 per lot or dwelling.1 Vineyard Precinct Stage 1 was rezoned for urban development in December 2017 and Hawkesbury City Council has already received some development applications (DAs).
An amendment to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 in January 2019 prevents the council determining DAs for the Vineyard Precinct until a section 7.11 plan is in effect.2 This means that the council is not able to approve any DAs for development within the Vineyard Precinct until it adopts the Vineyard CP.
IPART’s assessment will be provided to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces (the Minister) and the Minister will advise the council which of IPART’s recommendation it must address. Once the council has made any changes requested by the Minister, the Vineyard CP will become an ‘IPART reviewed plan’ and the council can levy contributions in accordance with the adopted plan. We have completed this assessment in accordance with the guidance provided by the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) in its 2019 Practice Note.3 This report sets out our findings and recommendations to the Minister on the amendments required to ensure that the plan reflects the reasonable costs of providing the necessary local infrastructure to accommodate the development of the precinct.
This is important to ensure that developers do not pay too much for local infrastructure (if costs are too high) and that other parties, such as a council’s ratepayers, do not have to subsidise the new development (if costs are too low).
Until July 2020, contributions caps limit the amount some neighbouring councils can levy on residential development in certain precincts. These limits do not apply to development in the Vineyard precinct. The application of caps is NSW Government policy and it is not within the scope of our assessment to review this policy. 1 Minister for Planning, Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Direction 2012 (last amended 18 December 2018), cl 6(3) and Sch 2(17) (Ministerial Direction). 2 The amendment applies to land that is subject to a precinct plan under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Region Growth Centres) 2006.
3 See DPE’s, Local Infrastructure Contributions Practice Note, January 2019 (Practice Note). We also assessed whether the Vineyard CP contains information required by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000.
2 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan 1.1 Costs in the plan should be reduced Our assessment found that the Vineyard CP overestimates the total reasonable costs the council is likely to incur to provide local infrastructure to meet the demand for public amenities and services generated by development in Vineyard Precinct Stage 1.
We recommend amendments which would reduce the total cost of land, works and administration in the plan, from $165,272,444 to $129,796,778. This equates to a decrease in total costs of 21.5% relative to the plan submitted to us by the council. We have recommended land cost reduction of $10,605,202 primarily to reflect ecological and other constraints. Our adjustments for works costs are spread relatively evenly across the infrastructure categories. Transport cost reductions are $8.14 million, primarily because we found that Boundary Road should be upgraded only to the standard of a collector road rather than a sub-arterial road.
We have also recommended reductions in stormwater works costs of $8.70 million, open space embellishment of $7.67 million.
1.2 Contributions plans should be regularly reviewed Our assessment of Vineyard CP identified one other important matter: the need for regular review of contributions plans. Hawkesbury City Council has neither acquired land nor commenced any works for local infrastructure in the precinct. Our analysis, and further information provided by the council itself, suggests that for certain infrastructure items, the council has made quite high-level assumptions about the scope of works which will be required, and their costs.
It is important that the contributions collected under a plan match as closely as possible the amount the council must spend on local infrastructure to support that development.
If costs are higher than the council’s costs for delivering the local infrastructure, developers will pay too much. Conversely, if costs are lower than the council will incur, then new development would effectively be subsidised by the council’s ratepayers. Regular review of the plan as development proceeds would allow the council to use more upto-date assumptions and refine the designs and cost estimates for infrastructure, thereby reducing the uncertainties in the current draft of the plan. We recommend the council update the contributions plan within the first three years of development occurring in the precinct, and every three to five years after the first review.
1.3 Overview of findings Our assessment of the Vineyard CP addresses each of the criteria in DPE’s Practice Note. Criterion 1: Essential works We are required to assess whether the land and infrastructure included in the Vineyard CP are on the essential works list outlined in the Practice Note. We found that all of the land, works and administration costs in the Vineyard CP are on the essential works list.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 3 Criterion 2: Nexus We are required to assess whether there is nexus between the demand arising from new development and the public amenities and services to be provided in the plan.
Nexus ensures that the infrastructure included in the contributions plan is sufficient to meet, but not exceed, the need generated by the increase in demand from the new development. We found that nexus has been established for all the land in the plan, and generally for works for transport, stormwater and open space and plan administration costs. One exception is the plan’s assumption that Boundary Road (and accompanying intersection design and a bridge upgrade) would have a sub-arterial classification rather than be a collector road. We also found nexus is not established for some stormwater works for channel stabilisation; but on the other hand, there is nexus for channel stabilisation works in another location which were omitted from the plan.
Criterion 3: Reasonable costs We are required to assess whether the contribution rates in the plan are based on reasonable estimates of the cost of the proposed land and works, and any actual costs in the plan. This includes assessing how the costs of each item of infrastructure are derived and the method applied to calculate the contribution rates and escalate them over time. Cost of works Although we found the cost estimates for most works included in the plan are reasonable, we consider the cost estimates for many items of transport infrastructure are not reasonable. We also consider the cost of embellishment of open space land where existing native vegetation (ENV) is located is excessive.
The presence of ENV means that restrictions apply as to the extent of development (in this case embellishment for use as passive open space) which is possible on the land.
For all infrastructure categories, we consider it reasonable to use the contingency allowances recommended by the cost consultant, rather than the allowances the council applied. Cost of land We found the estimates for the cost of unconstrained land included in the plan are reasonable, but that cost estimates for constrained land identified in the plan, are not reasonable, and not supported by sufficient market evidence. We also found that some open space land which the plan identifies as unconstrained would, in fact, have restricted development potential due to ecological constraints. We found the cost of this open space land in the plan is not reasonable.
Cost of plan administration We found the council’s use of IPART’s benchmark of 1.5% of the cost of works in the plan to estimate plan administration costs is reasonable.
4 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan Loan interest costs The council has applied under the NSW Government’s Low Cost Loan Initiative for a subsidy on a 10-year loan it intends to use to assist with forward-funding delivery of some infrastructure under the Vineyard CP and help accelerate development in the precinct. The plan includes the interest costs associated with the loan.
We consider it is reasonable to include these loan costs in the contributions plan, but the interest cost to the council should reflect the subsidy it expects to receive and also our recommendations to reduce the cost of the items of infrastructure to which the loan is tied.
Indexation of contribution rates We found the council’ approach to indexing contribution rates works to be reasonable. For indexing contribution rates for land, the council intends to use a land value index (LVI), although it has not determined the specific index it will rely on. We consider, in-principle, the council’s use of an LVI is reasonable. Our preference is for councils to use an indexation approach that is broad-based, such as an LGA-wide index instead of a precinct-specific approach.
Criterion 4: Timeframe for delivery of infrastructure We are required to assess whether the public amenities and public services in the plan can be provided within a reasonable timeframe.
We found prioritising infrastructure delivery within 5-year tranches to align with expected timeframe for development within the precinct is reasonable. Criterion 5: Apportionment We are required to assess whether the contribution rates are based on a reasonable apportionment of costs. The council apportions all the costs in the plan only to residential development. The cost of transport, open space and community services in the Vineyard CP are apportioned on a per person basis. Stormwater management and plan administration cost are apportioned on a per hectare basis.
We found the approach in the Vineyard CP to apportioning the costs of all infrastructure categories to be reasonable. Criterion 6: Community consultation We are required to assess whether the council has conducted appropriate community liaison and publicity in preparing the contributions plan. We consider the council’s process for consulting on the plan satisfies the consultation criterion.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 5 Criterion 7: Other matters We are required to assess whether the plan complies with other matters we consider relevant.
We considered the need for timely review of the plan. The council has neither acquired land nor commenced any works for local infrastructure in the precinct. Our analysis suggests that for certain infrastructure items, the council has made very basic assumptions on the scope of works required and their related costs. Frequent review of the plan would allow the council to include more realistic assumptions and reduce the uncertainties that apply to the current draft plan.
1.4 Overview of recommendations We have made 18 recommendations as a result of our assessment of the Vineyard CP. All but two affect the total cost of land, works and plan administration in the current plan. Our recommendation for the council to review the plan within the next three years in order to include more up to date assumptions about the scope, cost and apportionment of works has no impact on the cost of land or works in the Vineyard CP at this stage. Our recommendation for the council to clarify the approach to indexing contribution rates also does not impact the costs in the current plan.
Overall, we estimate that the reasonable cost of land, works and administration in Vineyard CP is $129,796,778, which is a reduction of $35,475,665 (21.5%). We recommend the cost of land acquisition is reduced We recommend adjustments to the land acquisition costs in the Vineyard CP that would result in a net reduction estimated to be $10,605,202 (13.3%), comprising:  a reduction of open space land costs by $7,527,714 to reflect the restricted development potential of ENV land  a reduction of $4,191,082 to reflect the lower cost of acquiring land which is constrained by transmission easements or is liable to flooding  the addition of land for channel stabilisation works on one site ($1,632,861)  an increase to account for indexation of the costs of open space land ($294,891) and community services land ($14,667), and  a reduction of $828,825 to reflect adjustments to interest costs for stormwater land acquisitions.
Our recommended adjustments to land acquisition costs are summarised in Table 1.1.
6 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan Table 1.1 Summary of recommendations – Vineyard CP land costs ($Mar2018) Cost in plan IPARTrecommended adjustment IPARTassessed reasonable cost Transport land 12,417,439 Use a lower per m2 value for flood liable land -51,786 Total transport -51,786 12,365,653 Stormwater management land 21,132,209 Use a lower per m2 value for flood liable land -1,512,309 Use a lower per m2 value for transmission easement land -61,132 Include cost of land for DC1 1,632,861 Reduce interest cost -828,825 Total stormwater management -769,405 20,362,804 Open space land 44,408,700a Use a lower m2 value for flood liable land in plan -2,565,855 Include indexation of open space land costs 294,891 Reduce cost of District Park 5 to reflect restricted development potential -7,527,714 Total open space -9,798,678 34,610,022 Community services land 1,500,000a Include indexation of open space land costs 14,667 Total plan administration 14,667 1,514,667 Total land 79,458,348 -10,605,202 68,853,146 a This value is the base cost or the un-indexed cost of land.
Source: Vineyard CP Works Schedule and IPART analysis. We recommend the cost of works and plan administration are reduced We recommend adjustments that result in a net reduction in the cost of works and plan administration by an estimated total of $24,870,463 (29.0%), comprising:  a net reduction of $8,139,029 in the cost of transport works, the major components being a $10.6 million reduction for the lower cost of upgrading Boundary Road to a collector road rather than a sub-arterial road, which is offset by increases of $1.9 million for other collector roads and $0.9 million for roundabouts  a net reduction of $8,689,433 for stormwater works associated with removing the costs of channel stabilisation works for one area but adding costs of another
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 7  removal of $7,674,457 for the cost of embellishing open space land with ENV, and  a reduction of $367,544 in the cost of plan administration corresponding to the reduced cost of works. These amounts include the impact of our recommendations to revise the contingency allowance applying to most items of infrastructure, which results in a net reduction in the cost of works by $3,215,158. The adjustments to works and plan administration costs in the Vineyard CP are summarised in Table 1.2.
8 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan Table 1.2 Summary of recommendations – Vineyard CP works and plan administration Cost in plan IPARTrecommended adjustment IPART-assessed reasonable cost Transport 36,764,244 Revise upgrade of Boundary Road to be a collector road -10,565,316 Reduce contingency allowance to 10% for new road -417,808 Revise full width collector road upgrades using WTP estimates for Vineyard CP 1,906,254 Use 50% of full width rates to estimate halfwidth collector roads 193,359 Revise roundabout costs using WTP estimates 910,032 Remove double counting in bus shelter costs -67,692 Apply a 50% interest cost deduction after calculating the loan amount using revised collector road works costs -97,858 Total transport -8,139,029 28,625,215 Stormwater management 19,364,957 Add cost of works for DC1 567,312 Remove cost of works for DC2 -7,639,814 Reduce contingency allowance to 10% -851,741 Reduce interest cost to account for revised cost of infrastructure and interest subsidy -765,190 Total stormwater management -8,689,433 10,675,523 Open space 28,416,706 Remove cost of embellishing land with native vegetation for district parks 4 and 5 -5,728,848 Reduce contingency allowance to 10% -1,945,608 Total open space -7,674,457 20,742,250 Plan administration 1,268,189 Calculate admin cost as 1.5% of revised costs -367,544 Total plan administration -367,544 900,645 Total 85,814,096 24,870,463 60,943,632 Source: Vineyard CP Works Schedule and IPART analysis.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 9 1.4.1 Our recommendations would reduce contribution rates Our recommendations to reduce the cost of land and works in the Vineyard CP would also reduce the residential contribution rates under the plan. Our estimates of the impact on contribution rates is shown in Table 1.3. Table 1.3 Indicative contribution rates based on IPART-adjusted costs ($Mar18) Type of residential development Number of dwellings Occupancy rate per dwelling Indicative contribution in Vineyard CP IPARTadjusted contribution Difference R2 Low density residential 1,825 3.18 $70,789 $55,436 -$15,353 R3 Medium density residential 613 2.64 $54,590 $42,827 -$11,763 E4 Environmental living 21 3.18 $70,789 $55,436 -$15,353 Source: Vineyard CP Work Schedules and IPART calculations.
1.5 List of draft recommendations Our draft recommendations (and the page number on which they appear) for the Vineyard CP are listed below. All require action by Hawkesbury City Council. Transport 1 For its next comprehensive review of the plan, obtain a detailed, site-specific cost estimate for the upgrade of Boundary Road to a collector road standard. In the interim, the council should revise the cost of the Boundary Road upgrade by: 29 – Using the unit rate per linear metre for collector roads from WTP's advice – Removing costs associated with the bridge upgrade – Retaining the cost of one roundabout and the upgrade to the intersection at Windsor Road – Retaining a 5% allowance for project on-costs and a 20% contingency allowance.
We estimate this would reduce the cost of transport works by $10,565,316. 2 Reduce the contingency allowance for new roads in the plan from 20% to 10%, in line with the advice from WTP, which we estimate would reduce the cost of transport works by $417,808. 29 3 Increase the cost of transport works by an estimated $910,032 to correctly account for the three roundabouts in the collector road network, comprising: 29 – a reduction of $636,975 for removing the cost of two roundabouts from the per linear metre rate of Commercial Road [items CR4 & CR5] – an increase of $1,547,006 for the addition of three separately-costed roundabouts ($515,669 per roundabout).
10 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan 4 Use a unit rate derived from WTP’s cost estimates for the Vineyard CP to estimate the cost of full-width collector road upgrades [items CR2 & CR6], which we estimate would increase the cost of transport works by an estimated $1,906,254 (including a 20% contingency allowance). 29 5 Use a unit rate equal to 50% of the full-width rate derived from WTP’s cost estimates for the Vineyard CP to estimate the cost of the half-width collector road upgrade [item CR8], which we estimate would increase the cost of transport works by $193,359 (including a 20% contingency allowance).
29 6 Remove the double-counting of the contingency allowance for bus shelters, which we estimate would reduce the cost of transport works by $67,692 ($5,641 per bus shelter). 29 Stormwater management 7 Reduce the cost of channel stabilisation works by an estimated $7,072,502 by: 42 – removing Item DC2, which would reduce the cost of stormwater management works by an estimated $7,639,814 (including the removal of the contingency allowance of 20%), and – adding Item DC1, which would increase the cost of stormwater management works by an estimated $567,312 (including a contingency allowance of 10%).
8 Increase the cost of land acquisition by $1,632,861 for Item DC1. 42 9 Reduce the contingency allowance for all stormwater management works items to 10% of base costs, consistent with WT Partnership’s recommendation, which we estimate would reduce the cost of stormwater management works by $851,741. 45 Open space 10 Revise the cost of open space embellishment by excluding the areas of ENV land from the total area of embellishment, which we estimate would reduce the cost of open space embellishment by $5,728,848, comprising: 52 – a reduction of $3,447,326 for District park 4 – a reduction of $2,281,522 for District park 5.
11 Reduce the contingency allowance applying to the base costs of open space embellishment from 15% to 10%, which we estimate would reduce the cost of open space embellishment by $1,945,608. 52 Community services No specific recommendations, see Recommendation 15.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 11 Plan administration 12 Calculate the cost of plan administration for the Vineyard CP based on 1.5% of the adjusted cost of works, would reduce the cost of plan administration by an estimated $367,544. 57 Cross-category issues 13 Use a value of $85 per square metre for flood liable land and $120 per square metre for transmission easement land in the Vineyard Precinct. 60 14 Reduce the cost of acquiring land for District Park 5 by $7,527,714 to account for the constraint on development arising from the presence of protected vegetation. 60 15 Index the estimate cost of open space and community services land to the base period of the plan.
61 16 Revise the interest costs in the plan taking into account IPART's recommended adjustments for transport and stormwater management costs, and the value of the subsidy under the NSW Government’s Low Cost Loan Initiative. 65 17 In response to this Draft Report, the council should clarify its intended approach to indexation of contribution rates, particularly in regard to the indexation of contribution rates for land. 66 18 Review the plan within the next three years to update and refine estimates of the scope, cost and apportionment of works. 68 1.6 Structure of this Draft Report The following chapters provide our analysis of the Vineyard CP against the criteria in the Practice Note, and explain the draft recommendations we have made for Hawkesbury City Council to make adjustments to the plan.
Chapter 2 outlines the context for our assessment of contributions plans  Chapter 3 provides an overview of the Vineyard CP  Chapter 4 presents our analysis of transport infrastructure  Chapter 5 presents our analysis of stormwater infrastructure  Chapter 6 presents our analysis of open space embellishment  Chapter 7 presents our analysis of community services land  Chapter 8 presents our analysis of plan administration  Chapter 9 presents our analysis of cross-category issues, ie, the cost of land, loan interest costs and the indexing of contribution rates, timing of infrastructure delivery (Criterion 4), consultation (Criterion 6) and other matters (Criterion 7).
12 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan 1.7 How you can have a say on this Draft Report? IPART has changed the consultation process for our assessment of contributions plans. For reviews commenced after October 2018, we will publish a Draft Report followed by a 4-week consultation period during which time we will accept submissions from the public on our assessment and proposed recommendations to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, as set out in this Draft Report. We are therefore seeking written submissions from interested stakeholders on this Draft Report.
Late submissions may not be accepted. More information on how to make a submission can be found on page iii of this Draft Report. IPART's role in reviewing a contributions plan is confined to assessing the plan against the criteria in the Department of Planning and Environment’s Local Infrastructure Contributions Practice Note, January 2018. You can access the Practice Note on IPART's website . Submissions should address the Practice Note criteria and IPART's assessment against the criteria.
Our consultation does not seek to duplicate the council’s consultation process when it is preparing a contributions plan. In order for us to assess the Vineyard CP against criterion 6 (consultation) in the Practice Note, Hawkesbury City Council has provided us with information about its consultation process, including a summary of submissions it received when the draft plan was exhibited, and how the issues raised in those submissions were addressed when it was finalising the draft to submit to IPART for assessment. We will provide our Final Report to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces in July 2019.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 13 2 Context and approach for this assessment Hawkesbury City Council submitted the Vineyard CP to IPART for assessment. To provide context for our assessment, the sections below outline:  What contributions plans are  Why the council submitted the Vineyard CP for assessment  The aim of our assessment  Our approach and consultation process for the assessment  What will happen next. 2.1 What are contributions plans? In New South Wales, local councils are primarily responsible for providing local or community infrastructure required to meet the additional demand for services and facilities generated by new development in their local government area.
Councils can levy developers for local infrastructure contributions to fund the costs of providing this infrastructure. However, to do so, a council must prepare a contributions plan which sets out:  The local infrastructure required to meet the demand associated with development in a specific area  The estimated cost of the land, works and administration required to provide this infrastructure  The contribution rates for different types of development which the council proposes to levy on developers.4 2.2 Why has the council submitted the plan to IPART? IPART assesses contributions plans from councils which propose to levy contributions above $30,000 per residential lot or dwelling in identified greenfield areas and $20,000 per residential lot or dwelling in other areas.5 4 A consent authority may impose a condition under section 7.11 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) only if it is in accordance with a contributions plan.
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (EP&A Regulation) makes provisions for or with respect to the preparation and approval of contributions plans, including the format, structure and subject matter of plans. 5 Ministerial Direction.
14 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan An IPART-reviewed contributions plan entitles the council to levy:  For specified transition areas, up to a capped amount (currently $40,000 in greenfield areas and $30,000 elsewhere) and apply for Local Infrastructure Growth Scheme (LIGS) funding for the amount of any contribution which is above the cap, and  For other areas, the full contribution amount. Hawkesbury City Council has submitted the draft plan for IPART’s assessment because the contributions for most types of residential development exceed the $30,000 per lot/dwelling review threshold which applies to the Vineyard Precinct under the Minister for Planning’s Local Infrastructure Contributions Further Amendment Direction 2018 (issued on 18 December 2018).6 The council is not entitled to apply for LIGS funding for contributions under the Vineyard CP for the Vineyard Precinct.
Accordingly, when the Vineyard CP becomes an IPART-reviewed plan, the council will be able to levy developers the full amount of contributions under the plan.
This is the first time we have assessed the Vineyard CP. 2.3 What is the aim of our assessment? Broadly, our assessments are intended to bring greater transparency and accountability to setting local development contributions. More specifically, in conducting the assessment and making our recommendations, we aim to ensure the plan reflects the reasonable costs of providing necessary local infrastructure to support the new development. If costs in the plan are too high (ie, higher than the reasonable costs of infrastructure with a nexus to the development), developers or the NSW Government will pay too much for local infrastructure.
On the other hand, if costs in the plan are too low (ie, lower than the reasonable costs of infrastructure with a nexus to the development), then the new development would effectively be subsidised by the council’s ratepayers.
Contributions that reflect the reasonable costs of local infrastructure provision are important for reasons of both efficiency and equity. They are necessary to:  Signal the costs of developing different areas. This in turn, can assist in ensuring that development occurs where it should (ie, where the benefits of the development are greater than its costs).  Ensure that other parties (such as a council’s ratepayers) do not have to fund any shortfall between the actual costs of providing local infrastructure and the revenue received from development contributions.
In the context of the Vineyard CP, our assessment recognises that the precinct is only in the very early stages of development and that detailed design and cost estimates are not yet available.
6 Ministerial Direction, cl 6(3) and Sch 2(17).
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 15 2.4 What approach did we use for this assessment? In assessing the Vineyard CP we considered:  The criteria set out in the Local Infrastructure Contributions Practice Note (Practice Note) issued by the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE)7  Information and further advice from the council and DPE on various aspects of the plan. 2.4.1 We considered the assessment criteria in the Practice Note IPART’s assessment functions for local infrastructure contributions plans are based on terms of reference issued by the Premier under section 9 of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Act 1992 (see Appendix A).
As required by these terms of reference, we have assessed the Vineyard CP in accordance with the criteria set out in the Practice Note. The criteria require us to assess whether: 1. The public amenities and public services in the plan are on the essential works list 2. The proposed public amenities and public services are reasonable in terms of nexus8 3. The proposed development contribution is based on a reasonable estimate of the cost of the proposed public amenities and public services 4. The proposed public amenities and public services can be provided within a reasonable timeframe 5. The proposed development contribution is based on a reasonable apportionment of costs 6.
The council has conducted appropriate community liaison and publicity in preparing the contributions plan 7. The plan complies with other matters we consider relevant. We also assessed whether the plan contains the information required by Clause 27 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000. A summary of our assessment of the Vineyard CP against these requirements is provided in Appendix B. 2.4.2 We considered further information from council and DPE As is common in our assessment of contributions plans, we consulted with DPE on relevant planning and land-zoning matters and the underlying assumptions about proposed development in the precinct.
We also sought further information from the council to explain how it determined the infrastructure which has been included in the plan and its estimated costs.
7 Department of Planning and Environment, Practice Note - Local infrastructure Contributions, January 2019. The January 2019 Practice Note replaces the January 2018 Practice Note - Local infrastructure Contributions. The 2019 revision clarifies the timing of when a council can adopt a contributions plan (particularly where the draft plan proposes a rate above the maximum cap amount in the Direction). The assessment criteria for our review remain the same. 8 Nexus ensures that there is a connection between the land and facilities in a contributions plan and the demand for them arising from the new development.
16 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan 2.5 What consultation process do we follow? During our assessment we met with council officers who provided an overview of the plan and guided us on a site visit of the release area. We also sought and received information from the council and DPE on aspects of the plan. We are now seeking submissions on our draft findings and recommendations and invite comment from interested parties by 28 June 2019. You can find details of how to make a submission on page iii of this Draft Report.
A list of our draft recommendations is in section 1.5 of Chapter 1.
2.6 What happens next? We will take stakeholder submissions into account in determining our recommendations in the Final Report. As required by the Ministerial Direction, we will deliver our Final Report to the Minister for Planning and the council. The Minister will then consider our assessment and, if appropriate, request the council to amend the contributions plan. Once the council has made any requested amendments, the plan becomes an IPART-reviewed plan and the council may levy contributions in accordance with the adopted plan.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 17 3 Overview of the Vineyard Contributions Plan The Vineyard Precinct forms the northern-most border of the North West Growth Area. It is bordered by the Box Hill Precinct to the east and Riverstone and Riverstone East Precincts to the south. The Vineyard Precinct is the only precinct from the Hawkesbury City Council which forms part of the North West Growth Area. This is the first time IPART has assessed the Vineyard CP. The total cost of land, works and plan administration is $165.72 million ($Mar2018), comprising:  $79.46 million (48.1%) for the acquisition of land for local infrastructure  $84.55 million (51.2%) for local infrastructure works, and  $1.27 million (0.8%) for plan administration.
3.1 Status of Vineyard Precinct CP Hawkesbury City Council exhibited the draft plan between 18 May 2018 and 18 June 2018. The council has not yet adopted the plan.
Stage 1 of the Vineyard Precinct was rezoned for urban development in December 2017. The council has received some development applications, but to date, none have been approved. In January 2019, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 was amended to prevent development applications (DAs) from being determined until a section 7.11 plan is in effect for land that is subject to a precinct plan under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Region Growth Centres) 2006. This means that Hawkesbury City Council is not able to approve any DAs for development within the Vineyard Precinct until it adopts the Vineyard CP.
3.2 Development in the Vineyard Precinct The Vineyard CP applies to Stage 1 of the development of the Vineyard Precinct. Development in Vineyard Stage 1 will primarily be residential (173.52 hectares), accommodating an anticipated population of 7,489 in an estimated 2,459 dwellings. In addition, around 1.4 hectares of land is zoned for mixed use development (B1 – Neighbourhood Centre and B2 – Local Centre). The council does not expect non-residential development in this area to generate material demand for public amenities and services to be funded under this plan, and therefore does not intend to levy contributions on non-residential development.
Figure 3.1 shows the boundaries of Vineyard Precinct – Stage 1 and Figure 3.2 shows the indicative boundaries of the Vineyard Precinct – Stage 2, which is yet to be rezoned. Rezoning
18 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan of Stage 2 is likely to take place once there is more certainty around planning for the Outer Sydney Orbital Corridor, and will be subject to market demand.9 The Vineyard CP applies to the following development with the Vineyard Precinct:  development for residential accommodation (including subdivision) that would result in a net increase in dwellings  any other development that would create a net increase in demand for the public amenities and services to be provided under the plan.
For the purposes of calculating the net development area (NDA) for the precinct, the plan:  Excludes 1.4 hectares land zoned B1 Neighbourhood Centre and B2 Local Centre, as the plan assumes development on this land will not materially increase demand for public infrastructure.  Adjusts the amount of residential land from 173.52 to 127.83 hectares by assuming land zoned E4 Environmental Living has a NDA equivalent to a resident lot in the R2 Low Density Residential zone (approximately 556m2). This is based on advice from DPE, and has been done to reflect the proportionally lower demand for roads and other transport facilities and stormwater drainage infrastructure from these larger, low density lots.10 9 DPE, Vineyard Precinct Stage 1 – Planning Report, pp 10 and 54.
10 Vineyard CP section 3.1.2 and Table 4.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 19 Figure 3.1 Vineyard Precinct – Stage 1 Source: DPE, Vineyard Precinct Indicative Layout Plan – November 2017. Figure 3.2 Vineyard Precinct – Stages 1 and 2 Source: DPE, Vineyard Precinct Stage 1 Planning Report, 2016, p 11.
20 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan 3.3 Cost of land and works in the plan Table 3.1 provides a breakdown of costs in the Vineyard CP by infrastructure category. Table 3.1 Cost of land and works in the plan ($Mar2018) Infrastructure category Land Works Administration Total Transport 12,417,439 36,764,244 49,181,683 Stormwater 21,132,209 19,364,957 40,497,166 Open spacea 44,408,700 28,416,706 72,825,406 Community servicesa 1,500,000 1,500,000 Administration 1,268,189 1,268,189 Total 79,458,348 84,545,907 1,268,189 165,272,444 a The Vineyard CP categorised open space and community services cost as social infrastructure.
We have extracted the relevant totals for the respective category using Appendix C of the plan. These costs are unindexed. Note: Transport works costs include $191,620 for interest expenses, stormwater land includes $1,668,130, and stormwater works includes $1,504,246 for interest expenses for which the council has applied for a low interest loan from the NSW Government.
Source: Vineyard CP, Tables 1 and 6 to 9. 3.4 Contribution rates The Local Infrastructure Contributions Further Amendment Direction 2018 (issued on 18 December 2018) applies differential caps to residential contributions according to the area to which a plan applies. Clause 6 applies to the Vineyard CP, which means that, once IPART reviews the contribution plan and the council responds to any changes requested by the Minster, the council can levy the full contribution amounts. Otherwise, the maximum that the council can charge is $30,000 per residential lot or dwelling. The council will not be eligible for any LIGS funding.
3.4.1 Contributions are levied on a per person or net developable area basis The Vineyard CP calculates contributions for residential development using either a per person or per NDA basis, depending on the infrastructure category. Table 3.2 sets out the contribution rates per person or per NDA for each infrastructure category in March 2018 dollars.
Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan IPART 21 Table 3.2 Contribution rates in the plan – Vineyard CP ($Mar 18) Infrastructure category Basis of contribution rate Contribution rate Transport Per person $6,568 Stormwater Per hectare NDA $316,802 Open space Per person $9,783 Community services Per person $202 Administration Per hectare NDA $9,921 Source: Vineyard CP, Table 1 and IPART calculations. 3.4.2 Indicative contribution rates for residential development Indicative contributions for residential development are based on the council’s assumed household occupancy rates for various types of residential development.
Table 3.3 sets out the indicative contributions for dwellings in the different residential land use zones. Table 3.3 Indicative residential contributions per lot and dwelling sizes in the plan Type of residential development Number of dwellings Occupancy rate per dwelling Indicative contribution ($Mar 18) R2 Low density residential 1,825 3.18 $70,789 R3 Medium density residential 613 2.64 $54,590 E4 Environmental living 21 3.18 $70,789 Source: Vineyard CP Works Schedule and Application for assessment, p 5. 3.4.3 Indexation of contribution rates The Vineyard CP provides for the contribution rates to be reviewed by reference to:  a land value index for the precinct, to update land acquisition costs, and  the quarterly Consumer Price Index – All Groups Sydney (CPI) for the cost of works.11 We note that the plan calculates the base contribution rates by indexing the costs of both land and works to March 2018 dollars by the CPI.12 3.4.4 Exemptions from contributions The Vineyard CP provides a list of developments that are to be exempt from contributions, including senior’s housing development, places of worship, public schools and hospitals, emergency services, development exempted by way of a direction made by the Minister, and any other development that does not directly and materially increase the demand for public infrastructure inducing the land zoned B2 Local Centre and B4 Mixed Use.13 No land is currently zoned for public infrastructure or the other types of development which will be exempt from contributions.
11 Vineyard CP, section 6.3.2. 12 Vineyard CP Works Schedule uses CPI to index costs from the time the estimates for different cost categories were undertaken to March 2018. 13 See section 2.5 of Vineyard CP for a complete list of exemptions.
22 IPART Assessment of Vineyard Contributions Plan 4 Transport The total cost of transport infrastructure in the Vineyard CP is $49.18 million (29.8% of total costs), comprising:  $12.42 million for land (15.6% of the total land costs in the Vineyard CP), and  $36.76 million for transport works (43.5% of the total cost of works in the Vineyard CP).14 Our assessment of the transport land and works in the Vineyard CP is as follows:  Criterion 1: Essential works – land and transport works are consistent with the essential works list.
Criterion 2: Nexus – nexus has been established for all transport land and works in the plan, except for the sub-arterial road classification of Boundary Road.  Criterion 3: Reasonable cost – the council’s approach to estimating the cost of transport works in the plan is unreasonable in many instances, particularly the approach to estimating the cost of: – the upgrading of Boundary Road (related to nexus finding) – new collector roads (contingency allowance) – upgrading existing roads to a collector road standard – half-width collector road upgrades – roundabouts,15 and – bus shelters. We have separately recommended that loan interest costs should be revised (Recommendation 14, section 9.2).
This would result in an adjustment to the costs allocated to the transport infrastructure category.
Criterion 5: Apportionment – the council’s method for apportioning the cost of all items of transport land and works to development within the plan, and between Vineyard Precinct and precincts outside Vineyard, is reasonable. Our findings and recommendations in relation to the transport infrastructure category to date are summarised in Table 4.1 below. 14 The Vineyard CP includes interest costs of $191,620 for the cost of funding the design of collector roads. 15 In response to an IPART information request asking for confirmation of roundabout costings, HCC provided updated costs based on a different costing source, compared with the costing source used in the exhibited version of the plan.
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