Planning Agreements Policy

The Mosman Planning Agreements Policy, adopted by Council on 3 May 2016, sets out the process for entering into a Planning Agreement with Council under Section 7.4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, to ensure transparency, probity, certainty of roles and process. It applies to any and all requests made by Developers to enter into a Planning Agreement with Council, and to all Planning Agreements entered into in Mosman.

Minor administrative changes to the Planning Agreements Policy were endorsed by the Council on 5 April 2022, for example, to reflect revised section numbering under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and other changes to State and local policy.

What is a Planning Agreement?

The regime for Planning Agreements was introduced by the NSW Government in 2005. It is set by Part 7, Division 7.1, Subdivision 2 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act), and Part 9, Division 1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021.

A Planning Agreement is a voluntary agreement or other arrangement under Section 7.4 of the Act between one or more planning authorities (i.e. Council) and a person (developer) under which the developer agrees to make a development contribution(s) towards a public purpose.

The contribution may be:

• the dedication of land,
• payment of a monetary contribution,
• provision of a material public benefit, or
• any combination of these.

A public purpose includes:

1. the provision of (or the recoupment of the cost of providing, or the funding of recurrent expenditure relating to the provision of):
   a. public amenities or public services (not water supply or sewerage services),
   b. affordable housing,
   c. transport or other infrastructure relating to land,
2. the monitoring of the planning impacts of development,
3. the conservation or enhancement of the natural environment.

A Planning Agreement is made in conjunction with the proposed development of land, either with a development application, an application for a complying development certificate or a planning proposal (i.e. amendment to a council’s local environmental plan).

Making a request to Council to enter into a Planning Agreement

If you are considering making a request to Council to enter into a Planning Agreement, your first step is to read and understand the Mosman Planning Agreements Policy, adopted by Council on 3 May 2016, then contact Council‘s Duty Planner on 9978 4214 to discuss your proposal.

Once a formal request in writing is submitted to Council to enter into a Planning Agreement, this will be considered by the Director Environment and Planning, prior to being reported to a Council Meeting. If Council resolves to proceed with entering into a Planning Agreement, the process outlined in the Mosman Planning Agreements Policy will be followed in the negotiation of the Agreement. This will include the submission of a standard form of Planning Agreement and Explanatory Note, and public notification and consideration of any submissions received.

Enquiries to Council’s Urban Planning Team on 9978 4214.