Planning

The Greens believe:

1. South Australia’s natural and built cultural heritage is a precious asset and resource to be respected and protected for current and future generations.

2. Ecologically Sustainable Development, climate change impacts and social equity must be primaryconsiderations underlying all planning decisions.

3. First Nations peoples, as the Traditional owners of the lands and waters of South Australia, must beformally recognised and included in all decision-making processes.

4. The public has a right to genuine participation in planning decisions, including the rights to access allrelevant information, participate in decision-making and to insist on proper processes beingfollowed.

5. Parliamentary Committees with oversight and accountability on Government planning decisions,must not be dominated by Government members.

The Greens will:

1. Require local planning schemes to include:

        - Protection, remediation and enhancement of native vegetation and biodiversity;
        - Protection of open space;
        - Protections for significant, regulated and culturally significant trees;
        - Protection of existing wetland and other habitat within and adjacent to urban areas;
        - Protection of valuable farmland from urban sprawl;
        - Integration of public transport and other infrastructure into new and existing urbandevelopments;
        - Safeguards for heritage buildings and places;
        - Safe and secure access to school, parks and play-spaces for children;
        - Accessibility for all people;
        - Appropriate re-development of urban areas that recognises the rights of existing residents andthe rights of all residents to live in healthy environment. 

2. Compile a performance indicator for each city, town and region that includes measures of economic,environmental and social sustainability, and report updates and comparisons.

3. Ensure that planning decisions are consistent with greenhouse gas emission reduction targets andassist the transition to 100% renewable energy and zero net emissions.

4. Ensure that planning decisions consider and address impacts of climate change, including rising sealevels, increased storm surge events, more frequent and intense flooding, prolonged periods ofdrought, and increased bush fire risks.

5. Ensure that planning decisions consider the impact on native vegetation and biodiversity.

6. Ensure that urban developments are of a human scale, accessible and permeable, providing for openpedestrian and cyclist access into and within the site, and which support ecologically sustainablepractices at all levels.

7. Ensure large projects, including infrastructure projects, are subject to full environmental, heritageand social impact assessments.

8. Support urban infill developments where they demonstrate excellence in urban design through energy-efficiency, accessibility, liveability, high-quality green open spaces, public parks and streetscapes and protection of natural and built heritage.

9. Use development opportunities to create more green open space, trees and improved community facilities to accommodate increased density.

10. Reduce heat impacts on urban areas from climate change through:

         - water-sensitive urban design,
         - limiting areas of heat-absorbing hard surfaces such as buildings, paving, concrete and roads,
         - increasing urban tree canopy to a minimum of 30% in each local government area,
         - increasing areas of green open spaces.

11. Develop and implement an Urban Forest Strategy for greater Adelaide and street tree plan for all major regional centres, to improve air quality, reduce daytime temperatures, increase shade and improve amenity.

12. Strengthen legislative protections for significant and regulated trees.

13. Implement a metropolitan-wide stormwater harvesting and filtration program in partnership with local governments and SA Water in order to increase water recovery and reduce flood risk.

14. Develop systems to recycle and re-use wastewater and minimise effluent discharges to the marine environment.

15. Create convenient and safe pedestrian routes to shopping areas, schools and community facilities from surrounding residential areas in all new developments and retrofit footpaths in established areas.

16. Promote a diversity of housing choices to improve affordability and enable residents to find homes to suit their different stages of life, ensuring people have the option of staying in their communities.

17. Mandate rigorous energy efficiency standards in new and retrofitted buildings, reduced embodied carbon in construction and carbon sequestration to work towards a low-carbon economy.

18. Ensure that new buildings and re-developments incorporate climate responsive design with a focus on passive design.

19. Mandate high-quality building construction standards that ensure a long, low-maintenance lifespan for buildings which are adaptable to future uses through universal design.

20. Reduce the severity and impact of bushfires on communities through risk management and adaptation including appropriate design and construction standards for buildings, fuel reduction, bushfire shelters and community evacuation plans.

21. Design and retrofit suburbs to reduce car dependence by providing alternatives that facilitate accessibility and free up space currently reserved for roads and car parking.

22. Protect and restore urban biodiversity and vegetation to save flora and fauna from local extinction, improve community quality of life and to help mitigate increasing temperatures.

23. Support the reinstatement, preservation and maintenance of wetlands, including urban wetlands.

24. Protect riparian areas with prescribed buffer zones to maintain biodiversity, improve soil management, and retain amenity.

25. Ensure SA’s land use zoning protects good quality agricultural land from encroachment by housing and other developments.

26. Ensure that the planning for any significant new or renewal urban land use release project includes commitments to high quality public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure.

27. Establish essential services hubs at public transport nodes, prioritising areas of lower socio-economic development.

28. Integrate heritage values into all planning policy, to ensure that new development and re-development does not compromise such values, including the internal and social heritage of buildings.

29. Maintain and strengthen heritage protection legislation to:  

         - ensure protection of declared heritage buildings, sites and streetscapes;
         - clarify and improve community engagement processes; and
         - enable objection and appeal processes for heritage decisions.

30. Expand legislative provisions, which promote the protection, restoration and incorporation of cultural heritage sites, including greater protection of Indigenous heritage.

31. Prioritise adaptive re-use of heritage buildings wherever possible as a preference to demolition.

32. Ensure penalties for unapproved demolition of State and local heritage buildings are substantial enough to act as a deterrent.

33. Adequately resource the SA Heritage Council so they can fulfil their obligations and strategic objectives.

34. Ensure State and Local planning decisions are made at the appropriate level by elected representatives and relevant experts in close consultation with the community.

35. Adopt collaborative, regional assessment processes where the impacts or benefits of a planning proposal extend beyond any one locality.

36. Limit the ability for political interference in planning decisions.

37. Ensure adequate public funding for the services that inform and empower individuals and communities to engage in planning decisions and that relevant community organisations are appropriately informed and resourced to respond to planning issues.

38. Give the public greater access to information about planning decisions that affect them and their communities, and ensure rigorous, transparent and fair community consultation on developments.

39. Provide opportunities for the community and key stakeholders to actively contribute to the planning process in a manner that is effective, inclusive and respectful of community values, and which articulates the reasonable aspirations of the community.

40. Ensure fair and transparent decision-making processes and require planning decision makers to give reasons for their decisions.

41. Make significant projects subject to public audit, assessment and appeal processes.

42. Provide a meaningful and well-resourced dispute-resolution process that resolves planning issues fairly and in a timely manner and ensure that third-party appeal processes are accessible, transparent and affordable.

43. Require developers to contribute fairly to the costs associated with mitigating or remediating any negative impacts arising from their developments.

44. Adequately fund appropriate agencies with responsibility for ensuring compliance with planning standards and decisions whilst retaining “civil enforcement” options for citizens where the proper authorities are unable or unwilling to act.

45. Reform Parliamentary oversight of planning by ensuring that either House of Parliament can disallow planning instruments without the concurrence of a government-controlled Parliamentary committee.

(Planning Policy as amended by The Greens SA Policy and Campaigns Council December 2020)