Major reforms to the way local infrastructure contributions are collected by councils are set to be introduced by the NSW Government. The reforms cover both rezoned land in greenfield sites and existing redevelopments, such as knock-down rebuilds.
Currently contributions are collected by Council under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act as either Section 7.11 contributions (levies for proposed infrastructure in development areas) or Section 7.12 levies (fixed rate levy generally applied to development in existing established areas and rural land). In addition, the State Government collects State Infrastructure Contributions (SIC) from development in certain development areas (such as greenfield release areas).
Mayor of The Hills Shire, Dr Peter Gangemi, said it is important that people understand the changes as part of any future decision making.
"The reforms could mean that people who develop their land in existing established or rural areas (such as knocking down an existing property and rebuilding, extending their dwelling or subdividing their land), may be subject to higher contributions charges," he said.
"This would be a result of proposed changes to both the Section 7.12 levy framework and the broadening of regional infrastructure contribution requirements to all of Greater Sydney, rather than select development areas."
The proposed reforms also introduce a new kind of contribution that could be levied on owners of future rezoned land whereby Councils may be able to recover contributions via the acquisition of a portion of the land for public purposes or by landowners paying a proportion of the overall value of the land.
"This component of the reform has the potential to impact residents who own land that may be rezoned for development in the future, although land covered by existing contributions plans won't be impacted," Mayor Gangemi said.
"It's important that land owners of sites that may one day be the subject of rezoning understand this change means people who receive a significant financial gain may be required to contribute some of their windfall to pay for infrastructure associated with that rezoning," Mayor Gangemi said.
Mayor Gangemi said anyone with concerns should take the time to understand the changes and give their feedback to the decision makers.
"While the time for public submissions has formally closed, I urge residents to read the information available atwww.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/Infrastructure/Infrastructure-Funding/Improving-the-infrastructure-contributions-system
