Land-use zoning and design or building controls shape the location, configuration, design and availability of housing within a particular area. The following sections outline key areas for consideration to ensure consistency between planning approaches and your housing strategy.
Planning objectives
Ensure that land-use planning objectives reflect and support the goals and objectives you identified in Step 3 of preparing the Local Housing Strategy.
Local Environmental Plans in NSW contain overall objectives, as well as specific objectives for each land-use zone. These objectives provide important guidance about how the plan should be interpreted. It is important to ensure that the objectives of the plan reflect and support those contained in Council’s Local Housing Strategy.
Examples of some general objectives for affordable housing include:
- promote a variety of housing (including affordable housing), accommodating a range of income groups, and increase housing choice;
- facilitate the development of a broader and more appropriate range of affordable housing types in the private sector.
Land-use planning controls
Land-use planning controls ensure the planning framework provides for an adequate supply of new housing and a variety of housing types in appropriate locations, particularly considering the supply of appropriately zoned land.
A fundamental consideration is whether there is sufficient residential land for projected housing need. Depending on your community’s forecast housing need, it may be necessary to rezone appropriately located land to allow it to be used for residential purposes or for higher-density residential development. Requests for re-zoning of land made by landholders can be negotiated in the context of future development complying with, or otherwise pursuing, housing strategy goals.
At the same time, it is important to consider whether planning controls regarding residential subdivision and the design of housing support Council’s housing strategy. Key considerations include:
- Do existing controls over the size of residential allotments support housing affordability and environmental sustainability goals?
- Do existing residential zones provide for sufficient housing diversity (an appropriate mix of smaller and larger dwellings, adaptable or accessible housing, and housing for the aged), consistent with forecast housing needs?
- Do residential design codes support housing affordability, appropriateness and environmental sustainability goals?
Specific planning approaches for affordable housing
Where appropriate, introduce specific mechanisms to protect, promote or require certain housing types such as adaptable or accessible housing, smaller or larger dwellings, accessory dwellings, or affordable housing. See the Kit’s companion document, Using Planning Mechanisms for Affordable Housing for further information.