OFFICIAL
PO Box 655
Ballarat Vic 3353
AUSTRALIA
Telephone: 03 5320 5500
Date:
7 June 2022
Peter Berlyn
Our Ref:
40-2122SC
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Enquiries:
03 5320 5659
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Dear Peter,
Your freedom of information request is valid and being processed
I refer to your request under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (
FOI Act) which we
received on 2 May 2022.
You requested access to:
1. I request a copy of correspondence , if any, sent to all affected proprietors , either by the
Ballarat City Council in its own right or as agent for the State of Victoria, advising that
zoning of their properties had altered( or was being altered and invited submissions for
or against) from' Residential' to 'Residential Growth'.
On the 13th of April last, the Director of Planning reported to the Delegated Planning
Committee Meeting that the change occurred in 2014 with an amendment in 2015. I am
unable to verify these dates.
The geographic area affected is able to be loosely described as within the area to the
east of Ballarat Grammar School, to the north by Norman Street, to the south by Howitt
Street and to the west by Gil ies. and contains a few excluded areas, eg Stockland
Shopping Centre.
2. Also requested are copies of the documents indirectly referred to in the Instrument of
Delegation from Council latest iteration to each person appointed from time to time as a
member of the Planning Delegated Committee and includes under' Powers and
Functions' :,'relevant policies and guidelines expressed in the introduction, at item 1, the
'Planning Committee Terms of Reference' ,and, at item 2.3:' guidelines or policies which
from time to time Council adopts.'
On 8 May 2022, you emailed Council the following:
Depending on what document/s (if any) is located one or more dates wil be exposed and
on this basis, I wish to amend my FOI request to include documentary evidence (if any) that
expresses which entity (if any) had the responsibility for consulting, receiving objections and
giving notice of the aforementioned one or two changes remembering that a number of old
time residents claim not to have ever received anything.
On 16 May 2022 I advised you that in its present form, I considered that the request did not meet
the requirement provided for in section 17 of the FOI Act. Without further clarification it may not
be possible to identify all of the documents which you are seeking to access.
To assist you with the clarification of the terms of the application, the following information was
provided, and questions posed.
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Point 1
My understanding of this point is that you are seeking copies of the initial letters sent to
affected property owners advising that zoning of their properties had been altered.
Furthermore, if the above does not exist you are seeking a document (in any form) which
states which entity (if any) had the responsibility for consulting, receiving objections and
giving notice of the aforementioned
Can you please confirm if my interpretation above is correct?
Point 2
In this Point of your application you have sought access to “copies of the documents
indirectly referred to in the Instrument of Delegation from Council latest iteration to each
person appointed from time to time as a member of the Planning Delegated Committee
and includes under' Powers and Functions' :,'relevant policies and guidelines expressed
in the introduction, at item 1, the 'Planning Committee Terms of Reference' ,and, at item
2.3:' guidelines or policies which from time to time Council adopts.'”.
My understanding is that in regard to ‘copies of the documents indirectly referred to in the
Instrument of Delegation from Council latest iteration to each person appointed from time
to time as a member of the Planning Delegated Committee?’ you are requesting the
following documents which outline the Council or Representation for Committees and
External Bodies for 2022:
Council Meeting agenda – 24 November 2021 (pg. 402)
Council Meeting minutes – 24 November 2021 (pg. 22)
Furthermore, my understanding is that in regard to ‘item 2.3 ‘guidelines or policies which
Council from time to time adopts’ you are requesting the following documents to which the
Instrument of Delegation infers:
Governance Rules
Committee Policy
Planning Delegated Committee Terms of Reference
Policy for Council Consideration of Planning Applications
Can you please confirm if my interpretation above is correct? And if so each of these
documents are publicly available, therefore I have included the relevant links.
Your response, by email, dated 2 June 2022, provided the following clarification:
To respond to your Point One, I seek copies of all ( if any ) formal communications to the
roughly 350 affected properties in the defined geographic area that informed, invited
contribution, offered an objection process relating to the two zoning changes from May 2010
where I have documentary evidence that it was Residential One through a change to
Residential Medium Density and finally to the present zoning of Residential Growth. The
window appears to be about five years.
As to you Point Two, , I took the description from the actual Instrument of Delegation and
asked my question in an attempt to capture details of ALL relevant documents. I knew about
all or most of what you have identified but there is nothing to evidence that what I know
about is finitely definitive. My expectation is that you wil list all that are relevant, indicate
which of them are available on the website and supply any that are relevant but not
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otherwise disclosed.
Valid request
We received the application fee on 3 May 2022.
Your request is valid, and we are processing it. We have 30 days from the date we receive your
request to provide you with a decision. As such, the due date for us to make a decision on your
request is 2 July 2022.
Extension of time
We may need to extend the due date if we need to consult with third parties. Consultation is
required if the documents you requested contain information relating to third parties. If we extend
the time, we wil notify you and advise you of why it has been extended and by how long.
We may also request your agreement for an extension of time, if we are unable to provide you
with a decision on time.
Should you require further information in relation to your application, please do not hesitate to
contact me directly on 03 5320 5659.
Regards,
Sarah Cuthbert
Statutory Compliance Of icer
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