Section 65 Certificates

When preparing a draft local environmental plan, Council is required to submit the draft plan to the NSW Department of Planning. After consideration of the draft plan, the Department of Planning issues Council with a Section 65 Certificate under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. This Certificate enables Council to place the draft plan on public exhibition. The Department of Planning can issue a conditional Section 65 Certificate which instructs Council to exhibit the draft plan subject to changes.

Section 65 Certificate Issued 8 July 2009

An initial Section 65 Certificate was issued to Council for the Draft Willoughby Local Environmental Plan 2009 on 8 July 2009. The Certificate instructed Council to make changes to the plan including the rezoning of some existing special uses zoned sites to the surrounding zone. Therefore, many currently zoned special uses sites such as schools, car parks and energy providers are now zoned as per the adjacent zone.

All the conditions of the Section 65 Certificate of 8 July 2009 were reviewed in the Council Report - 17 August 2009.  

Subsequently, after considering a report on the matter, Council resubmitted an amended Draft WLEP 2009 in October 2009  to the NSW Department of Planning, also seeking:

  • the reinstatement of certain clauses which the Section 65 Certificate had instructed to be deleted;
  • clarification of Council’s Affordable Housing Precincts;
  • clarification of the reasoning behind some of the Section 65 Certificate requirements. 

Section 65 Certificate issued 15 February 2010

A second Section 65 Certificate with additional required changes was issued by the NSW Department of Planning on 15 February 2010.