Zoning

zone

What is Zoning?

Councils use zoning to designate areas within their local government area for residential, commercial and industrial activities and development. Zoning helps councils bring about orderly growth, manage change and protect special areas. These include heritage conservation areas and areas with high ecological values.

Does Zoning Determine Whether my Development is Permitted or Prohibited?

If you are planning to develop your property or use a premises, the property's zoning determines whether your development is permitted or prohibited on that land.

The zoning also determines the minimum lot size or density (which determines whether a property can be subdivided or whether a house can be built on the land. Not all rural land has a legal right to have a dwelling erected upon the land and this is referred to as a dwelling entitlement. For more information regarding dwelling entitlement please follow this link.

An environmental planning instrument, such as a Local Environmental Plan (LEP), will specify the zoning of every property in the area it applies to.

 

Identifying Zoning and Development Permissibility

1. Property Zoning

If you'd like to search for planning information about a property, you can do this online via the NSW Planning Portal's Spatial Viewer.

The Spatial Viewer is an enhanced digital mapping service that provides easy-to-use, information-rich maps for every address and lot in NSW. 

Search Zoning information online

Alternatively to get the zoning information you can apply for a Planning Certificate. In addition to the zoning, a Planning Certificate also provides information about relevant State, Regional and Local Planning Controls and other property information relating to a parcel of land.

Council can issue planning certificates under Section 10.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

Apply for a Section 10.7 Planning Certificate

Note: we cannot confirm the zoning of a property over the phone or by email. 

 2. Is My Development Permitted or Prohibited?

Once you know the property's zoning, view the instructions in the table information found in the Wingecarribee Local Environment Plan 2010  below.

Note: The Land Use Table provides a list of land use definitions that are permitted with consent or prohibited in each zone. For example, in a R2 Low Density Residential zone, a 'dwelling house' is listed as permitted (with consent). Using 'dwelling house' as an example, development next to a house (e.g. pool, fence, and driveway) is considered permitted by the zoning. For some developments, zoning and development permissibility can be complex and difficult to identify (read Planning Circular: How to characterise development). In these cases we recommend you get professional advice from a qualified town planner.

Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010

  1. Check which definition matches your development proposal in the Dictionary
  2. View the Land Use Table to see if your development is permitted (with consent) or prohibited
  3. Some properties have additional permitted development (with consent) where the zoning would ordinarily prohibit the development – check Schedule 1 Additional Permitted Uses