The City of Onkaparinga is proposing a Code Amendment to amend the planning policies within the township of McLaren Vale in order to better inform where, when and how residential, commercial and community uses of land will develop in the future within the township boundaries (not the rural areas).

The suggested policy responses would result in the following outcomes:

  • a proposed new suite of zones to better reflect the role and character of the main street as a township and to encourage future development opportunities
  • an improved diversity of residential options via changes to allotment sizes in appropriate areas
  • additional policy levers such as a Character Area Overlay, a Character Area Statement and a Gateway Overlay to guide development and enhance and protect significant character elements within the township

These policy changes will require amending the Planning and Design Code (the Code), that is the State Government’s document that sets out the rules that determine how land can be used and what can be built on it

The Code Amendment is informed by previous investigations, analysis, review and community engagement that was undertaken as part of the McLaren Vale Township Planning Review in 2021 and 2022. It reflects what the community and stakeholders said they value in the township and see as the issues and opportunities for the future development. The results of this feedback and subsequent proposed policy changes are provided in the Discussion Paper, Summary of Community Engagement Report, the Policy Recommendations Report, Council and Committee reports and minutes (viewable in the Documents section)

The suggested changes to planning rules are contained within the 'Proposal to Initiate' document that is now with the State Government for approval to commence the Code Amendment process.

Upon approval of the Proposal to Initiate, which can take up to 14 weeks, the draft Code Amendment will be prepared for approval by Council, ready for community engagement. The community will then have an additional opportunity to provide feedback during formal community engagement period later this year/early 2024. We estimate this process to take approximately 12-18 months depending upon the nature of changes proposed, community feedback and the response from the state government.

For all the background information, including what is a code amendment and why is it needed, see below under Project Information.

Have Your Say

We will be seeking feedback during Stage 2 later this year.

Project information