The role for handling the approach and master plan for any development and massive expansion of land in Perth are officiated by Western Australia Planning Commission or WAPC. To help execute this strategy they created Residential Design Codes or the R-Codes where people can be guided in terms of any residential development making sure that everything is in accordance with the approved standard. These codes go hand in hand with the local government as they too prepare their respective schemes to implement codes.
The R-Codes provides data and details on how a specific building can go on a 1-hectare (10,000 square meters) parcel of land as wells as the average and minimum size of a residential block within that coded acreage.
Zoning codes definition
To understand further, zoning codes provide the information which would tell developers the maximum numbers of dwellings that can be built per hectare under both of the standard releases by the local council and WAPC. Below are some of the various examples of zoning R-Codes.
R20 Zoning
(20 lots per hectare) the potential subdivision is 20 dwellings. Table 1 of the R-codes also stipulates a 350m2 lot minimum and a 450m2 lot average, a minimum street frontage of 10m, 50% open space requirement and a 30m2 outdoor living area for each house.
R30 Zoning
(30 lots per hectare) the potential subdivision is 30 dwellings. Table 1 of the R-codes states a 260m2 lot minimum and a lot average of 300m2, street frontage has no minimum, 45% open space, and a 24m2 outdoor living area for each dwelling.
R40 Zoning
(40 lots per hectare) the potential subdivision is 40 dwellings. Table 1 of the R-codes also stipulates a 180m2 lot minimum and a 220m2 lot average, no minimum street frontage, 45% open space requirement and a 20m2 outdoor living area for each dwelling.
However, the Local Government specified some areas which are suitable for dual-density coding example of which are R20/40 and R20/60. In this case, the first zoning is the standard block subdivision whilst the higher density codes are an option for further development through application to WAPC. Let’s have closer look at R20/40.
What does R20/40 mean?
R20/40 is a dual-coded residential area which means that the development is R20 by default but may allow up to R40 if certain conditions are met. Usually, these are set by the local council and differ between each local council’s policies. It is important for you to understand how it works so that you can make the best decision for your own and participate in healthy growth of the community providing you meet the approval of the local council and the allowances and limitations set by WAPC.
It is also crucial to keep in mind that the guidelines are to ensure that the needs for both comfort and convenience are met and that the community can function smoothly as a whole. The procedure for higher densities always involves proper brainstorming of the developer along with the local government so that each can benefit from the opportunity of expansion and augmentation of the land available.
Before any elevation can take place there are several factors to consider for higher zoning strata but then again for a more specific list you can directly be informed through your local council.
To give you an idea of the set of qualifications for a higher zoning subdivision you can look at location and accessibility, dual street frontage provision, aged care friendly homes, enough open space, and privacy (those are just a few considerations on the list).
But then again the requirements widely vary and are always dependent on the goal of the local council plans and strategy, still, the best thing to do is to is get in touch with the best possible developer you can as they already know the fundamentals of the whole process.