The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale has announced the SJ2050 document, which aims to set a framework for the shire and accommodate the expected population growth in the coming years.
Inspired by community expectations regarding the long-term future of the shire, after more than two years the document has come to fruition and was launched at the shire’s business forum last night.
Director of Planning Andre Schonfeldt guided the shire team of officers and consultants and led community workshops in preparing the document.
“We are hoping to achieve the community’s aspirations and identify the core values of the community,” he said.
“We hope to focus on hitting the target rather than having a gun shot approach.”
SJ2050 encompasses the shire’s 13 localities and townships and aims to enhance, support and protect the community while simultaneously plan for the future and help drive the economy.
Mr Schonfeldt said he has been involved in a number of workshops, which were open to the community, and he also conducted a workshop with Year 12 students from SJ Grammar some time ago.
“They explained what their views, visions and aspirations for the area are,” he said.
“In finalising the document we ran a survey and had over 350 people complete the survey and send it back.
“That was quite good and it added up to about 70 per cent who are comfortable with what the community was saying.
“It is important to have these figures because when you want to say to the community this is what your values are because you have said it, you want to know there’s a fair level of confidence that is actually what your community is saying.”
Shire president John Erren said the SJ2050 vision built on the aspirations and core values, which the shire has captured in a number of strategic planning documents.
“It provides a clear framework to accommodate the high population growth within the core urban areas connected with regional infrastructure,” he said.
“The shire acknowledges the concerns regarding the potential loss of special character of the local government area but the plan alleviates this through providing strong urban and rural boundaries.
“These boundaries allow high growth with the community infrastructure provision while retaining rural and environmental protection.”
