When developers are completing work on a site it is not always possible for parking bays to be provided or for enough parking to be provided. In these circumstances the City can accept payment in lieu of the required parking bays. In order for the City to do this, a Payment in Lieu of Parking Plan must be in place, as required by the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015. The plan also provides guidance on what the City can spend collected money on - which is summarised in the below FAQ.

Yes, payment in lieu of parking has been used in City in the past and is a practice commonly used across Perth.The requirement for a Payment in Lieu of Parking Plan to allow the City to do this, is new, and in order for the City to continue being able to collect payment in lieu of parking, this plan needs to be adopted.

No, The City's first preference is for parking to be provided where possible. The payment in lieu of parking simply allows for situations where it is not possible to provide the parking required. It also provides an opportunity for payment in situations where a development has been built but the use is changing and therefore the demand for parking is changing. For example, a building which was previously used as a warehouse may require five parking bays, but if the use changes to a shop, additional bays would be required for customers.

The plan sets out what funds can be used for, and includes:

• Other transport infrastructure:
  • Construction of new, or upgrades to exisiting, pedestrian and bike riding infrastructure (eg bicycle paths)
  • Installation of wayfinding (the process of how people work out their position, planning and following a route) and signage
• Supporting or incidental purposes:
  • Supply of shade trees to enhance the streetscape
  • Supply of street furniture (objects and equipment installed along streets and roads eg benches) to improve the public realm (All parts of the built environment where the public has free access and includes parks, streets, squares, and other publicly accessible space)

A full list can be found on page 7 of the plan.

The parking is calculated using a formula that is set out by The Western Australian Planning Commission. The formula is (infrastructure cost per m2 x 15m2 ) x when there is a car parking space shortfall during development projects.

The 15m2 area represents a 50% discount to a car parking space and required manoeuvring area of 30m2. The cost is reviewed annually and will be updated in the City’s Fees and Charges.