Code Amendment ID: 10046 River Murray Flood Resilience

The Chief Executive of the Department for Trade and Investment sought to amend the Planning and Design Code to provide clearer guidance for impacted communities to rebuild more flood-resilient development.

The interim amendments to the Planning and Design Code included:

• requirements around height of floor above ground – the ‘finished floor level’

  • maximum height increased from 2.5 metres to 3 metres, or up to 4 metres to be above the level of a one-in-100-year flood event

  • minimum heights along the river based on updated one-in-100 year flood event data

• maximum overall building height increased to 8 metres, up from 7.5 metres, with a two-storey cap

• updated resilient design and materials for underfloor structures

  • installation of roller doors or similar on all four sides of any enclosed area to ensure the free passage of floodwaters

• maintain open space areas around storage areas, with maximum storage area increased to 60 square metres, up from 15 square metres

• streamlined assessment for sheds, carports and garages that are located behind a riverfront dwelling, removing previous red tape

• rezoning flood-affected shack settlements, including Paisley and Murbko, to assist development applications and rebuild efforts.

Due to the urgency of providing clear rules to support redevelopment, the draft Code Amendment came into effect on an interim basis at the same time as being released for community consultation.