Development Control Plans (DCPs) provide detailed planning and design guidelines to support the planning controls contained within a Local Environmental Plan which applies to a local government area.

Coffs Harbour City Council adopted Coffs Harbour DCP 2015 on 24 September 2015. It came into force on 21 October 2015. ​

The format of the DCP has been designed to facilitate online planning enquiries and includes mapped based controls as well as the ability to easily interact between chapters within the Plan and with relevant legislation, policies and guidelines external to the Plan.

DCP 2015 applies to all land in the Coffs Harbour Local Government Area that Coffs Harbour Local Environmental Plan 2013 (LEP 2013) applies to.

The format within each chapter of DCP 2015 has been designed to ensure that the Plan is clearly understood and to enable the Plan to integrate with Council's ePlanning processes. The layout within each chapter is consistent through the use of the following formatting for each DCP control:

• Applies to Land
• Objectives
• Requirements
• Exceptions (if applicable)
• Notes (if applicable)
  

Prior to granting development consent for development, Council must be satisfied that the proposed development satisfies the relevant provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000, any relevant environmental planning instrument including Coffs Harbour LEP 2013 and relevant provisions of this Plan.

Development proposals are required to meet the objectives and requirements of relevant DCP controls that may be contained within more than one part of this Plan, unless alternative solutions are proposed that will provide a better response to meeting the objectives of this Plan.

It is the responsibility of applicants to determine the relevant chapters and DCP controls applicable to the proposed development. Where there is an inconsistency between any Chapters within this Plan, then Council may use its discretion to ascertain which Chapter will prevail.

Compliance with the provisions of this Plan does not guarantee that development consent will be granted. Council must, in relation to development applications, also take into consideration all other relevant matters listed under section 79C of the Environ​mental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.