Stephen Rowley Email & Phone Number

Ascot Vale, Vic, Au

Melbourne

I have started RCI Planning to provide consultancy services, focusing on statutory planning, training, and expert witness work at VCAT. For Strategic Planning services please contact me at SGS Economics and Planning.

I am an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Monash University, contributing primarily to the teaching of regulatory planning.

The Victorian Planning Reports provide subject-based reporting of significant planning cases at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. As Planning Editor I assist the Managing Editor with writing editorial content and identifying key cases for coverage.

Contract role covering the newly created Manager Statutory Planning role while the council filled that position.

I was a lecturer at RMIT, on staff three days a week. My teaching focus was on making applied planning knowledge more engaging and practical, and trying get the students to think about how effectively statutory planning achieves broader planning objectives. This is crucial in bridging the gap between academic and applied planning practice.Specific duties involved:• Revising and updating the syllabus and lecture plan.• Presenting lectures.• Choosing readings.• Setting and marking assessment tasks.• Leading tutorials.In addition to my teaching duties my work at RMIT also involved a research component. I wrote two single-authored books while at RMIT.

Duties included:• Processing of a diverse range and large volume of planning permit applications, including a mix of residential, commercial and industrial projects. • Liaison with developers, consultants, Councillors, members of resident groups, and other members of the public.• Provision of a high level of customer service and planning advice, including pre-application meetings, phone enquiries and on-site consultations.• Representation of Council at VCAT hearings and mediations.• Supervision and mentoring of junior officers.• Liaison with Councillors, including provision of technical advice and information during public meetings and consultation sessions.

Duties included:• Processing of a diverse range and large volume of planning permit applications, including a mix of residential, commercial and industrial projects. • Liaison with developers, consultants, Councillors, members of resident groups, and other members of the public.• Provision of a high level of customer service and planning advice, including pre-application meetings, phone enquiries and on-site consultations.• Representation of Council at VCAT hearings and mediations.• Supervision and mentoring of junior officers.• Liaison with Councillors, including provision of technical advice and information during public meetings and consultation sessions.

I was co-editor of the PIA Victoria publication Planning News, with Tim Westcott and Gilda di Vincenzo, from July 2007 to December 2010. We sought to consolidate the publication’s traditional role as the agenda-setting publication in Victorian planning. Duties included researching and writing original editorials and articles, fact-checking and proof-reading contributors’ copy, liaising with printers on the graphic design of the publication, selection of illustrations, and the sourcing of articles from planners and other professionals.The role involved teamwork, attention to detail on tight timeframes, following and participating in debate within the profession, and extensive networking (required to source contributions).

Principal duties included:• Drafting of new provisions (and redrafting existing provisions) for the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPPs). This involved drawing on my statutory planning experience to craft provisions that would be effective at achieving policy objectives while minimising regulatory burden.• Liaising with external stakeholders, notably other government departments, VCAT, professional bodies, and local government on proposed initiatives.• Participating in legislative review as principal liaison between the Statutory Planning Systems Reform unit and the team reviewing the Planning & Environment Act 1987.• Communicating with internal stakeholders about correct implementation of the VPPs, and assisting with interpretation and application of planning controls.• Attendance at professional seminars.• Customer service, such as advising members of the public about aspects of the Victorian planning system.

See description above.

Senior Planner

Responsibilities included, in addition to general duties as at Moreland:• Representation of Council at meetings between the then Department of Sustainability & Environment, VicUrban, and developers in relation to development of the Docklands precinct.• Secondment to the Local Policy Branch commencing from March 2002 until April 2003. This increased my understanding of the planning scheme amendment process, and increased my skills in management of large projects. This secondment included supervision of the Hobsons Road Built Form Review, and assessment of a related amendment for large-scale residential redevelopment of an industrial area. The amendment would have allowed construction of up to 1000 dwellings on the land, and this project required resolution of complex issues such as inundation, contamination, heritage, acoustics, and urban design. The Built Form Review involved working with external consultants to obtain a report within tight timeframes.• Performance of Team Leader’s Duties on a rotating basis in the Team Leader’s absence.• Supervision and instruction of junior officers. • Representation of Council at VCAT on many applications, accompaniment of junior officers to the Tribunal, and representation of Council at directions hearings and mediations.

The Shire’s Planning Branch was during this time characterised by extremely high workloads and planning officers were trusted with a high degree of autonomy. This position involved similar duties to my subsequent positions.

Ph.D, Culture And Communication

Bachelor Of Arts (Hons), Cinema Studies, English

Bachelor Of Planning And Design, Urban Planning