FAQ

If you live in or around or visit the Kalamunda town centre, then this is your opportunity to help design the Kalamunda of the future for the next +10 years. What sort of centre would like to live, shop, meet and recreate in? What is important to your family or your business? 

Our needs are diverse, and it is important that you share your comments and unique perspective as an individual around what sort of Kalamunda you would like to see in the future.

Giving your feedback is easy and you can do this in several ways.

• Complete the quick survey by scrolling down this page or clicking here
• Write a submission to enquiries@kalamunda.wa.gov.au, City of Kalamunda PO Box 42 WA 6296, or in person to your local library or City of Kalamunda Administration.
• Business owners may schedule an appointment for a one-on-one conversation by calling (08) 9257 9999.
• Visit one of many events or information sessions where you can ask questions, take away more information or provide your comments. See events section of this page.

An activity centre, put simply, is a place that lots of different people use and enjoy the amenity of. 

It is a term used to describe commercial and community focal points in urban areas where there is a combination of activities such as offices, retail, higher-density housing, entertainment, civic/community, education and medical services. Activity centres vary in size and diversity and are designed to be well-serviced by public transport.

Kalamunda is identified as a ‘District Centre’ under the Western Australian Planning Commission’s State Planning Policy 4.2 - Activity Centres for Perth and Peel. District Centres typically have the following characteristics:

• Servicing the daily and weekly needs of residents with a local community focus.
• Providing services, facilities and job opportunities that reflect the local community needs.
• A focal point for the bus network.
• Servicing a population of approximately 20,000 to 50,000 persons.
•  Incorporating increased density within 400 metres of the activity centre, and
• Incorporating supermarkets, discount department stores, convenience goods, small scale shops, personal services and specialty stores.

It is recognised that Kalamunda offers a great deal of potential for enhancement of the town centre for the benefit of all its users and visitors. It is important that all the activities relating to enhancement form part of a considered, clear and collaborative plan to best realise a shared vision for the town centre.

State Planning Policy 4.2 - Activity Centres for Perth and Peel (SPP 4.2) requires that an activity centre plan be prepared for all District Centres, which includes the Kalamunda town centre.

The City is progressing an activity centre plan for Kalamunda to ensure any new subdivision or development aligns with the envisaged design framework and character of development for the area and to assist the City with coordinating public realm and infrastructure improvements over the next 10 years.

After endorsement by the WA Planning Commission (WACP) of the final plan, this activity centre plan is to have effect for a period of 10 years, unless otherwise determined by the WAPC. Comments are open for the draft plan for a minimum of 60 days. Comments are open from June to Monday, 2 September.

The City of Kalamunda (the City) appointed consulting group Urbis to undertake the planning of the KACP. 

Urbis appointed a team of sub-consultants to assist with the various technical studies and reports.

The City’s various teams, particularly strategic planning, asset planning and public relations, are involved in the project.

Initial consultation with the community included one to one ‘Coffee Chat’ sessions with local business owners, an online survey via ‘Engage’ platform conducted over 6 weeks, submissions via the City of Kalamunda enquiries mailbox or in person, 2 x pop-up workshops Farmers Markets, Jane Jacobs Walks and Idea/Emotional Mapping, a community visioning exercise exploring emotional mapping around the key themes of connectivity, land use, built form and public realm and a design workshop.

The Kalamunda Activity Centre Plan visioning report was developed through a comprehensive preliminary community engagement process, in collaboration with key landowners, business operators, and the local community in early 2018.

A centralised vision for the plan was developed to keep the ideas together and focused.

“Kalamunda is a place borne of community spirit with a strong connection to its heritage. The town centre serves as a gateway to the hills and as a hub connecting both locals and visitors alike. Its natural bushland setting, and traditional village atmosphere are a platform to enhance Kalamunda’s unique offerings, activities and events and provides spaces for community interactions and neighbourhood conversations.”

The words/themes below reflect the most commonly heard themes and ideas during preliminary engagement and characterise how the activities were planned.

Character 

The following information and documents are publicly available on this page and can also be requested:

Kalamunda Activity Centre Plan Report

The KACP documentation itself includes a report divided into two sections:

• Part 1 - Implementation - outlines the requirements that will be applied when assessing subdivision and development applications; and
• Part 2 - Explanatory - supports part 1 by providing background and explanatory information used to prepare the KACP. Part 2 includes a summary of several technical reports to support the KACP conclusions and recommendations.

Technical Reports

• Appendix A – Built Form Design Guidelines
• Appendix B – Place making & Engagement Report
• Appendix C – Bushfire Management Plan
• Appendix D – Employment and Retail Analysis
• Appendix E – Historical & Aboriginal Baseline Assessment
• Appendix F – Transport Assessment
• Appendix G – Engineering Services Report
• Appendix H – Landscape Master Plan

The City of Kalamunda (the City) appointed Urbis to undertake the planning of the draft Activity Centre Plan for the Kalamunda town centre. 

Urbis also appointed a team of sub-consultants to assist with the various technical studies and reports. The City’s various teams, particularly Strategic Planning, Asset Planning and Public Relations were heavily involved in the project

The KAC (refer to map) generally encompasses the area bound by Elizabeth Street, Kalamunda Road, Canning Road and Railway Road.

You can download this map in the 'Document Library' on this page.

Should the Activity Centre Plan for Kalamunda’s town centre be adopted, new developments will be guided by prescribed land use and design requirements in the plan. Existing approvals within the project area will continue to remain valid.

Kalamunda’s Activity Centre Plan will be prepared in accordance with the Local Planning Scheme No. 3 (the Scheme) and the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015.

Planning and subdivision applications submitted to the City, following adoption of the plan, will be guided by the land use and design requirements outlined in the plan.

The City is consulting with, but not limited to, the following groups and individuals.

• Business owners
• Landowners and tenants
• Local Chamber of Commerce and other community representative groups
• State Government agencies
• Community groups and organisations
• The broader community

The built form of the Kalamunda activity centre will largely be guided by the Kalamunda Built Form Design Guidelines (Design Guidelines).

The Design Guidelines set out a series of 'frontage' requirements that clearly articulate the intended built form relationship between private lots and the public realm within the centre of Kalamunda. This structure allows for significant flexibility in designing new developments while maintaining the key interfaces to support the town centre activities.

The Design Guidelines create a set of development standards that will allow for increases in density over time while maintaining the fine-grained, built form and character of Kalamunda. The Design Guidelines provides a transparent framework for planning assessment, allowing flexibility to respond to site and market conditions but also clearly identifying the intended built form and public realm interface in each location.The requirements have been tailored to the specific conditions and opportunities within the activity centre, building on existing functioning patterns and supporting new initiatives that have emerged through the visioning and urban design process.

Through several visioning and community engagement exercises themes have guided a desired urban form driven by a number of features based around precincts including:

• Town Square - A scalable and defined town square that co-locates heritage, tourism and community facilities and provides a civic focus for the town centre.
• Main Street - A clearly identifiable Main Street enhancing an already functioning urban fabric and increasing pedestrian focus and connectivity.
• Green Park and Barber St Piazza - An area of respite and social gathering, hospitality and community facilities.
• Central Mall - Central Mall will become a one-way street acting as the heart of Kalamunda’s night time economy, delivering an intimate and vibrant urban experience that supports both day and night-time activities and acts as a counterpoint to the more traditional and heritage spaces of the town centre.
• Journeys - ‘Lost and Found in Kalamunda’ clearly defined pedestrian and vehicle routes and streetscape offering a diversity of experience and choice in a safe and vibrant town centre environment

There will not be any immediate impact on the availability of parking in the Kalamunda town centre. The Kalamunda Activity Centre Plan will guide public and private investment over a number of years.

The Landscape Master Plan does include concept drawings which show existing areas of public parking being used for other public spaces (e.g. next to the library), and additional pedestrian path and landscaping provision in verge areas. However, it is acknowledged that this Master Plan has been prepared at a very conceptual level and there will need to be further consideration of the long term parking needs of the town centre before undertaking detailed design and delivering the streetscape improvements envisaged.

• The Activity Centre Plan makes a number of other recommendations which will assist with parking provision in the town centre:
• Further consider reciprocal parking arrangements for uses that operated at different times.
• Encourage a more consistent seven-day trading pattern and spreading parking demand over a longer period.
• Prepare and implement a parking management strategy.
• Prioritise parking provision for older persons and those with disabilities.
• Encourage new development to conceal additional parking in basements and behind or above street level.

The Kalamunda Activity Centre Plan includes provisions that aim to preserve the rich history of the area, buildings and places identified as having heritage value. The Built Form Design Guidelines include design criteria that encourage an appropriate level of heritage protection based on the applicable level cultural heritage significance, and for redevelopment proposals on heritage properties being subject to a robust design review process.

The Activity Centre Plan also recommends that character elements are incorporated in new developments to reinforce place identify, including:

• Creatively interpreting existing materials, forms and patterns in a contemporary manner.
• Buildings should pick up on the fine grained rhythm of the street using building articulation or repeating vertical elements to add texture and pedestrian scale.
• Appropriate use of feature materials that link to the surrounding context, including painted timber, stone, wrought iron, heritage brick, earthy colours, and simple roof forms.

Based on the scenarios provided within the Employment and Retail Analysis report of the Kalamunda Activity Centre Plan, it is anticipated that a potential additional 1,500m² – 3800m² of retail floor space demand is possible over the next 10 years (the expected life of the KACP), depending on the overall level of desirability anticipated for residents and visitors to visit and shop in the Kalamunda town centre. This is a relatively modest anticipated increase in commercial floor space.

The Activity Centre Plan recommends a focus on measures that increase desirability of the town centre. In this regard, the implementation of the Kalamunda Activity Centre Plan requires both private and public investment to facilitate a contemporary, attractive and functional town centre for both residents and visitors. A key part of this is the gradual public investment in streetscape improvements, to improve the experience of visitors and residents and encourage businesses and landowners to invest in the town centre.

Should the KACP be adopted, property owners will need to adhere to the specifications and development and design requirements outlined within the KACP. 

This is particularly relevant when preparing or submitting building and planning applications.Existing approvals across sites within the project area will continue to remain valid.

All landowners and business owners will receive additional communication materials and are invited to book a one on one consultation with City staff if you have further questions. Consultations are available on the 15 and 16 of July. Call (08) 9257 9999 to book.

Forrestfield town centre is, like Kalamunda town centre, classified as a District Centre. Forrestfield town centre is already subject to the Forrestfield District Centre Structure Plan (FSP), adopted by the Council in April 2012. The FSP aims to guide the land use location, distribution and built form criteria.

The FSP is now eight years old and needs to be reviewed. It is currently anticipated that a new Forrestfield Activity Centre Plan will be progressed in the 2020/2021 financial year.