Shed approval in Swan

In The Vines, Ellenbrook, Brabham, Dayton and Bushmead, and on residential development land under a structure plan, the City's medium density standards replace the state's street, lot boundary and garage setbacks and its open space figures. Elsewhere in the Residential zone, outside the Guildford, Mandoon and Woodbridge heritage areas, no local policy varies the state's outbuilding, setback or front fence figures.

The state's residential codes give outbuildings two paths, and you pick one. A small single outbuilding can have slightly taller walls, while a larger or second one is limited by a share of the site, a lower wall and a ridge height, and takes a setback from the boundary. Both stay out of the street setback areas, and neither may take the site below its open space figure. A wall with a window sits further off the boundary than a blank one.

The building permit is a separate test, so a small shed can pass on planning and still need a permit. The local government issues it, and a registered building surveyor can certify the design. Where the codes do not apply, as on most rural or rural residential land, development approval is usually needed unless the scheme or a local policy exempts the work.

The state's mapping covers bushfire, flood, heritage, landslide and vegetation; a heritage place loses the usual planning exemption. The water utility approves work near its pipes. The site plan shows the shed's footprint, wall and ridge height, each boundary, every other outbuilding, open space and the sewer.

What catches people out in Swan

• A shed with a tall wall can pass the planning test and still take a building permit.
• A window in a side wall pushes the shed further off the boundary.
• Existing outbuildings count toward the larger path's area limit.
• Rural land sits outside the usual state exemption.

What a site plan for a shed looks like