Call-in powers have proved one of the most controversial aspects of the city's planning system, allowing the Planning Minister to "call in" major projects and approve them, bypassing the normal planning process.

The power was used most recently by Simon Corbell to approve the controversial Brumbies' 131-unit housing development in Griffith and the Royalla solar farm near Tuggeranong.

Mr Rattenbury will introduce legislation on Thursday that would mean call-in powers can't be used to approve projects unless the developer has consulted with the community before lodging the development application.

Mr Rattenbury said the new rule would provide an incentive for developers to consult. It would improve projects by involving the community early in the process and could also reduce the use of call-in powers by making proposals better and less controversial.

"Our past experience has been that where proponents do pre-development application consultation, where they talk to the community before they put in the development application, there's been more positive outcomes, because at that stage the proponents are not locked into anything, they have got more flexibility, they are more open to changing their plans," he said.

The Greens had long opposed the use of call-in powers but had been knocked back by the major parties combined when they had attempted to outlaw them, he said.

Mr Rattenbury is confident the Labor government will support his legislation.