All future community asset transfer (CAT) applications will be determined by councillors after a policy change was passed at Renfrewshire Council.
Elected members were given the option of sticking with the status quo, where decisions are made by officers in the first instance, or ruling that they themselves take on the remit of approving or refusing requests.
A CAT involves the responsibility for an asset transferring from the local authority to a community group or voluntary organisation.
The most high-profile recent example saw a request from Kelburne Hockey Club in relation to Ralston Community Sports Centre rejected in August.
This was determined on grounds of uncertainty of funding and the impact opposition to the plan would have in the community.
SNP council leader Iain Nicolson moved that the delegation to officers during the CAT process was taken away, paving the way for future applications to be considered by elected members.
In this scenario, a special sub-committee of the infrastructure, land and environment (ILE) policy board, consisting of five elected members, becomes the decision-making forum for applications.
Councillor Nicolson said: "We've been hearing what has been said with regards to the process in a recent application for community asset transfer and I think it came as a bit of surprise to quite a few elected members that it was delegated.
"On speaking to the officers as well, I think they felt slightly uncomfortable about making decisions of that scale themselves, so that's the reason why we've set off on trying to amend the CAT process to allow elected members the opportunity to consider them and build in an appeal process which makes the system as transparent as possible.
"At the end of the day, there's still an appeal process to Scottish ministers as well, so the council has to be very clear about how it handles each community asset transfer."
Councillor Neill Graham, leader of the Conservative group, put forward an amendment, which suggested all applications were determined by the full ILE board of 15 members — instead of the smaller sub-committee.
He felt the "bigger pool" of politicians would see a "more diverse view" when it comes to making decisions.
In both situations, any reviews arising from an applicant challenging a decision would be considered by the council's appeals board.
The participants of such panels are drawn from all 43 members, but would exclude any members of the ILE sub-committee involved in reaching a decision on the same application.
If applicants remain dissatisfied with the outcome of a review, the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 provides a further level of appeal to Scottish ministers.
Councillor Nicolson's motion passed in the chambers after 23 members voted in favour of that option, with 19 voting for the amendment.
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