Gateway Determination
3. Potential for Unintended Impacts
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residential zones, it could result in more noticeable adverse amenity impacts. However, as noted previously, Council will continue to have discretion to refuse applications on a merit basis providing adequate certainty that potential visual and amenity impacts can be appropriately minimised.
NEXT STEPS
Moving forward, the following two options are put forward for Council’s consideration:
Option 1: Council choose to opt in to the new clause
Should Council resolve to opt-in to the new Natural Disasters Clause, formal confirmation must be provided to the Department by 15 February 2021. Council is also required to indicate the zones whereby the proposed clause will apply. This clause will then be included within the relevant LEPs by way of an amending State Environmental Planning Policy (Amending SEPP) that will be progressed by the Department.
Option 2: Council choose not to opt in to the new clause
Should Council resolve to forego the inclusion of this clause in its LEP, no further action will be necessary and development applications for dwelling houses and secondary dwellings impacted by natural disasters will continue to be assessed under the current provisions. While this will include the application of the existing Clause 4.2A, it would mean that current controls may restrict the reconstruction of previously existing primary or secondary dwellings.
It is recommended that Council choose to opt in to the new clause (Option 1) on the basis that the new clause could reduce the challenges faced by residents and landowners in the wake of natural disasters, which are arguably times of substantial hardship and emotional distress. As witnessed with the bushfires experienced across New South Wales over the 2019/2020 summer, natural disasters can devastate the lives of many in an instant, with these bushfires alone destroying over 2,400 homes and damaging over 1,000 additional homes. It is prudent that an appropriate planning mechanism be implemented to overcome these obstacles and assist with the recovery processes. The new clause will assist affected residents and landowners to rebuild and repair their homes with greater ease by removing some of the administrative burden, and ultimately enabling them to resume their daily lives more quickly.
IMPACTS Financial
This matter has no direct financial impact upon Council's adopted budget or forward estimates.
Strategic Plan - Hills Future
The optional new Natural Disasters Clause responds to key planning priorities, by protecting areas of high environmental value and significance and preparing residents for environmental urban risks and hazards.
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RECOMMENDATION
1. Council opt in to the new clause for inclusion in The Hills Local Environmental Plan.
2. Council indicate to the Department that the new clause be applied to the RU1 Primary Production, RU2 Rural Landscape, RU6 Transition, E3 Environmental Management, E4 Environmental Living, R2 Low Density Residential and R3 Medium Density Residential land use zones.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Final Natural Disasters Clause (1 page)
2. ‘Guidance for Implementation’ Document – Natural Disasters Clause (3 pages)
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ITEM-4 HILLS LOCAL PLANNING PANEL - APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR, ALTERNATE CHAIRS AND EXPERT MEMBERS
THEME: Shaping Growth
OUTCOME: 5 Well planned and liveable neighbourhoods that meets growth targets and maintains amenity.
STRATEGY:
5.1 The Shire’s natural and built environment is well managed through strategic land use and urban planning that reflects our values and aspirations.
MEETING DATE: 9 FEBRUARY 2021 COUNCIL MEETING
GROUP: DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLIANCE
AUTHOR: GROUP MANAGER DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLIANCE CAMERON MCKENZIE
RESPONSIBLE OFFICER: GENERAL MANAGER MICHAEL EDGAR BACKGROUND
Council, at its meeting of 13 February 2018, considered a report on the introduction of Local Planning Panels which recommended the Mayor and General Manager be delegated the authority to select expert Panel Members and alternatives and community representatives for each ward and alternatives. Council resolved unanimously that the report be received, effectively declining the offer to participate in the selection of the panel. Given the panel was not constituted by Council, the Minister constituted the panel by selecting all members.
The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces has requested the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment conduct an expression of interest during early 2021 to refresh the chair and expert pools from which councils make appointments to their local planning panels.
As this timing coincides with the end of the first three-year term of office for local planning panel members, on 28 February 2021, councils have been requested to reappoint current chairs and alternate chairs up to 30 June 2021. The councils can choose to re-appoint current expert members or choose different experts from the expert pool for appointment up to 30 June 2021. Given The Hills Council did not participate in the constitution of the panel, presumably the Minister will reappoint both Panel Chairs and experts up to 30 June 2021 should Council not indicate that they wish to do so. It is noted that councils, even when they participate in the process, cannot select Panel Chairs or their alternatives, they are selected by the Minister and subsequently appointed by councils. While Council has the opportunity to select alternate expert members prior to 30 June 2021 it would seem prudent to allow for the “refreshing” of pool members before potentially engaging in this process.
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knowledge and skill-sets to determine Development Applications and provide advice on Planning Proposals before the Panel.
Community Representatives have previously been appointed by the Minister to serve on the Hills Local Planning Panel. It is understood that the terms of appointment for the Community Representatives will end in early 2022. It is recommended the Mayor and General Manager be delegated to select community members prior to the expiry of the appointment of current community members.
IMPACTS Financial
Council is responsible for meeting the operating costs of the Panel. The Minister has determined the remuneration rates including the Chair - $2,000 plus GST per meeting, Expert Members - $1,500 plus GST per meeting and Community representatives – a minimum of $500 per meeting plus GST. This means each full-day meetings costs a minimum of $5,500 plus GST. This cost will remain consistent whether or not Council participates in the selection of expert or community members.
RECOMMENDATION
1. The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces to be advised that Council has no objection to the reappointment of current chairs, alternate chairs and expert members of the Hills Local Planning Panel up to 30 June 2021.
2. The Mayor and General Manager to be delegated authority to select expert members prior to 30 June 2021.
3. The Mayor and General Manager be delegated authority to select community members prior to the expiry of their appointment.
ATTACHMENTS
1. List of current Panel members and Community Members (1 page)
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ITEM-5 ELLERSLIE DRIVE, WEST PENNANT HILLS - CONCRETE FOOTPATH CONSTRUCTION
DOC INFO
THEME: Shaping Growth
OUTCOME: 8 Infrastructure meets the needs of our growing Shire.
STRATEGY:
6.1 Strategically plan for the North West Sector growth through the development and construction of transport infrastructure, integrated local roads, parks and other civil infrastructure.
MEETING DATE: 9 FEBRUARY 2021 COUNCIL MEETING
GROUP: SHIRE STRATEGY, TRANSFORMATION AND SOLUTIONS
AUTHOR:
MANAGER – ASSET MANAGEMENT, TRAFFIC AND PARKS
MICHAEL LATHLEAN
RESPONSIBLE OFFICER:
GROUP MANAGER - SHIRE STRATEGY, TRANSFORMATION AND SOLUTIONS
DAVID REYNOLDS BACKGROUND
On 28 July 2020 Council resolved to construct a concrete footpath in Ellerslie Drive, West Pennant Hills with funds provided under the Australian Government’s first stage of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program. Some objections to the project have been received from property owners which are discussed further in the report along with associated ways forward.
REPORT
On 22 May 2020 the Australian Government announced the first stage of a new $500 million Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LRCI Program).
This program is intended to support local councils deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects across Australia, supporting jobs and the resilience of local economies to help communities recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Council’s funding under the first stage of the LRCI Program is $1,194,721 (excluding GST) with all projects to be completed by 30 June 2021.
The timing of the grant announcement and the receipt of formal advice on the amount of the grant did not enable the nominated projects to be included in the 2020/21 Works Program that was placed on public exhibition in May 2020 in conjunction with the 2020/21 Hills Shire Plan. Furthermore, due to the limited time available to accept the grant and complete all
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the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRD&C) for its endorsement.
After considering a report on the first stage of the LRCI Program at its meeting on 28 July 2020, Council resolved:
1. Council accept the grant from the Australian Government of $1,194,721 (excluding GST) available under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LCRI) Program and nominate the projects listed in Attachment 2 to the report.
2. Council agree to the execution of the grant agreement by the General Manager.
One of the projects nominated by Council under the program and subsequently endorsed by the DITRD&C was the construction of a concrete footpath along the full length of Ellerslie Drive, West Pennant Hills (Figure 1). The estimated cost of the project is $120,000.
Figure 1: Ellerslie Drive, West Pennant Hills
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The inclusion of the footpath construction project in Ellerslie Drive in the list of LRCI project nominations was based on the outcome of its priority ranking (140 points) as detailed in Council’s Resourcing Strategy. That ranking was primarily achieved as a result of the street’s proximity to:
major bus routes on Taylor Street and Aiken Road with Route 635, 651 and 652X services (15 points)
school bus services on Ellerslie Drive itself (10 points);
Nordby Retirement Village in Hill Road (30 points);
AC Charlie Moore Reserve including children’s playground (15 points);
George Thornton Reserve including major sporting complex (15 points);
Coonara Avenue Shopping Centre (30 points);
Hills Montessori pre-school in Taylor Street (20 points).
The locations of these facilities in relation to Ellerslie Drive are shown in Figure 2.
The street was also assessed as having a moderate degree of walking difficulty along 30 to 75 percent of its length due to the natural topography of the area with one section near Thrift Close having a grade of approximately 13 percent (5 points).
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The proposal is to construct the footpath on the ‘outside’ of the loop road (adjoining the odd numbered properties) in order to provide more direct links to AC Charlie Moore Reserve and the pedestrian pathway links through to Taylor Street and Aiken Road. The school route bus stops and street lighting are also located on that side of the road which would make it safer for school students using those bus stops and for pedestrians using the footpath at night.
A total of 34 properties would be directly impacted by construction of the concrete footpath with a minor impact on a further four battle-axe shaped properties with a driveway frontage to that side of the street.
As part of Council’s routine notification procedures for concrete footpath construction projects, a letter was sent to all odd numbered property owners in Ellerslie Drive on 4 November 2020. The purpose of that letter was not to seek the property owner’s views on the project but to simply inform them of Council’s intention to commence construction of the project within the next few weeks.
Following receipt of that letter a number of telephone calls and emails were received from property owners objecting to the construction of the concrete footpath. Several of those objections were received from property owners on the opposite side of Ellerslie Drive with another objection from a property owner in a minor access street off Ellerslie Drive. It is understood that some of these objectors also made contact with the Mayor, East Ward Councillors, State Member for Baulkham Hills and the Federal Member for Berowra.
However several emails supporting construction of the footpath were also received.
Given the level of interest shown in the project it was agreed to defer construction of the concrete footpath to enable Council to give further consideration as to whether or not the project should proceed.
In this regard a letter was sent to the owners of all odd numbered properties with a frontage to Ellerslie Drive that would be directly impacted by construction of the concrete footpath in order to formally seek their views through either an online submission or a formal written response. A copy of that letter is attached (Attachment 1).
Similar letters were not sent to the even numbered properties in Ellerslie Drive or properties on the minor access streets off Ellerslie Drive as it was considered that they would not be directly affected by the construction of the concrete footpath.
In response a total of 17 submissions have been received from the 38 property owners that would be directly impacted by construction of the concrete footpath. Of those 17 submissions, 15 (or 39 percent of all property owners) objected to the project while two (or five percent of all property owners) were in support of it.
Despite not writing to them directly, Council also received a further nine submissions from property owners on the even numbered side of Ellerslie Drive as well as the minor access streets off Ellerslie Drive. Eight of those submissions objected to the project while one was in support.
The main reasons for the objections that are cited in the submissions are:
a waste of money;
money better spent on other facilities or infrastructure within the local area such as
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traffic volumes in Ellerslie Drive are relatively low making it quite safe for pedestrians to walk on the road carriageway;
pedestrians are comfortable walking on the grass verges;
grass produces oxygen while concrete produces heat;
a concrete footpath would commercialise the street and destroy its streetscape appeal;
negative visual impact of the concrete footpath on the streetscape;
concern that the concrete footpath won’t be satisfactorily maintained by Council;
most properties on the odd numbered side of the street have well maintained grass verges that would be significantly impacted by the construction of a concrete footpath;
there is a risk of long term damage to a concrete footpath from Council street trees or privately owned trees within the adjoining property;
property owners will have to undertake additional maintenance along the edges of the concrete footpath.
The objections to construction of the concrete footpath are acknowledged, particularly those received from property owners who are directly impacted by the project. Furthermore those objections are substantially more than the submissions received in support. Nevertheless the majority of property owners took no position on the project.
If Council wished to consider an alternate concrete footpath construction project in the West Pennant Hills area, it is suggested that the southern side of Oratava Avenue between Aiken Road to Timberline Avenue could be selected as this side of the road is where most of the street lights are located (Figure 3). There are also eight bus stops in this section of Oratava Avenue (four on each side of the road) for Route 635 services.
Figure 3: Oratava Avenue – potential alternate footpath construction project
The DITRD&C has indicated that it is unlikely that they would raise any objection to the
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time to approve. There is also the risk that property owners in this section of Oratava Avenue might raise similar objections to those raised by some of the property owners in Ellerslie Drive which could further delay the expenditure of the funds and put at risk Council’s ability to expend the funds on a suitable project before 30 June 2021.
CONCLUSION
The construction of a concrete footpath in Ellerslie Drive has been assessed as being of a relatively high priority based on the priority ranking system in Council’s adopted Resourcing Strategy. This is primarily due to the street’s proximity to major and minor bus routes, passive and active recreational facilities as well as a number of potential pedestrian generating facilities including the Coonara Avenue shopping centre, the Nordby Retirement Village and the Hills Montessori pre-school.
All 38 property owners on the odd numbered side of Ellerslie Drive where the concrete footpath is to be constructed were provided with an opportunity to formally comment on the proposal. This resulted in 17 submissions being received with 15 objecting to the project and two supporting the project. Although they would not be directly affected by construction of the project, a further eight objections to the project were also received from property owners on the opposite side of Ellerslie Drive and from several of the minor access streets off it. One further submission in support of the project was also received from a property owner on the opposite side of Ellerslie Drive.
The overall number of objections from property owners on the odd number side of the street represents approximately 39 percent of all property owners who would be directly affected by construction of the concrete footpath. It is acknowledged that the number of objections to the project from those property owners is considerably higher than the number of submissions in support of the project. However the number of responses received does not represent the majority of property owners. Therefore this could suggest that those property owners who did not put in a submission have no position on whether the project should proceed or not.
There are two options that Council may wish to consider.
1. As previously resolved, proceed with construction of the concrete footpath in Ellerslie Drive.
2. Given the number of objections to the project that have been received, approval be sought from the DITRD&C to re-allocate the funds toward the construction of a concrete footpath in the section of Oratava Avenue between Aiken Road and Timberline Avenue.
It is the second option that is recommended.
IMPACTS Financial
Funds of $120,000 for construction of the footpath in Ellerslie Drive (Project No. 410377) have been provided by the Australian Government under the first stage of the LRCI Program.
Strategic Plan - Hills Future
Adoption of the recommendation in this report demonstrates Council’s commitment to the
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RECOMMENDATION
1. Approval be sought from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications to the construction of a concrete footpath in the section of Oratava Avenue, West Pennant Hills between Aiken Road and Timberline Avenue as a replacement for the previously approved project in Ellerslie Drive, West Pennant Hills.
2. Upon receipt of that approval, Council proceed with construction of the concrete footpath in that section of Oratava Avenue.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Letter to property owners of Ellerslie Drive seeking their views on construction of the concrete footpath adjoining the frontage of their property (2 pages)