Sydney Council's Draft LEP and DCP

Residents within the City of Sydney Council can expect increased heritage destruction and more part 3A-type decisions, despite Barry O'Farell's public promise to eliminate this provision.

Council’s new Draft LEP and DCP, being pushed through under the misnomer of a “City Plan” have not been the subject of one council-called community meeting in our area, the densest in Australia, with people generally unaware their properties are being rezoned or what it means. And council refuses to tell ratepayers these new rules are already being used via a legal loophole. These tectonic reforms are creating uncertainty and confusion.

High-handed Lord Mayor, Clover Moore insists consultation has been adequate with newspaper ads, an on-line council website notice, meetings and 105,000 letters saying a new "City Plan" is coming. [Ed: see attachment]

100 meetings may have been held, yes, but they dealt with the City Plan, a photo-pretty, weasel-worded document without any LEP detail. Not every resident is a ratepayer: some city workers, renters and small business owners have been omitted from her mathematics. Council’s website says council is “currently home to 177,000 people and will "contain 187,000 by 2011".*

So why have 82,000 people been omitted?

These risible changes legitimise current over-developments and FSR breaches, do not adequately control height or protect residential amenity, won't conserve heritage, eliminate heritage streetscapes, revise zoning in Kings Cross from Mixed uses to Local Business to include dog kennels, animal grazing, viticulture, farm buildings, roadside stalls, car garage workshops, sawmill and log processing plants and sewage solid treatment plants, all incompatible uses.
New changes mean Macleay Street, Potts Point, will include farm stay accommodation, caravan parks, hospitals, brothels, pubs, sex shops, service stations and correctional centres, all incompatible uses.

The new rules will have no general subdivision restrictions, no general demolition restrictions, eliminate current LEP controls about a DA's public nuisance or neighbours' right to enjoy their property, and will eliminate FSRs for hospitals, delete heritage items as per a "review", do not require a Heritage report for demolition of heritage items, and will allow DAs with the consent of the Director-General, taking “any other matters” into account, in reality, a sort of Part 3A by stealth decision-making process.

It’s back to future, unless we yell loudly enough.

* Source: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/AboutSydney/CityResearch/AtAGlance.asp

Andrew Woodhouse

President
Potts Point and King Cross Heritage Conservation Society

Saving our past for the future
Ph 0415 949 506 Email: heritageandconservation@hotmail.com

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