Ordinary Meeting of Council
TO BE HELD ON Tuesday, 18 June 2024 AT 7:00PM
Level 3, Council Chamber
Late Agenda
** ** ** ** ** **
NOTE: For Full Details, See Council’s Website –
www.krg.nsw.gov.au under the link to business papers
MM.2 The King's Birthday Honours 2024 9
File: S14221
I am pleased to inform you that 7 Ku-ring-gai citizens, through their outstanding achievements and services to the community, have been awarded 2024 King’s Birthday Honours.
We are very proud to have these
dedicated and talented Australians as members of the
Ku-ring-gai community.
I would like to read to you the names of these special Ku-ring-gai citizens and, on behalf of Council, congratulate them on their excellent contributions to Australian society.
Professor Karen CANFELL AC of Gordon, for eminent service to medicine as an epidemiologist, particularly through cancer research, to tertiary education, and as a mentor and leader
Dr Eileen GALLERY AM of Roseville, for significant service to nephrology, to obstetric medicine, and to tertiary education
Professor Thomas MASCHMEYER AO of Lindfield, for distinguished service to science as a researcher, innovator and educator, and business through pioneering commercial technologies
Ms Jennifer Lea MORRIS OAM of Roseville, for service to women through leadership and mentoring roles
Professor Donald NUTBEAM AO of Roseville, for distinguished service to public health, to tertiary education, and to professional associations and boards
Professor Helen Kathryn REDDEL AM of St Ives, for significant service to respiratory medicine, and to medical research
Mr Roger Charles WILKINSON OAM of Wahroonga, for service to the community, and to acoustic engineering
On behalf of Council, I congratulate all these award winners on their outstanding achievements.
Ku-ring-gai should be proud that it has so many citizens being recognised at the highest levels for their selfless dedication, commitment, and contribution to local, national and international communities.
Recommendation:
A. That Council acknowledge the outstanding contribution made by these recipients of the King’s Birthday Honours 2024 to the Ku-ring-gai community and to the well-being of our society.
B. That the Mayor, on behalf of Council, write to the recipients to congratulate them.
MM.3 Significant Sports Capacity 11
File: S04856
At its meeting of 12 June 2024, Hornsby Shire Council (Hornsby) sought the support of Northern Sydney Region of Councils (NSROC) and other councils in the region following a recent decision by the NSW Government to remove funding to create much needed outdoor active recreational space.
In 2023 a review of Supply and Demand for Sports Facilities in the NSROC Region found that there will be an undersupply of around 222 Ha (49%) by 2036. Importantly, this study does not take into account the anticipated population growth as a result of the recent reforms targeting housing supply (Low-mid Rise Housing and Transport Oriented Development) which will place further demands on local sportsgrounds.
Ku-ring-gai should support Hornsby’s critically important infrastructure project at Westleigh Park which will deliver amongst other things, six new sports fields that will service the North Shore Region, the only opportunity for such a significant increase in capacity due to the scarcity of affordable and suitable land in the region. It is appropriate for Council to join with Hornsby in requesting the NSW Government reconsider its decision to withdraw grant funds previously allocated to support the project’s completion. Westleigh Park is a significant regional facility that will benefit the whole North Shore.
The impacts of not increasing sports ground capacity in Northern Sydney will lead to increasing numbers of participants being turned away from sport which will lead to:
- Increasing physical inactivity, sedentary leisure behaviour and related health and disease impacts;
- Reducing benefits brought about by participation in sport and physical activity;
- Increased costs to participate and accessibility of facilities will create inequity in participants and associated benefits; and
- Access to sport may become based on the capacity to pay and which may create a greater barrier to participation for lower income households.
In early June the NSW Government informed Hornsby that it will take back $36 million in funding for the development of the much-needed active recreation facilities at Westleigh Park, which will stop the most significant active outdoor sporting facility from being delivered.
Westleigh Park is a 36 hectare parcel of land at 62 Quarter Sessions Road, Westleigh. It was purchased by Hornsby in 2016 to assist with addressing the increasing demands for active recreation within the Shire and Northern Sydney Region.
The Master Plan provides for structured sporting activities on three sporting platforms (providing six sportsfields) and unstructured passive recreation experiences throughout the park. This includes cycling and mountain biking, walking paths, informal exercise spaces, children’s playground and picnic areas, connections to local and regional bushwalking trails and passive recreation spaces. Work has been underway on Westleigh Park for over five years, with millions of dollars already outlaid, contracts signed, and thousands of hours devoted to providing the community with these vital facilities.
Given the projected population growth in the NSROC region it is important that we continue to be guided by our NSROC strategies and studies which indicate that we will need to increase the capacity of sportsgrounds in the area by around 49% by 2036 (through a range of initiatives and new facilities) to cope with existing and future demands. The Westleigh Park project will be critical in working towards this outcome and as such Ku-ring-gai Council should supports Hornsby in its endeavours to retain state government grant funding to deliver regional sports facilities for the community to match profound anticipated population growth.
That Council:
A. Write to Hornsby Shire Council to express support for the Westleigh Park project given its significance in supporting the increased population in Northern Sydney; and
B. Write to the Premier for New South Wales, the Minister for Sport, the Minister for Local Government and the Minister for Planning to encourage them to maintain/extend their grant to Hornsby Shire Council to ensure the completion of the Westleigh Park project given its significance in supporting the increased population in Northern Sydney.
MM.4 Council spend on Grants, Sponsorships and Events 13
File: FY00275/16
This Mayoral Minute provides an eight-year summary of Council’s spend on Grants, Sponsorships and Events.
While each initiative provides a strategic benefit, every dollar allocated to these means a dollar less that could be allocated to core services such as footpaths, kerbs, guttering and stormwater upgrades.
I encourage Councillors to consider the trade-off when writing their NoMs and amendments. It will be helpful if motions are socialised, tested and refined with other councillors prior to being introduced on the floor of council.
Ordinary Grants & Sponsorships
Funded from Ordinary Rates, these are a combination of year-to-year and once-off initiatives.
There is a significant increase in the coming year, which may be ok if it is a once-off as we have had a higher-than-expected return on investment income in FY23/24.
|
Ordinary Grants & Sponsorships ($,000s) |
FY17/18 Actual |
FY18/19 Actual |
FY19/20 Actual |
FY20/21 Actual |
FY21/22 Actual |
FY22/23 Actual |
FY23/24 Forecast |
FY24/25 Budget |
|
Community Grants |
94 |
94 |
94 |
120 |
99 |
95 |
93 |
93 |
|
Heritage Home Grant |
14 |
30 |
24 |
50 |
79 |
87 |
55 |
56 |
|
Sponsorships (KPO, MSTYP, Other) |
129 |
118 |
125 |
45 |
114 |
85 |
80 |
80 |
|
Domestic Violence Support Grant |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
100 |
|
Emergency Relief Grants |
- |
- |
79 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
150 |
|
Total |
237 |
242 |
321 |
215 |
292 |
268 |
228 |
479 |
Environmental Grants
Funded from the Environmental Levy, these provide long-term benefits to our community.
|
Enviro Grants ($,000s) |
FY17/18 Actual |
FY18/19 Actual |
FY19/20 Actual |
FY20/21 Actual |
FY21/22 Actual |
FY22/23 Actual |
FY23/24 Forecast |
FY24/25 Budget |
|
Environmental Conservation Grant |
47 |
48 |
60 |
55 |
50 |
64 |
50 |
50 |
|
Net Zero Communities Grant |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
36 |
50 |
50 |
|
Total |
47 |
48 |
60 |
55 |
50 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
Events
Each year Ku-ring-gai runs events such as the Medieval Fair, Lunar New Year, Eco Festival, Australia Day Concert, Festival on the Green, Outdoor Cinema, Gai-Mariagal Festival, Heritage Festival, Arts & Culture Festival, Twilight Concert, ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day and Wear Orange Wednesday.
In recent years and for operational reasons, we have stopped the Medieval Fair and the Festival on the Green so our overall spend has dropped. In that context, the $50,000 proposed for the Multicultural Festival in NM3 does not sound unreasonable.
|
Net Cost of Events ($,000s) |
FY17/18 Actual |
FY18/19 Actual |
FY19/20 Actual |
FY20/21 Actual |
FY21/22 Actual |
FY22/23 Actual |
FY23/24 Forecast |
FY24/25 Budget |
|
Total |
365 |
589 |
384 |
159 |
162 |
211 |
345 |
311 |
That Council notes and receives this Mayoral Minute.
MM.5 Housing Policy Updates (June 2024) 15
File: S14427
This Mayoral Minute provides an update on local activity regarding the State Government’s housing policies since the Ordinary Meeting of 21 May.
Transport Oriented Development
As per the unanimous resolution from the Extraordinary Meeting on 08 May, Council remains on track to continue with legal proceedings in the NSW Land and Environment Court concerning the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Amendment to the Housing SEPP. As per the resolution Council staff are also identifying different scenarios to protect heritage conservation areas by re-distributing the residential density within each precinct, with scenarios to be consulted with the public later in the year.
I note that the legal action would not have been required had the NSW Government offered to Ku-ring-gai the deferred commencement that we had requested, and on the same terms that had been offered to 12 other councils. With the cost of inaction being far greater than the potential benefits of legal action, we reluctantly proceed under legal advice to protect our ratepayers’ financial interests.
As of 13 May, landowners have been able to lodge Development Applications within the TOD precincts, though none have been received as at 16 June.
There has also been significant landowner and developer activity in each precinct with properties listed for sale, options on properties being acquired, and expressions of interest being sought.
In particular, multiple owners of heritage listed items have sought council to reverse their heritage listings, however Council officers have stated that any delisting needs to be initiated by the landowners. It is noted that the current situation is not one that Council had initiated, rather, it was the NSW Government that had imposed these conditions on our residents. If the NSW Government had provided to Council the deferred commencement that we had requested, then our residents would not be going through the current experience.
Housing Targets
Under the National Housing Accord, NSW seeks to build 377,000 well-located homes in the five-year period between 01 July 2024 and 30 June 2029.
On 29 May, the NSW Government provided 5-year housing targets for 43 Local Government Areas, with Ku-ring-gai’s share being 7,600 homes in five years. When asked by the media to comment, we said that while these targets are theoretically achievable with the State Government having imposed Transport Oriented Development and Low- and Mid-Rise Housing provisions on us, the real test comes as to whether there will be enough workers to sustain a level of construction output that exceeds what NSW has historically achieved.
The NSW Government did not, however, announce any longer term targets beyond five years. We note that other states like QLD have targets through to 2046 and VIC through to 2051, which enables them to properly plan for long term infrastructure.
There has also been public confusion over the NSW Government’s 15-year targets over the TOD precincts as compared to these 5-year targets for entire LGAs. These targets and policies are summarised in the image below.
Low- and Mid-Rise Provisions for the Housing SEPP
On 21 May, Council resolved unanimously as part of GB11 that Council:
B. Requests a 12-month deferral of the low- and mid-rise Housing SEPP from the department upon agreeing reasonable 5-year and 20-year new-dwelling targets as implied by the SEPP. The targets will form the basis of an update to its Local Environment Plan over 12 months with the intent to match state policy objectives while providing a superior and more environmentally sensitive outcome for future residents.
Council staff raised this request with the Department of Planning on the following day, 22 May, to which the Department provided no formal acknowledgement or response.
As a follow-up, the Mayor also wrote to the Planning Minister on 31 May (see Attachment 1) to request the 12-month deferral and 20-year targets, however his response on 04 June (see Attachment 2) failed to respond to or acknowledge this request.
Based on what is currently publicly available in the media, it is likely that the Low- and Mid-Rise Housing provisions will be introduced across all of NSW in June or July with no deferrals offered to any council.
To provide members of the public with more information on the Low- and Mid-Rise Housing changes, Council will be running five in-person and one online public forums in the coming weeks.
345 Pacific Highway Planning Proposal
On 22 May the Ku-ring-gai Local Planning Panel made its recommendation to Council, which will be considered at tonight’s meeting as part of GB11.
I understand that the Sydney North Planning Panel has and will also be considering this matter as part of a Rezoning Review, but as of 16 June its recommendation to the minister has yet to be published.
That Council notes and receives this Mayoral Minute.
