UPDATE:4.35pm:
Shire mayor Steve Simpson said the council had been enthusiastic to achieve its vision for the LEP. ''We now need to sit down and work out what parts of the LEP can proceed.”
“We’re pleased with the independent review findings and the direction set by the Minister. They indicate that our LEP is fundamentally sound. A large number of the Independent recommendations support the approach of taken by the council in the most recent exhibited LEP. There are a few areas we need to revisit but they’re confined to individual issues or specific sites.''
He said the the council had already addressed the main two recommendations of the independent review.
These are that mayoral minutes are no longer used in the place of Planning Reports and in the DA assessment process, the council is relying primarily on LEP 2006 and giving little weight to the Draft LEP 2013.
‘‘This will not change until the LEP 2013 is in place,’’ Cr Simpson said.
UPDATE 3pm:
Former mayor Kent Johns has blamed council officers for giving him ‘‘flawed’’ advice on matters, which were criticised in the independent report into the Sutherland Shire draft LEP.
The report said mayoral minutes were not an appropriate substitute for planning reports, and councils should not treat a draft LEP as ‘‘imminent and certain’’ until after submissions had been considered and it was ready to be issued.
Cr Johns said he accepted the criticism.
“The decisions to use mayoral minutes was based on advice from council’s then director of environmental services [John Brunton],’’ he said.
‘‘Further, the advice to treat the draft LEP as certain and imminent was also given by council officers.”
‘‘Clearly the advice I relied upon at the time was flawed.
‘‘Council has since amended its policies to ensure this will not occur again.”
‘‘The most important thing now is that the council move ahead with a new draft LEP as quickly as possible, so that ratepayers can plan for their future with certainty.’’
Cr Johns said the report confirmed the draft LEP had the right balance, and the claim it would lead to massive overdevelopment had been ‘‘shown to be a lie’’.
Earlier story:
An independent report on the Sutherland Shire draft local environmental plan (LEP) has supported the ‘‘thrust’’ of the document, while recommending many changes.
A total of 92 recommendations were made in the report, which was posted on the council’s website this morning.
The report said there was ‘‘nothing fundamentally wrong’’ with most of the individual provisions of draft LEP1 and LEP2, and only a ‘‘relatively small’’ number of significant changes in Cr Kent Johns’s controversial mayoral minute required ‘‘revisiting’’.
However, the panel also said the council had ‘‘underestimated the potential cumulative impact of the draft LEP’’.
‘‘These potential impacts have been carefully and thoughtfully documented by submitters to this panel.
‘‘They make instructive reading.
‘‘The panel’s recommendations, therefore, include not only comment on the specific provisions of the mayoral minute, but also proposals to address the range of issues about which residents have expressed concern.
‘‘Underpinning these recommendations is the need to address the governance issues which have undermined community confidence in the plan and the council.’’
The report said if the council accepted recommended changes, a new draft, LEP3, would need to be prepared and put on public exhibition.
The council said it would consider the findings and determine how the draft LEP would proceed.
Findings included:
THE PROCESS
Mayoral minutes are not an appropriate substitute for planning reports.
Councils should not treat a draft LEP as ‘‘imminent and certain’’ until that draft is just about to be made.
HOUSING TARGETS
The report said the level of rezoning to meet the existing housing targets for the shire was ‘‘appropriate’’.
However, given projected population increases in 2013 statistics, it was likely the targets [set by the state government] would be increased.
‘‘This may require the council to revisit its decision to limit development around the centres and railway stations of Engadine, Jannali and Woolooware, and to reconsider the potential for greater development in and around Sutherland Centre.’’
BUILDING HEIGHTS
The report said a proposed nine metre height limit in low density housing zones, which critics said had the potential to create three storey homes across the shire, should be lowered to 8.5 metres, except at Greenhills Beach where a 9 metres height was originally allowed.
BUILDING RATIOS
The report said floor space ratios in LEP1 and LEP2 should be retained,
Landscape area controls in environmental zones E3 and E4 should be increased, but no change should be made in other zones.
BUILDING CONTROLS
The report said a revised Sutherland Development Control Plan should come into force at the same time as the LEP to address matters including solar access, overlooking, privacy, setbacks to address bulk and scale of buildings, water sensitive urban design and view sharing.
WATERWAYS
The report said the shire ‘‘owes much of its unique character to its waterways’’, and the council should ‘‘reconsider its earlier position and find a better compromise between its desire to ease the way for waterways development, while still preserving the original objectives of the waterways zoning’’.
Several changes were recommended, some of which would revert to what was proposed in LEP1.
TRAFFIC
The council needed to develop a strategic approach to addressing traffic congestion and ‘‘given the level of community concern about this issue, this strategy should be developed with a high level of community engagement’’.
PARKING
‘‘Council will need to give fresh consideration to the ways which other local government authorities across Sydney deal with parking problems, such as parking meters, other timed parking and restricted resident parking permits,’’ the report said.
What do you think of the panel’s findings?