Q. What is this all about and how does it affect me?
A. The GLC tells us that every ratepayer in the shire is affected by these draft plans.But only you can decide the effects for yourself.
To quote from the GLC's website:
"Great Lakes Council has developed two new Council-wide planning documents to guide development throughout the Great Lakes and will undertake extensive community consultation during a public exhibition period from Thursday 14 June until Friday 24 August 2012.
Draft Great Lakes Local Environmental Plan 2012 (Draft LEP 2012) and Draft Great Lakes Development Control Plan 2012 (Draft DCP 2012) have been prepared as a requirement of the NSW Government's Planning Reform Program, and will replace Council's two existing LEPs and 34 existing DCPs.
The NSW Government is aiming to standardise planning controls wherever possible, to provide consistent planning rules across NSW.
"These Draft Plans affect every property in the Great Lakes Local Government area, so it's important for land owners and residents to be aware of how these changes may affect them" said Council's Senior Strategic Planner, Ms Alexandra Macvean.
While Draft Great Lakes Local Environmental Plan 2012 (Draft LEP 2012) identifies 'what' is permissible within each zone, the Development Control Plan (DCP) gives additional guidelines on 'how' that development is to occur.
The Draft Plans also provide necessary measures to protect the environment.Council has allowed for a 10 week exhibition period and will hold scheduled Open Days across the Great Lakes for members of the public to ask specific questions of planning staff relating to the Draft Plans.I would recommend that everyone takes time to read through the details on the GLC's website (see http://www.greatlakes.nsw.gov.au/Hot_Topics_Directory/Draft_LEP_2012_and_Draft_DCP_2012 ) and tries to attend one of the open days to clarify issues of concern.
A couple of possible issues that I have picked up on from the Draft LEP are:
- It proposes the introduction of new zoning for the waterways along the shores of North Arm Cove. There are three categories of choice as defined by the State Dept of Planning's water zoning policy - W1 for Natural Waterways, W2 for Recreational Waterways and W3 for Working Waterways . Our Council in the Draft LEP has elected to zone our waterways as W1. W1, unlike W2 does not include recreational boating in its base objectives, although the GLC will permit a number of boating recreational activities "with consent". The question is, "Why did the council opt for W1 instead of the more obvious W2?"
- The LEP also makes predictions for rising sea levels and inundation for our waterfronts with its Flood Planning maps. These would appear on a cursory inspection to be based on the premise of a 3m rise in sea levels by the end of the century. This is way in excess of scientific predictions of a 0.9m rise in Port Stephens by 2100. We'll all be long gone by then, so it shouldn't affect us, unless of course we are waterfront owners intending to sell or insure our properties. In this event, we might just be given a very wide berth by anyone (risk assessor or buyer) who refers to these maps!
There are almost certainly other issues which we should be questioning - the plans are quite lengthy and far-reaching. Please look for yourselves and make a submission if you have concerns. I am interested to collate our concerns and responses if you are happy to send them to me at tonyhann@comcen.com.au.
Tony Hann
