Marion Council votes in favour of exploring boundary changes to expand into Onkaparinga
Marion Council has voted in favour of a motion by Mayor Kris Hanna to begin the process of altering council boundaries in the south.
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Marion Council has voted in favour of exploring boundary changes to expand its footprint into Onkaparinga.
Councillors at last night’s meeting approved a motion by Mayor Kris Hanna to begin the process of altering council boundaries in the southern hills.
It says Happy Valley, Aberfoyle Park, Flagstaff Hill and O’Halloran Hill could become part of Marion.
Such a move would affect more than 20,000 people.
Darlington, excluding the area east of Flagstaff Rd, north of Bonneyview Rd and northwest of the Flagstaff Hill open space zone, would also be included under the plan
In addition, the mayor believes the northern side of Flagstaff Rd could be moved out of Onkaparinga’s control and shifted into either the Marion or Mitcham Council zone.
Mr Hanna said there was anecdotal evidence that many residents in the affected suburbs felt a greater connection to Marion, where they shopped and used community facilities, rather than Onkaparinga.
The council will now write to Onkaparinga Council, Mitcham Council and Adelaide Hills Council giving notice of its intention to submit a proposal to the Local Government Boundaries Commission.
Council staff will also prepare a report analysing the impact of incorporating thousands of extra residents into Marion and determining the cost of community consultation.
Marion councillor Matthew Shilling said 68 per cent of the 730 people who took part in a poll on his Facebook page over the weekend were in favour of the proposed boundary changes.
Based on last year’s Onkaparinga figures, an owner of a $500,000 home would save $327 in annual rates if they had been living in Marion this year, he said.
“The consensus on social media is that people want this to happen and they are open to it,” Cr Shilling said.
“This motion would allow us to further discuss any other alignments in the future.”
The issue of boundary changes in the southern hills was raised earlier this year by Onkaparinga councillors Marion Themeliotis and Geoff Eaton, who represent the region.
Cr Eaton said they had identified the same issues as Mr Hanna.
“We need to have a review of the boundaries to ensure the needs of the communities are identified,” Cr Eaton said.
Cr Themeliotis said that boundary changes needed to be a “community-led approach”.
“I look forward to discussing this with the residents of Flagstaff Hill, Aberfoyle Park, Happy Valley and my fellow councillors,” Cr Themeliotis said.
“Importantly, this is early stages — no changes will occur without proper process and consultation with residents taking place.”
The process for reforming council boundaries was simplified in 2017 to allow requests to be initiated by one council, a prescribed percentage or number of eligible electors, or the Local Government Minister.
The minister would have the final say on any changes.
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