Community land could stop swap

LISMORE City Council last month approved a potentially illegal land swap with a private company that will see the city lose 11 car spaces from Hensley carpark.

LISMORE City Council last month approved a potentially illegal land swap with a private company that will see the city lose 11 car spaces from Hensley carpark.

Councillors at last month’s meeting endorsed the principle of the land swap with Clarence Properties in lieu of buying the company’s garages in Glasgow Lane to allow for the repair of the city’s levy.

However, The Northern Star has since discovered that the council-owned land to be swapped at 23 Glasgow Lane is zoned “community”, not the required “operational” to allow the swap to legally proceed.

While the existing zoning of the land is not mentioned in the council business papers prepared by staff, senior staff is aware of its current status.

Still, the staff-proposed motion delegated the general manager to “finalise” negotiations and report back to councillors.

Under Department of Local Government’s strictly enforced guidelines, community land can only be rezoned operational as part of a new LEP and must be accompanied by a 28-day per-iod of public consultation.

Alerted to the problem by this newspaper, councillor and former deputy mayor Vanessa Ekins yesterday confirmed information of the land’s current zoning was withheld from elected councillors.

“I am horrified to think there is significant information that has not been provided,” she said.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that important information hasn’t been included (in the council’s business papers).”

Another councillor, who didn’t want to be named, expressed surprise when told of the conflicting zoning.

The council is proposing to rezone the parcel of land to operational under its draft LEP, but this document is a long way from being approved or gazetted by the State Government and can not be used retrospectively.

Lismore City Council did not respond to questions about why councillors and the public were not informed about the zoning.

A Lismore Community Action Network spokesperson asked: “How can the councillors make good informed decisions for the benefit of the community if they are kept in the dark?”

The land swap was presented to councillors as a solution to the financial impost of acquiring 39 Glasgow Lane from Clarence Properties after a report into repairing Lismore’s damaged levy recommended extensive battering of the river bank near the company’s garages.

Originally published as Community land could stop swap