Central Coast Local Planning Panel: Council establishes panel and approve members
Here is the panel which will determine Das of significance across the Central Coast. Central Coast councillors are concerned they will be too removed from the community.
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The Central Coast Local Planning Panel has been established – with panel members revealed.
Central Coast councillors reluctantly voted to establish the panel this week, despite voicing numerous objections and describing the move as a "demotion".
The council has been ordered by the State Government to form the panel, which will determine contentious and unique DAs including any with more than 10 objections.
Councillors voted for chair and expert panel members recommended by the State Government and council staff, however when it came to the community members to sit on the panel, councillors threw out the recommendations and chose alternate members.
The Panel
Chair Donna Rygate
Planning and local government expert Donna Rygate will be the inaugural chair of the Central Coast Local Planning Panel.
Ms Rygate, from Canowindra in Central Western NSW, has extensive experience in local government, having been the Chief Executive of Local Government NSW.
Alternate Chairs – Jason Perica, Kara Krason
Mr Perica and Ms Krason are town planning experts with a thorough understanding of local issues, having served on the Joint Regional Planning Panel. They have extensive experience in both the public and private sectors.
Expert Panel Members
Gregory Flynn, Sue Francis, Stephen Leathley, Linda McClure, Grant Christmas, Garry Fielding
Community panel members
Antony Tuxworth (Gosford East), Lynette Hunt (Gosford West), Paul Dignam (Wyong), Scott McGrath (The Entrance) and David Kitson (Budgewoi).
Alternate community panel, members
Stephen Glen (Gosford East), Geoffrey Mitchell (Gosford West), Glenn Watts (Wyong), Mark Elsey (The Entrance) and Stephen Glen (Budgewoi).
Mayor Lisa Matthews said she was disappointed that councillors only had the opportunity to choose the community members on the panel, within a short time frame.
She said the introduction of the panel was a demotion for all councillors.
“Some councillors have made the comment that we are not planners,” she said.
“But we’re not supposed to be. Councillors are here to represent the community and we have been entrusted with that role for a long time. Community members have our mobile numbers and emails.
“There will be no mobile numbers provided for these panel members for the community to make contact. It’s going to make it tricky for those community members that have concerns about a certain DA."
Councillor Richard Mehrtens described Monday’s meeting as a “terrible terrible night for us tonight that we are sitting here having to debate our own demotion”.
“To strip local government of development approvalsis the next death in terms of de-powering local governments.”
He said he disagreed with putting DAs in the hands of a Chair who is not a local and “doesn’t necessarily know our community” along with expert members who are planners or developers.
Councillors voted for a report to come back on the panel after the first year of operation.
“I will be asking how many members of the community were involved in the process and how many objections were received,” Cr Matthews said.
“We are trying to show the community that we are going to do our best to get as much information as possible.”