Councillors asked to delay decision on City Plan changes after wave of last-minute objections

Councillors are being asked to extend a decision on crucial City Plan changes to next year after a wave of last-minute objections from residents.

COUNCILLORS are being asked to extend a decision on crucial City Plan changes to next year after a wave of last minute objections from residents.

Community Alliance president John Hicks, speaking on behalf of up to 15 Coast-based groups, has written to all councillors after becoming aware that the council received at least 1500 submissions, up from 78 in the previous round of consultation.

Packed community halls at Palm Beach and Labrador in the past two months have delivered a strong message to City Hall about the strength of the resident protest against the tourist strip becoming a “Gotham City by the Sea”.

More than 200 members of Palm Beach community packed the Share and Care Centre for a meeting regarding City Plan changes. Picture; Glenn Hampson.

Mr Hicks in his letter said he understood planning officers were working overtime to process a large number of submissions and prepare a report for council.

“The Community Alliance is concerned that the sheer number of submissions, the high detail and complexity of some, and the tight time frame imposed on council officers may result in a less than thorough consideration of all submissions,” he said.

Mr Hicks said he understood the report by planning officers must be completed prior to December 4 at a planning committee meeting so recommendations could be brought forward to the full Council meeting two days later.

“In considering this timetable and the challenges the planning officers have in meeting the deadline the Community Alliance contends it is unrealistic to expect councillors to read, digest and come to an informed decision in regard to the hundreds of recommendations made across the 34 amendments’ items, particularly the contentious ones,” he said.

“Additionally, there is clearly insufficient time for councillors to seek further input from community members and submitters to better inform how councillors respond to the planning officers’ recommendations.”

Palm Beach high rise development. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

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Mr Hicks said it would be a challenge for councillors not on the planning committee to make recommendations, having not been part of a presentation or debate.

“The council must decide on an extended time frame to fully understand, deliberate, debate and properly decide how it should proceed to the next stage,” he said.

“A figure of up to 1500 submissions is a clear indication that many in the community are unhappy with the proposed amendments and a lot of work needs to be done to remedy the deficiencies the community has identified. The high number of residents who attended the three community forums on City Plan amendments is a further affirmation of the level of community concern.”

President of ACE Community Alliance, John Hicks, speaking at the Palm Beach meeting. Picture:Glenn Hampson.

Mr Hicks said council went into recess on December 6 and it was in the interests of full accountability that the report was considered in January when the council meeting cycle resumes.

“To do otherwise and rush these crucial decisions through by December 4-6 would make a mockery of the public consultation process and the high level of community input. It would also seem to be contrary to the Local Government Act requirements for proper and ethical decision-making,” he said