Late Items Agenda of Council - Monday, 13 July 2020

NOTICE OF Council MEETING

SUPPLEMENTARY AGENDA B

An Ordinary Meeting of City of Parramatta Council will be held in the Cloister Function Rooms, St Patrick's Cathedral, 1 Marist Place, Parramatta on Monday, 13 July 2020 at 6.30pm.

Brett Newman

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Council 13 July 2020 Item 9.1

MINUTE OF THE LORD MAYOR

ITEM NUMBER 9.1

SUBJECT Condolence Motion - John Adams

REFERENCE F2019/03630 - D07533513

REPORT OF Lord Mayor, Councillor Bob Dwyer

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this Minute is to recognise the passing of John Adams, and show our respects for his commitment to the local community.

Recommendation:

(a) That Council acknowledge the passing of John Adams, offering our condolences to his family and friends; and

(b) Further, that the Chamber hold a minutes silence as a gesture of respect on his passing and in recognition of his dedication to the Parramatta community.

BACKGROUND

1. John Francis Adams, husband of Elizabeth and father to Peter and John, passed away on 24 June 2020, with his funeral held on Thursday 2 July 2020 at Pinegrove Memorial Park.

2. Mr Adams was a former Parramatta City Council officer, whose commitment to the Parramatta area continued following his retirement. He was an active member of the community, regularly attending Council meetings, community events and community consultation sessions.

3. He was also a keen local historian, becoming an almost daily visitor to the Local Studies/Family History Library at Council’s Heritage and Visitor Information Centre. He was always happy to share his considerable local knowledge of Parramatta, particularly related to the great outdoors, trucks, the speedway and memories of Council’s depot staff.

4. Mr Adams was well known in the local area, and regarded as hard-working, respected and community-focused. The local community will miss Mr Adams passion, knowledge and insight, and his willingness to share this with people from all generations.

5. Council offers its condolences to John Adams’ family and friends, and holds a minutes silence in the Chamber as a gesture of respect.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATION FOR COUNCIL

6. There are no new financial implications for Council as a result of this Lord Mayor Minute.

Councillor Bob Dwyer

Lord Mayor

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Council 13 July 2020 Item 9.2

MINUTE OF THE LORD MAYOR

ITEM NUMBER 9.2

SUBJECT Westmead Traffic Congestion

REFERENCE F2019/03630 - D07533529

REPORT OF Lord Mayor, Councillor Bob Dwyer

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this Lord Mayor Minute is to update the Chamber on actions taken following the 9 June 2020 Lord Mayor Minute on Westmead Traffic Congestion, and to seek further advocacy on these issues.

Recommendation:

(a) That Council note the update included in this Minute on the actions taken following the 9 June 2020 Council Resolution on Westmead Traffic Congestion, which includes;

a. Correspondence to the relevant NSW Government Ministers and local Member of Parliament on the need for greater co-operation and action to resolve congestion and accessibility in the entire Westmead Precinct;

b. Correspondence to the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Parramatta, regarding the pedestrian safety concerns on Darcy Road; and

c. Initial observations of Traffic and Transport Services site inspections in the Westmead Precinct.

(b) That Council write to Cumberland City Council requesting it investigate the following items:

a. Part time or full time ‘No Right Turn’ restriction in the southbound direction from Hawkesbury Road into Alexandra Avenue, to allow an increase in time allocated to northbound traffic;

b. Allowing two straight ahead eastbound lanes in Alexandra Avenue, with changes to the bus only lane on the departure side of the intersection, to allow more time to be allocated to northbound traffic; and

c. Including the concerns about delays in Hawkesbury Road in its dealings with Transport for NSW in regards to construction of the Sydney West Metro and the final design of the street network for Westmead.

(c) That Council write to Transport for NSW requesting they review the traffic signal timing and coordination in Darcy Road at Farm House Road, and in Hawkesbury Road between Alexandra Avenue and Darcy Road.

(d) Further, that Council note investigations by Council’s Traffic and Transport Services into this Precinct continue.

BACKGROUND

1. At the Council Meeting of 9 June 2020, Council noted the current unsatisfactory traffic congestion and accessibility issues in the Westmead Health and Education Precinct, and resolved to write to the relevant Ministers on the need for urgent co-operation and action to address these issues, and prioritise access to and through Westmead.

2. At that time, Council also resolved to investigate pedestrian safety improvements along Darcy Road, from Hawkesbury Road to Mons Road, following reports of local school children walking on the roadway.

3. Following these resolutions, Council has written to the relevant NSW Government Ministers and the local Member for Seven Hills regarding the need for increased co-operation on Westmead Precinct traffic and accessibility issues.

4. As a result of the Lord Mayoral Minute and Council resolution, Council’s Traffic and Transport Service Unit have also conducted a number of site inspections within the area. The inspections highlighted the following problems within Westmead that should be considered by any major re-development or infrastructure planning:

a. Eastbound traffic on Darcy Road queuing back from the single lane roundabout at Railway Street into Cumberland Highway

b. Eastbound traffic on Darcy Road overflowing the right turn bay into Bridge Road and queueing back to the 2 lane roundabout at Briens Road

c. Eastbound traffic on Darcy Road overflowing the right turn bay into the Catholic Education Precinct and queueing back past Bridge Road

d. Westbound traffic on Darcy Road queuing back from Cumberland Highway

e. Northbound direction delays on Hawkesbury Road

5. Regarding the northbound direction delays on Hawkesbury Road, the site inspections also identified affected areas in the Cumberland City Council local government area.

6. In the long term, these delays should be addressed by the construction of the Sydney Metro West, however short term options should be investigated to improve traffic flow in the northbound direction.

7. This Minute proposes that Council write to Cumberland City Council regarding the following options, requesting that they investigate these as measures to increase capacity in the local network:

a. Part time or full time ‘No Right Turn’ restriction in the southbound direction from Hawkesbury Road into Alexandra Avenue, to allow an increase in time allocated to northbound traffic;

8. This Minute also proposes that as a result of initial observations in the Precinct by Council officers, City of Parramatta Council write to Transport for NSW requesting they review the traffic signal timing and coordination in Darcy Road at Farm House Road, and in Hawkesbury Road between Alexandra Avenue and Darcy Road.

9. Council’s Traffic and Transport Service Unit have also contacted the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Parramatta, regarding the pedestrian safety concerns on Darcy Road, to pursue behavioural solutions that can be implemented in the short term and to advise them of their observations during the recent site inspections in the area. Following this consultation and further consideration of the issues, a report will be prepared and submitted to Council’s Traffic Engineering Advisory Group (TEAG) to determine what safety measures could assist in increasing pedestrian safety at this location.

10. Council’s Traffic and Transport Services Unit’s investigations into this Precinct, and potential improvement measures continue.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATION FOR COUNCIL

11. There are no new financial implications for Council as result of this Minute. Any financial implications for Council that may be as a result on any measures proposed for implementation will be subject to Council’s existing review processes for identifying and funding projects.

Councillor Bob Dwyer

Lord Mayor

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Council 13 July 2020 Item 10.1

PUBLIC FORUM

ITEM NUMBER 10.1

SUBJECT PUBLIC FORUM: Item 12.1 - Rescission Motion - Gateway Request Planning Proposal at 8-14 Great Western Highway, Parramatta

REFERENCE RZ/6/2019 -

FROM Jim Castagnet

Dear Lord Mayor & Councillors,

Thank you for the opportunity to address Council. My name is Jim Castagnet. My company lodged a Planning Proposal in August 2019, consistent with the outcomes to be implemented for the broader CBD Planning Proposal.

We were disappointed with Council’s decision on 9th June to defer consideration of the Planning Proposal to investigate expanding the B3 Commercial Core Zone into this area. We note that:

· The B4 Zone has been flagged for many years and after much time and money spent on studies, it was recommended by Council to the Gateway, who issued their approval in December 2018

· The site and associated street block are well removed from the current B3 zone and hence would require the entire CBD planning proposal to be revisited.

· The area is substantively developed for strata apartments, hence not readily developable for commercial use.

· The B4 zoning provides both commercial and residential development in support of the B3 Zone and needed to activate the city after hours and on weekends.

· The B4 mixed use zone is essential to support a thriving core, including providing homes for workers close to work

· An expanded B3 zone is not needed to meet Council’s jobs and commercial floor space targets

Council identified the site as an “opportunity site” in its CBD Planning Proposal. This would have required specific consideration of its future development to fit contextually in its environment.

The built form is lower in height than the adjoining Gateway Building on the corner of Great Western Highway and Church Street. The Council Heritage Officer has concluded that the heritage sites to the North are unaffected and noted that there will be ample opportunities to further scrutinise the development during Public Exhibition, Design Competition and DA process.

Parramatta has been heavily promoted as Sydney’s second CBD and businesses have been encouraged to invest in this once in a lifetime opportunity to grow Parramatta both culturally and economically, thereby creating jobs for the growing population away from the old city.

In turn, the Council seeks to fund a range of infrastructure improvements to make Parramatta a great place to live.

Significant contributions are provided by these Opportunity Sites as per Council’s Value Sharing strategy. Value Sharing is based on residential gross floor area not B3 commercial gross floor area.

Our Planning Proposal has been prepared in good faith and we have worked tirelessly with Council to ensure our proposal fits the site’s B4 context based on the precinct wide planning proposal endorsed by Gateway in December 2018. Significant resources have been invested based on this.

B3 for the subject site represents a significant shifting of the goal posts which will impact on investment stability, Council’s reputation as a place to do business and its primary aim of attracting employment floor space in the CBD.

The Planning Proposal for GWH has been recommended by Council Staff and the Local Planning Panel and it will deliver significant community benefits. We respectfully ask that Councillors adopt their recommendation and progress the Planning Proposal to Gateway.

STAFF RESPONSE

No staff response was provided to this public forum.

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.