MINUTES OF THE Local Planning Panel  HELD VIA ELECTRONIC MEANS ON Tuesday,  29 September 2020 AT 3.30pm

PRESENT

Mary-Lynne Taylor in the Chair, Deborah Sutherland, Lindsay Fletcher and Warrick McLean

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO TRADITIONAL LAND OWNERS

The Chairperson, acknowledged the Burramattagal Clan of The Darug, the traditional land owners of Parramatta and paid respect to the elders both past and present.

WEBCASTING ANNOUNCEMENT

The Chairperson advised that this public meeting is being recorded. The recording will be archived and made available on Council’s website.

APOLOGIES

There were no apologies made to this Local Planning Panel.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest made to this Local Planning Panel.

Innovative

5.1	SUBJECT         PUBLIC MEETING: Gateway Request: Planning Proposal for land at 112 Wharf Road, 30 & 32 Waratah Street, Melrose Park and 82 Hughes Avenue, Ermington REFERENCE   RZ/1/2020 – REPROT OF    Senior Project Officer Land Use Planning
	The Panel considered the matter listed at Item 5.1, attachments to Item 5.1and the matters observed at the site inspection
	PUBLIC FORUM - Ian Connolly, David Furlong, Anthony Kazacos and Kevin Nassif were available to answer questions on behalf of the applicant.
2110	DETERMINATION That the Local Planning Panel recommend to Council: (a)     That Council endorse for the purposes of seeking a Gateway Determination from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE), the Planning Proposal for land at 112 Wharf Road, 30 Waratah Street and 32 Waratah Street, Melrose Park and 82 Hughes Avenue, Ermington which seeks to amend Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2011 (PLEP 2011) by: 1.      Rezoning 112 Wharf Road, 32 Waratah Street and 82 Hughes Avenue from IN1 General Industrial to part R4 High Density Residential and part RE1 Public Recreation. 2.      Rezoning 30 Waratah Street from IN1 General Industrial to RE1 Public Recreation. 3.      Amending the maximum building height from 12m to a combination of 34m, 45m and 77m (approximately 8, 12 and 22 storeys respectively). 4.      Amending the Floor Space Ratio (FSR) on the East site from 1:1 to 1.66:1. 5.      Amending the FSR on the West site from 1:1 to 1.79:1. 6.      Inserting a site-specific provision in Part 6 Additional local provisions – generally of PLEP 2011 and amending the Additional Local Provisions map to include the land to ensure: 6. 1   That design excellence provisions be applicable to buildings of 55m and above in height without the provision of bonuses. 6.2    A minimum of 1,000m^2 of non-residential floor space is to be provided within the site to serve the local retail and commercial needs of the incoming population. 7.      Amending the Land Reservation Acquisition map to reflect areas of open space to be dedicated to Council. 8. Inserting provisions into PLEP 2011 to ensure that the number of dwellings   approved at the development application stage aligns with the delivery of the required infrastructure as identified by Council and in the TMAP as per the implementation plans endorsed by Council on 12 August 2019. 9.      Amending Schedule 1 Additional Permitted Uses to permit ‘food and drink premises’ in the R4 High Density Residential zone. (b)     That the Planning Proposal be forwarded to the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) for Gateway determination. (c)     That a site-specific Development Control Plan (DCP) be prepared and reported to Council prior to formal exhibition of the Planning Proposal. (d)    That Council delegates authority to the CEO to commence negotiations to enter into a planning agreement with the applicant in relation to infrastructure provision required to support the proposal and that any planning agreement entered into is: 1.      in addition to developer contributions payable; and 2.      reported to Council prior to public exhibition. (e)    That the site-specific DCP and Planning Agreement be publicly exhibited concurrently with the Planning Proposal should Gateway determination be issued. (f)     That Council advises the DPIE that the CEO will be not be seeking to exercise its plan-making delegations for this Planning Proposal, as authorised by Council on 26 November 2012. (g)    Further, that Council delegates authority to the CEO to correct any minor anomalies of a non-policy and administrative nature that arise during the plan-making process. The Panel decision was unanimous.
	REASONS FOR DECISION The Panel supports the findings in the report and endorsed the reasons contained in that report.

5.2	SUBJECT          PUBLIC MEETING: Gateway Request: Planning Proposal - Increasing Commercial Floorspace in the Epping Town Centre REFERENCE   F2018/03032 -  REPORT OF     Team Leader Land Use Planning
	The Panel considered the matter listed at Item 5.2, attachments to Item 5.2 and the matters observed at the site inspection
	PUBLIC FORUM - Margaret McCartney speaking against the proposal. - Mike Moffatt speaking against the proposal.
	All the members of this Panel are aware of the extent and nature of development that has occurred in and around the  Epping Town Centre  for many years and as a result, the Panel understands the need now for intervention  by the council as planning authority to reverse what is considered by most, including the members of the Civic Trust  who addressed the Panel, to have brought about an unfortunate and serious loss of commercial space in the Town Centre.  This has led to the Centre now having the characteristics  of a dormitory suburb only, rather than a thriving commercial community with jobs and other employment opportunities otherwise well served by public transport.  The report  explains that even local existing businesses are struggling to retain their premises especially if leased.  Meaningful long term commercial leases are now rare in the centre that once was a busy town centre. The Panel is persuaded by the report of the council’s strategic planning team, and the studies that have been carried out, that the strong measures contained in the Planning Proposal are necessary at this time.  It is understood  that this will result in greater stress on traffic congestion, taller buildings are likely to occur to encourage the building owner/developer away from the more lucrative residential market,  and that there may be subsequent  effects on  sun loss and wind impact – needing careful scrutiny  in assessing those future applications at development approval stage.  The Panel notes and supports the requirement  for Design Excellence still to be achieved under this Proposal.  Whilst the Panel agrees, nevertheless, to recommend to Council the adoption of Option 3 of the report, it has comments and other recommendations for Council’s consideration, as follows:
2111	DETERMINATION That the Local Planning Panel recommend to Council: (a) That Council delegate authority to the Chief Executive Officer to prepare a planning proposal which seeks the following amendments to Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2011 and Hornsby Local Environmental Plan 2013 applying to all land in the B2 Local Centre zone in the Epping Town Centre with the exception of 6 - 14 and 18A Bridge Street and 24-30 High Street relating to Option 3 detailed in this report that: i.        Introduces a new clause which will limit the ground, first and second floors of any building facing a street to non-residential uses only and ensure a change of use proposed on these levels would not allow residential uses. An exception will be applied to that part of a building that faces a service lane or is required for entrances and lobbies, access for fire services or vehicular access associated with residential accommodation. ii.       Amends the maximum floor space ratio (FSR) and height of buildings to accommodate additional non-residential uses. (b) That the Chief Executive Officer forwards the Planning Proposal to the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) to request the issuing of a Gateway Determination on behalf of Council. (c) That Council delegate authority to the Chief Executive Officer to prepare amendments to the relevant sections of the Parramatta Development Control Plan 2011 and Hornsby Development Control Plan 2013 to support the Planning Proposal relating to the following design controls, and place these on public exhibition with the Planning Proposal: i.        podium height controls; ii.       minimum floorplate dimensions; iii.      floor to ceiling heights for non-residential uses; iv.      location of services; and v.       building and podium setback controls. (d) That Council officers investigate the feasibility of imposing a savings provision clause to set a date by which development that does not achieve the required non-residential floor space will no longer be permitted – to ensure that there will not be a rush by developers to land bank or  lodge holding applications to avoid the effects of the  proposal; (e) That the Panel believes a more equitable solution to the amount of additional floor space awarded as bonus should be restricted to not more than 0.5:1 – and if so notes it would bring about some lowering of achievable maximum heights .in some areas of the centre, thereby reducing potential overshadowing and other potential environmental impacts. In this regard, the Panel is advised limiting the additional FSR  maximum to 0.5:1 would not compromise the desired outcome of re-establishing a viable commercial base in the centre.  (f) That a thorough Review of the proposed changes and their effectiveness should be a commitment written into this Proposal – to be undertaken at, say, no later than 3 years from the  commencement of the amended LEP. (g) That Council undertake a campaign to advocate use of Public Transport in and to the Town Centre and to help find new ways to encourage its use over the private car. (h) That Council advises the DPIE that the Chief Executive Officer will be exercising the plan-making delegations for this Planning Proposal as authorised by Council on 26 November 2012. (i) Further, that Council delegate authority to the Chief Executive Officer to correct any minor anomalies of a non-policy and administrative nature that may arise during the plan-making process. The Panel decision was unanimous.
	REASONS FOR DECISION With the additional recommendations in points (d) to (g) in mind, the Panel will unanimously support the recommendations in the Council report, finding that the proposal has strategic merit and will deal with site specific merit through its specific Development Control Plan and Design Excellence requirements, and otherwise complies with the relevant legislation.

The meeting terminated at 4.19pm.

Chairperson