NOTICE OF Extraordinary Council  MEETING

PUBLIC SUPPLEMENTARY

AGENDA - A

 

An Extraordinary Council Meeting of City of Parramatta Council will be held in the Cloister Function Rooms, St Patrick's Cathedral, 1 Marist Place, Parramatta on Monday, 21 March 2022 at 6:30pm.

 

 

 

 

 

Brett Newman

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Extraordinary Council                                                                                21 March 2022

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ITEM                                                         SUBJECT                                               PAGE NO

 

 

12      For Council Decision

12.3           LATE REPORT: Pre-exhibition - Planning Proposal, draft Development Control Plan and draft Planning Agreement for 195 Church Street, 65-79 Macquarie Street, 38 and 45 Hunter Street, Parramatta (St John's Anglican Church) (Deferred Item)........................................................................... 3

13      Notices of Motion

13.1           CBD Planning Proposal and DPE’s GML Heritage Report Concerns 110

13.2           CBD Planning Proposal Concerns Regarding Infrastructure Funding, Flooding and Design............................................................................ 112

 

 

 


Extraordinary Council 21 March 2022                                                                                Item 12.3

 

FOR COUNCIL DECISION

ITEM NUMBER         12.3

SUBJECT                  LATE REPORT: Pre-exhibition - Planning Proposal, draft Development Control Plan and draft Planning Agreement for 195 Church Street, 65-79 Macquarie Street, 38 and 45 Hunter Street, Parramatta (St John's Anglican Church) (Deferred Item)

REFERENCE            RZ/5/2018 - D08426967

APPLICANT/S           Jattca Pty Ltd

OWNERS                    St John's Parramatta Endownment Fund

REPORT OF              Team Leader –Land Use Planning

 

csp theme:             INNOVATIVE

 

Development applications considered by Sydney central city planning panel     Nil

 

PURPOSE

 

To seek Council’s endorsement to publicly exhibit a draft site-specific Development Control Plan and draft Planning Agreement for land at 195 Church Street, 65-79 Macquarie Street, 38 and 45 Hunter Street, Parramatta (St John's Anglican Church), in conjunction with the Planning Proposal previously endorsed by Council. The three documents together are referred to as the Planning Scheme.  

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

(a)     That Council accept the draft terms in the ‘Terms Sheet of Public Benefits’ dated 11 March 2022 as provided at Attachment 1 for inclusion in the draft Planning Agreement for the St John’s Anglican Church, that offers the following public benefits:

i.   Licence in perpetuity for public access to the open space surrounding the Cathedral subject to the St Johns Church maintaining the right to limit some uses on this land.

ii.  Stratum dedication of land to enable laneway between 181 Church Street site and Marsden Street

iii. Temporary vehicle access for 181 Church Street site to access Hunter Street for 10 years or until the new laneway described in part ii above is available.

iv. Embellishment of the following land to create a civic space:

·   Church land between the Cathedral building and Hunter Street

·   Portion of road in front of 45 Hunter Street to be closed and included in the civic space but remain in Council ownership

v.  Church to bear the maintenance and liability for the civic space site (including the Council owned portion) in perpetuity. 

vi. Compensation of $1.1 million for the reduction in public benefit lost due to the driveway arrangements restricting the size of the civic space and eliminating the previously proposed laneway.

vii.  Compensation of $3.5 million to recognise Council’s risk from not having the public access recognised on the land title and accepting limitations outlined in the Church’s Social Covenant and related to the Church’s operational use of the land.  

 

(b)     That Council delegate authority to the CEO to:

i.        negotiate and finalise the legal drafting of the Planning Agreement and associated Deed of Agreement/Licence in accordance with the ‘Terms Sheet of Public Benefits’ described in (a) above and place on public exhibition;

ii.       finalise the draft site-specific Development Control Plan (DCP), as provided at Attachment 3, for the purpose of public exhibition, subject to further draft amendments described in the body of this report being resolved; and

iii.      to correct any minor inconsistencies or anomalies of an administrative nature relating to the draft Planning Proposal (at Attachment 4), draft DCP and draft Planning Agreement documentation that may arise during their preparation exhibition.

 

(c)     That in response to the Gateway condition that requires all references to the de-listing of St John’s Parish Hall as an item of local heritage significance to be removed from the Planning Proposal:-

i.        the draft Planning Proposal be amended accordingly, and

ii.       Council requests the Department of Planning and Environment endorse amendments to the Planning Proposal to include a new site specific clause (described in detail in the Council report of 14 Feb 2021) that requires, the preparation of a DCP prior to development consent being granted to development that provides for the specific matters to be addressed with the inclusion of a note that this obligation may be satisfied by the making and approval of a concept development application (also referred to as a Stage 1 Development Application) consistent with Section 4.23 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

 

(d)     That the Planning Scheme documents be exhibited as follows:

i.        draft Planning Proposal be exhibited for a minimum of 28 days commencing no later than 28 March 2022 in accordance with all conditions and requirements of the Gateway Determination.

ii.       if drafting of the Draft DCP and draft Planning Agreement documentation permits, that these be exhibited concurrently with the Planning Proposal. However, should these documents not be finalised by 28 March 2022 that separate exhibition of these documents commence no later than 4 April 2022 for no less than 28 days.

 

(e)     That the outcome of the exhibition of the Planning Scheme be reported back to Council.

 

(f)      Further, that the CEO facilitate discussions with the owners of 181 Church Street, Parramatta on alternate vehicle access arrangements to this site from Hunter Street in line with the Deed of Agreement attached to the Applicant’s Planning Agreement during the public exhibition period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLANNING PROPOSAL TIMELINE

 

Drafting of DCP/VPA 
Report DCP & VPA to Council
Timeline

Description automatically generated

BACKGROUND

 

1.      At the Council Meeting on 21 February 2022, Council considered a report on the Planning Scheme lodged by Jattca Property Solutions (the Applicant) for the St John's Cathedral Anglican Church site.

 

2.      The subject site contains 195 Church Street, 65-79 Macquarie Street, 38 and 45 Hunter Street, Parramatta. These properties comprise of twelve (12) allotments currently owned by the Anglican Church Property Trust, Diocese of Sydney, as Trustee for the Parish of Parramatta and the St John’s Parramatta Endowment Fund (see Figure 1).

 

Figure 1: The subject site and surrounds


3.      A detailed description of the site and surrounds, including heritage items and background to the subject application is contained in the previous report to Council dated 21 February 2022, available here: and Council Report https://businesspapers.parracity.nsw.gov.au/Open/2022/02/OC_21022022_AGN_720_AT.PDF and Council Resolution https://businesspapers.parracity.nsw.gov.au/Open/2022/02/OC_21022022_MIN_720.PDF.   

 

4.      The purpose of the 21 February 2022 Council report was to seek Council’s endorsement of a decision-making process in relation to the Planning Scheme for the St John's Cathedral Anglican Church site to allow Council officers and the Applicant to continue negotiations in relation to the Planning Agreement.  The Applicant’s Planning Agreement as reported to Council at the meeting on 21 February 2022 was not considered acceptable because the terms of the agreement at that time;

 

i.    did not outweigh the loss of a local heritage item; and

ii.   were not consistent with the City of Parramatta Council’s Planning Agreements Policy (Amendment 1) adopted by Council 26 November 2018; and

iii.  did not include compensation for the 25% reduction in the area of the civic space.

 

5.      The resolution of Council in relation to this report (Item 13.2) was:

 

(a) That Council staff urgently write to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPIE) on 22 February 2022 seeking an extension of time of up to four to six weeks.

(b) That Council defer consideration of this matter to an urgent Councillor Workshop to be held on 24 February 2022.

(c)  That following the Councillor Workshop, the Chief Executive Officer and relevant Council staff meet with the applicant to discuss the matter.

(d) Further, that if the extension of time is not granted by the DPIE, that Council hold an Extraordinary Council Meeting to consider this matter. report recommended

 

6.      Consistent with the above 21 February 2022 Council resolution, the following actions were completed:

 

i.    Council staff wrote to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (the Department) on 22 February 2022 and sought an extension of time to commence public exhibition of the Planning Proposal.  The Department responded on the same day with an amendment to the condition 1(b) of Gateway determination which now requires exhibition to commence by 28 March 2022. A copy of the amended Gateway is provided at Attachment 2.

ii.   Briefing sessions with Councillors were held on Thursday 24 February 2022 and Wednesday 9 March 2022.

iii.  The CEO and relevant council staff formally met with the Applicant on Tuesday 1 March 2022 and Friday 4 March 2022, and progressed negotiations via email and phone correspondence. 

iv.  An Extraordinary Council Meeting was organised for 21 March 2022 (this Council Meeting) to enable Councillors to consider the outcomes of the negotiations with the Applicant, together with relevant updates to the Planning Scheme; enabling the matter to be publicly exhibited by 28 March 2022 consistent with the Gateway (as described at part i above), if supported by Council at this Council meeting. 

 

PLANNING AGREEMENT

 

Agreed Benefits for Inclusion in the VPA

 

7.         Following the meeting with the Applicant on 1 March 2022, Council officers issued a draft ‘Terms Sheet’ to assist the Church to understand the Council’s position on the planning agreement deliverables to be considered. These deliverables were based on the public benefits outlined in the 16 December 2019 Council report (Item 18.4) as well as the framework for the negotiation and assessment of the public benefits (outlined above at Paragraph (4)). 

 

8.         As a result of negotiations between Council officers and the Church, the agreed public benefits items are provided in Attachment 1 and summarised here as follows:

 

i.    Licence in perpetuity in favour of Council from the Church Trust over the open space surrounding the Cathedral on the Site including the part of Hunter Street for the purpose of public access for the community. However, this will not be recognised on the lands title instead Council will include some protections in the licence document (see Attachment 1).

ii.   Stratum dedication at the rear of 45 Hunter Street for vehicle access to provide future vehicle access to 41, 43 and 45 Hunter Street and 181 Church Street (Queensland Arcade) via a laneway to Marsden Street.

iii.  Provision of a temporary vehicle access for Queensland Arcade occupants adjacent to the Wardens Cottage (see diagram at Appendix 1 in Attachment 1) to expire on the earlier of 10 years or the completion of the laneway to Marsden Street to allow access to Queensland Arcade along the rear of 45, 43 and 41 Hunter Street.

iv.  Embellishment of the following land to create a civic space:

·   Church land between the Cathedral building and Hunter Street

·   Portion of public road (Hunter Street) in front of 45 Hunter Street to be closed and included in the civic space but remain in Council ownership

with the embellishment to include 10 mature trees and be provided in accordance with the design principles and landscape plan included in the Planning Agreement, with the final design to be endorsed as part of the Stage 1 Development Application.

v.   Public liability insurance and maintenance by the Church of the civic space site (including land owned by Council) in perpetuity to a standard equivalent to Parramatta Square.

vi.  Provision of a monetary contribution to fund items in Council’s Local Contribution Plan in recognition of:

·     the reduced area of the civic space from that originally offered equal to $1.1 million; and

·     the risk Council is accepting due to the public access not being legally recognised on the land title and acceptance of some limitations on public access to allow for:

-     Church beliefs (refer to Attachment 5 – Anglican Church Social Covenant) and

-     Some Church operational activities (for example, religious festivals), with the amount to be $3.5 million (see further discussion below). 

 

9.         The amount of $3.5 million referred to in 8(vi) above was agreed by the Church on the proviso the funds are spent on certain projects identified in the draft CBD Contributions Plan.

 

10.       Council Officers have indicated to the applicant that this condition may be  acceptable, subject to confirmation that  the Council will retain the discretion to where to apply the funds and that the funds would not be used to undertake any public domain improvements along any frontage of the Church site that would be required by standard conditions of any development approval.

 

Key changes

 

11.    The key changes to the public benefits compared to the position in the 21 February 2022 Council Report are as follows:

 

i.    The language in previous Offer documents provided by the Church indicated that the Church in the future would be able to limit access at their discretion. This has been clarified with the detail being further negotiated and finalised. It had been agreed that the license drafted will permit access through and to the site, for passive recreation in perpetuity. However, the licence will also specify certain uses/activities that are not consistent with the Church’s organisational beliefs/ Social Covenant (see Attachment 5). Specific uses the Church will not support will be listed in the licence and provisions for the Church to be able to change or add to this list are also to be included in the final document.

ii.   A portion of Hunter Street within the expanded open space area is now to be leased to the Church, rather than purchased from Council. The layout of the basement carpark is amended to be wholly on Church owned land and not underneath Hunter Street

iii.  The Church is taking responsibility for maintaining the new civic space as well as the existing grassed area in perpetuity and pathways.  Public liability insurance will also be provided by the Church for the existing grassed area and proposed new civic space west of the Cathedral.

iv.  Protection of public access rights over the Church land will be via an appropriate clause in the Access Deed to ensure that any Transferee is bound by the Access Deed, so that the Council is able to secure its rights under the Access Deed. The clause is supported in principle and at the time of preparation of this report Council’s legal counsel was reviewing the drafting. 

v.   Notwithstanding the above, Council must still accept a level of risk (albeit now reduced with the proposed clause described in the previous paragraph) for not having access for the community recognised on title, and that there will remain some periods when the community will be restricted due to Church functions etc.  The compensation for Council accepting this level of risk is discussed previously in this report.

vi.  The temporary vehicle access to the parking area for the Queensland Arcade adjacent to Wardens Cottage will be created and insured by the Church.

 

12.    In summary, the offer by the Applicant is considered to provide a sufficient level of public benefit that outweighs the loss for the community of the heritage item as detailed in the 21 February 2022 Council report in the table at Paragraph 41.

 

SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT CONTROL PLAN AND PLANNING PROPOSAL

 

13.    As a result of the amendments to the Planning Agreement by the Applicant there are minor, consequential amendment to the site specific DCP controls, specifically resulting from the amendment to the basement layout, with the basement car park layout for the Option B: Hall retained scenario now applying to both Options A and B and being wholly located on Church owned land. 

 

14.    In addition delegation should be granted to the CEO to finalise controls on the appropriate activation of the portion of the new commercial building closest to the Cathedral. Current controls seek minimal activation for Heritage reasons but the Applicant has requested this be reconsidered as they would like to make sure they can establish a relationship between the Cathedral and their use in the podium of the new commercial building. This issue is being reconsidered given the benefits in activating the open space but should not hold off exhibition of the site specific DCP or other documents discussed in this report.

 

15.    A detailed outline of the site specific DCP and Planning Proposal controls and discussion of issues is contained in the previous report to Council on 21 February 2022.  A link to the Council Report and resolution is provided above.  A copy of the draft site specific DCP and site specific PP are provided at Attachments 3 and 4.

 

CONSULTATION AND TIMING

 

16.    The following stakeholder consultation has been undertaken in relation to this matter:

 

Date

Stakeholder

Stakeholder Comment

Council Officer Response

Responsibility

1 and 4 March 2022

Applicant

Various comments in relation to finalising the draft DCP and planning agreement.

Negotiated with the Applicant

City Planning & Design / Property & Place

 

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNCIL

 

17.    As the terms of the Planning Agreement are supported in principle but could not be finalised by Council officers and the Applicant to meet the reports deadlines, it is recommended the CEO be granted delegation to endorse the draft Planning Agreement documentation for the purpose of public exhibition. This will include advice from Council’s Legal Counsel on the drafting of the relevant agreements/documentation.

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNCIL

 

18.    The previous report to Council on 21 February 2022 detailed the financial implications for Council specifically a risk of Council having to purchase land at the rear of 41, 43 and 45 Hunter Street for the laneway. Further changes/issues are as follows: 

i.    The Church to maintain the civic space between Hunter and Church St in perpetuity, currently Council is liable for these costs at a cost of approximately $108,000 per year. 

ii.   A monetary contribution of $1.1 million, and a further $3.5 million is expected. These funds will be to used to pursue public domain improvements in Hunter Street and potentially Macquarie Street. 

iii.  A separate negotiation between Council and the Applicant for the lease arrangements of the portion of Hunter Street will be reported to Council separately.  It is expected that the lease will not permit the Church to undertake any commercial activities on this land and therefore it is expected the lease fee will be a nominal value, noting that the Church will be responsible for the insurance, repairs and maintenance of the space in perpetuity to a standard comparable to Parramatta Square.

 

19.   The decision being made by Council as recommended has no immediate direct impact on the budget as the public exhibition of the Planning Scheme will be funded by the current City Planning and Design budget. It is also noted that the Planning Agreement will only be triggered if a Development Application is approved that allows the demolition of the Parish Hall.

 

 

FY 21/22

FY 22/23

FY 23/24

FY 24/25

Operating Result

 

 

 

 

External Costs

 

 

 

 

Internal Costs

 

 

 

 

Depreciation

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

 

 

Total Operating Result

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

 

 

 

 

 

Funding Source

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

 

 

 

 

CAPEX

 

 

 

 

CAPEX

 

 

 

 

External

 

 

 

 

Internal

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

 

 

Total CAPEX

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

 

 

 

 

 

Funding Source

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Janelle Scully

Team Leader –Land Use Planning

 

Robert Cologna

Group Manager, Strategic Land Use Planning

 

John Angilley

Chief Finance and Information Officer

 

Bryan Hynes

Executive Director Property & Place

 

Jennifer Concato

Executive Director City Planning and Design

 

Brett Newman

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

Attachments:

1

ATTACHMENT 1 - Draft Terms Sheet PA _ St Johns - FINAL

6 Pages

 

2

ATTACHMENT 2 - Gateway Alteration

2 Pages

 

3

ATTACHMENT 3 - Draft Development Control Plan

38 Pages

 

4

ATTACHMENT 4 - Planning Proposal

51 Pages

 

5

ATTACHMENT 5 - Anglican Church Social Covenants

1 Page

 

 

 

REFERENCE MATERIAL

 

 

 


Item 12.3 - Attachment 1

ATTACHMENT 1 - Draft Terms Sheet PA _ St Johns - FINAL

 

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator


Item 12.3 - Attachment 2

ATTACHMENT 2 - Gateway Alteration

 

PDF Creator


Item 12.3 - Attachment 3

ATTACHMENT 3 - Draft Development Control Plan

 

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator


Item 12.3 - Attachment 4

ATTACHMENT 4 - Planning Proposal

 

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator

PDF Creator


Item 12.3 - Attachment 5

ATTACHMENT 5 - Anglican Church Social Covenants

 

PDF Creator 


Extraordinary Council 21 March 2022                                                                                Item 13.1

NOTICE OF MOTION

ITEM NUMBER         13.1

SUBJECT                  CBD Planning Proposal and DPE’s GML Heritage Report Concerns

REFERENCE            F2022/00105 - D08443680

FROM                          Councillor Phil Bradley       

 

MOTION

 

That Council write urgently to the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) requesting an immediate reconsideration of the CBD Planning Proposal previously referred to the DPE, given that insufficient consideration was previously given to the DPE’s own independent peer review GML Heritage Studies 2018 Report, which recommended inter alia there should be:

a.      “no additional overshadowing of Prince Alfred Square, of St Patrick‘s Cathedral and School, All Saints Church or the North Parramatta, South Parramatta and Sorrell Street heritage conservation areas at any time”, and

b.      “no additional height or incentive FSRs adjacent to heritage items and conservation areas”.

 

BACKGROUND

 

1.      The Department of Planning and Environment’s own independent peer review GML Heritage Studies 2018 Report was included in Council business papers in early 2019, as an Attachment to the CBD Planning Proposal report “DPE Gateway Determination, Gateway Assessment Report and DPE Heritage Studies prepared by GML”. 

 

2.      The CBD Planning Proposal leaves the overwhelming majority of the CBD in shadows during winter and the few remaining parks in or near the CBD in increased shadow for at least part of the day during the year. The benchmark for an open space area is to achieve at least four hours of sunlight access to at least 50% of the open space area between 9 am and 3 pm on 21 June and for Heritage Conservation Areas not to be overshadowed for more than two hours (non-contiguous) between 9 am and 3 pm on 21 June. This is in stark contrast to the DPE’s GML Heritage Report recommendations.

 

Phil Bradley

Councillor

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CITY PLANNING & DESIGN RESPONSE

 

3.      Council has undertaken extensive heritage studies and overshadowing analysis to support the controls proposed under the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal. Whilst the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) did commission their own separate heritage studies by GML Heritage, they never formally supported the study recommendations through their Gateway Determination conditions. Instead, Council has relied on its own heritage studies to support the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal.

 

 

4.      The Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal seeks to protect key public spaces and heritage items from overshadowing. The areas identified for protection are clearly mapped. This has been one of the key driving principles of the proposal since the commencement of the project.

 

5.      The Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal has been finalised and approved by Council and issued to DPE for approval by the Minister.

 

6.      It is strongly recommended that Council not support the proposed motion. This is because of the significant resources that have been invested by Council in the preparation of the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal over many years and the fact that the issues raised in this motion have been adequately addressed. Further, it may put at risk the timely approval of the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal by DPE and the Minister.

 

FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

 

7.      The preparation of the letter requested in the motion is within current staffing resources and requires no additional budget.

 

Phil Bradley

Councillor

 

Jennifer Concato

Executive Director City Planning and Design

 

John Angilley

Chief Finance and Information Officer

 

Brett Newman

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

 


Extraordinary Council 21 March 2022                                                                                Item 13.2

NOTICE OF MOTION

ITEM NUMBER         13.2

SUBJECT                  CBD Planning Proposal Concerns Regarding Infrastructure Funding, Flooding and Design

REFERENCE            F2022/00105 - D08443717

FROM                          Councillor Phil Bradley       

 

MOTION

 

That Council write urgently to the Department of Planning and Environment requesting them to give careful consideration to the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal in regard to:

 

1.      Council’s estimated best-case 40 year funding gap of $1,373 million for related local infrastructure, even with Council’s proposed development contributions plan being approved;

 

2.      The Department’s Environment, Energy and Science Group‘s submission that the endorsement by the State Emergency Services (SES) of the CBD flood evacuation plans “is considered essential”; 

 

3.      Deferring finalisation of the CBD Planning Proposal until the more realistic Parramatta River flood modelling study project is available in 2022 with consideration of the extensive flooding of the Parramatta River catchment that has occurred over the last 20 years; and

 

4.      Government policies promoting quality urban design and good place-making such as Better Placed 2007, NSW Public Places Charter, the evolving Design and Place SEPP 2022-23 improvements and Greater Sydney Commission Central City District Plan Priorities especially in regard to liveability and sustainability.

 

BACKGROUND

 

1.      Council’s $1,373 million infrastructure funding gap was reported in the 7 February 2022 Council Item 13.8 staff report paragraph 18 and results from an accumulation in my view of insufficient developer contributions for site specific LEP variations (planning proposals) mostly if not always consistent with the Draft CBD Planning Proposal.  In my view it is not acceptable that Council usually only received from 0% to 20% public value share of the CBD land value uplift for local infrastructure from higher FSR windfalls for land owners/developers. Our amended CBD infrastructure contribution plan (if approved by the Planning Minister) will provide an increase, but still leaves this big infrastructure funding deficit of $1,373 million, while developers are estimated to profit by an Internal Rate of Return of at least 20%. 

 

2.      Submissions on the Parramatta CBD planning proposal raising flood issues included the following submission from the Environment Energy and Science (EES) Group (State Government Agency): “EES highlights that all matters regarding flood evacuation, community education and awareness, and sheltering in place are the primary responsibility of the NSW SES and its endorsement is considered essential.”  The group also states that “EES recommends Council ensures its relevant Flood Studies and Floodplain Risk Management Studies and Plans incorporate the likely impact of climate change due to sea level rise and rainfall intensity”. This is another reason why the 2022 updated Parramatta River Flood Modelling Study needs to be awaited and considered.

 

3.      In the Parramatta CBD, it is likely in an extreme weather flood, that hundreds of people or more will need to shelter-in-place (SIP) sometimes for more than 8 hours and potentially for much longer.

 

4.      With the City of Parramatta I understand described as ‘the most flash flood affected major CBD in Australia’ in correspondence to the then Chief Commissioner for the Greater Sydney Commission Lucy Turnbull, the SES highlights the inherent risks where SIPs are relied on. Similarly, the risks for the floodplains in Sydney’s west and northwest are indicated in the SES A/Deputy Commissioner’s letter to the GSC: https://bit.ly/3huziOi

 

5.      This letter also states in reference to “a relatively frequent flood event” in 2017, that:

 

“There were times when emergency service personnel could not attend to the community needs due to the severity of the flood and inability to access the community. This is likely to be more significant with more severe flood events, and especially when demand is greater in areas such as the Greater Sydney Area, leading to potential large-scale loss of life.”

 

6.      Critically in the case of Parramatta, especially given recent climate change fuelled East Coast record floods, the completion of the City’s 2022 Flood Study for the purpose of updating data (now about 15 years old), is still outstanding, despite the proposed Planning Proposal significantly upzoning its CBD building heights up to 67 storeys.

 

7.      The draft Design and Place SEPP is subject to a draft Council submission in Item 13.7 of the 14 March 2022 Council. The SEPP when finally approved by the NSW government for operation in early 2023 introduces many significant changes, some of which could cause reconsideration of parts of the CBD Planning Proposal. It could be advisable to review the CBD PP in the context of the new SEPP.

 

Phil Bradley

Councillor

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CITY PLANNING & DESIGN RESPONSE

 

8.      Council no longer applies a ‘value sharing’ approach to infrastructure funding in the Parramatta CBD, due to the Planning Agreements Practice Note released by the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) that generally restricts this practice by councils. Instead, in the CBD, Council has endorsed a section 7.12 contributions plan approach that proposes to increase Council’s current levy of 3% for all development, to 4% for commercial development and 5% for residential development (CBD Contributions Plan).

 

 

9.      If approved by the State Government, these would be among the highest section 7.12 levy rates in the state and would help to fund the infrastructure needed to support the growth of the Parramatta CBD.

 

10.    When undertaking any assessment of the impact that higher contributions will have on the financial viability of development it is standard industry practice for developer profit to be acknowledged and benchmarked at an Internal Rate of Return of 20% in the assessment. If there is insufficient profit to cover risk development will not proceed.

 

11.    It is usual for contributions plans to have a gap between the amount to be collected and total cost of community infrastructure works identified in the plan, as is the case with the CBD Contributions Plan. The gap will be managed by seeking external funding opportunities and by prioritising projects to ensure the highest priority/critical projects are funded and delivered as soon as possible.

 

12.    Council has satisfied its statutory responsibilities with respect to considering flood risk management in the Parramatta CBD using available flood data. Whilst Council is preparing new flood data for the wider City of Parramatta LGA, not just the Parramatta CBD, this work is still ongoing and subject to a separate consultation process. This is likely to still take some time to complete. Notwithstanding this delay, strong development pressures continue to remain in the Parramatta CBD, and the new flood risk management framework proposed under the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal will greatly improve development outcomes with respect to flooding. Whilst Council did not receive a formal submission from the SES in response to the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal, Council Officers and representatives from DPE held two meetings with SES representatives (on 9 and 18 August 2021) in order to encourage SES commentary on the matter.

 

13.     The Draft Design and Place SEPP will replace SEPP 65: Design Quality and SEPP BASIX with an updated Apartment Design Guideline (ADG) and updated BASIX respectively. It is noted that SEPP 65, BASIX and the ADG were all considered in the preparation of the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal. In undertaking its final assessment of the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal, DPE will determine whether any technical changes are needed to ensure consistency with the Draft Design and Place SEPP, given it is a state planning policy.

 

14.    It is strongly recommended that Council not support the proposed motion. This is because of the significant resources that have been invested by Council in the preparation of the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal over many years and the fact that the issues raised in this notice of motion have been adequately addressed.   Further, it may put at risk the timely approval of the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal by DPE and the Minister.

 

FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

15.    The preparation of the letter requested in the motion is within current staffing resources and requires no additional budget.

 

Phil Bradley

Councillor Bradley

 

Jennifer Concato

Executive Director City Planning and Design

 

John Angilley

Chief Finance and Information Officer

 

Brett Newman

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.