Late Items Agenda of Council - Monday, 27 June 2022

Council 27 June 2022 Item 14.1

NOTICE OF MOTION

ITEM NUMBER 14.1

SUBJECT Feedback for Strategic Planning Documents

REFERENCE F2022/00105 - D08564167

FROM Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Sameer Pandey

MOTION

(a) That Council:

(i) Streamline the process for Councillor and community feedback into strategic planning documents including but not limited to masterplans, planning proposals, strategy documents, budgets, major projects, submissions or other documents requiring public exhibition; and

(ii) Ensure the streamlined process must clearly identify opportunity for Councill consultation and feedback in a timely manner and outlined when and how Councillors will be consulted.

(b) Further, that a report be presented to a Councillor Workshop before final endorsement by Council.

BACKGROUND

1. No background was provided.

Councillor Sameer Pandey

Deputy Lord Mayor

GROUP MANAGER, CITY STRATEGY RESPONSE IN CONSUTATION WITH THE RELEVANT EXECUTUVE DIRECTORS

1. Currently, Council staff undertake consultation with Councillors on a broad range of documents and council matters based on Councillor availability, workshop schedules, statutory deadlines, and resourcing. Programs and specific dates are flexible at times to respond to external factors such as postponements due to illness, emergence of other strategic priorities, Council elections, COVID-19 restrictions, etc.

2. A one-size-fits-all process for all strategic planning documents is not appropriate due to the significant differences in scope, scale, risk, statutory requirements and unique subject matter of various strategic planning documents.

3. During each consultation with Councillors, typically a summary timeline is provided that clearly identifies the planned opportunities for Councillor and community involvement. These planned opportunities are supplemented by Council’s ability to request further consultation (e.g. workshops/briefings), as well as open invitations for Councillors to meet with staff independently to discuss specific projects.

4. Currently staff engage Councillors in this way on a broad range of items, including:

Strategic document consultation

· At a minimum, Councillors will be consulted on any strategic document in the concept stage via Council Workshops, prior to public exhibition and post-exhibition with community feedback.

· For top tier strategic documents such as the Community Strategic Plan and the Delivery Program Operational Plan (See Attachment One), Officers will hold multiple workshops and conduct 1:1 meetings with interested Councillors

Planning proposal consultation

· Upon the receipt of a planning proposal, staff assess it against relevant plans, strategies, policies and ministerial directions and undertake, where required, urban design testing. This assessment together with the Staff recommendation is provided to the Parramatta Local Planning Panel (LPP) for advice to Council. At this point, staff provide a verbal briefing to Councillors on the assessment, staff recommendation and LPP advice prior to seeking Council resolution to refuse or approve the Planning Proposal for the purposes of seeking a Gateway Determination from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE). Should a Gateway Determination be issued supporting the progress of the planning proposal, it will contain a condition relating to the requirements for public consultation, including the length of time and the Public Agencies to be consulted. Staffs utilise Council’s Community Engagement Strategy to engage the community and stakeholders consistently.

· Upon conclusion of the public consultation period, Staffs consider any submissions made prior to finalising their assessment and recommendation. This consideration of submissions and final assessment of the planning proposal is then reported to the LPP (should there be submissions made) for its advice to Council. If no submissions are made the matter is reported directly to Council. Prior to the report being considered by Council, Staffs provide a verbal briefing to Councillors on the submissions received during the public consultation period, the final recommendation of Staffs and the advice of the LPP for its final decision on whether the Planning Proposal is to be refused or approved. If approved the Planning Proposal will then sent to DPE for finalisation or alternatively will be finalised by the CEO if plan making delegations were granted to Council in the Gateway Determination.

Major projects consultation

· Staff consult with Councillors on our Major Projects in the following forums and reporting methods:

Monthly

Bi-Monthly

Quarterly

· Councillors are provided with our updated project dashboards with the financials, risks, key milestones and have full electronic access to this monthly report. Major Project Dashboards & Risk Registers are uploaded on the Councillor Portal.

· 5&7 Parramatta Square Advisory Group – this meeting was held during the key periods of the projects to provide delegated Councillors input into major decisions, this meeting is no longer required as Phive will be complete and open in September.

· Property & Place hold bi-monthly Councillor Workshops

· The purpose of these workshop is to provide a transparent briefing session on Property & Place/Council’s current and major projects and a discussion on the status of Council’s significant property projects.

· Major Projects Advisory Committee (MPAC) Quarterly Meeting – MPAC report quarterly via the CEO and the Audit & Risk Committee and submit an Annual Report which is also is provided to Councillors on a quarterly basis.

Community engagement consultation

· Council has an endorsed Community Engagement Strategy which includes details on how and when the community are engaged on strategic matters.

· Council’s Community Engagement Team support project teams with the development and delivery of community engagement plans. Engaging with Councillors is a key part of the process and often undertaken by the project team. The timing and format (e.g workshop, briefing note etc) varies depending on the nature of the project. Some projects run over several stages and therefore require more input than others.

Budget consultation

· Staff consult with Councillors on financial, governance, policy, legal and ICT matters across various forums and times including:

Monthly

Quarterly

Annually

· Finance Committee - Councillors are provided with updated corporate and directorate financials, rates revenue, risks, and material projects for consideration

· Policy Review Committee - To review Council policies prior to adoption by Council

· Audit Risk an Improvement Committee (ARIC) – the Committee and Councillors are provided with updated corporate and directorate financials, risks, and ICT disaster recovery and business continuity plans

· Quarterly Budget Review Statement (QBRS) – provided to Finance Committee for review, questions and endorsement

· Councillor Strategy presentations – Draft Budgets, Long Term Financial Plan, Fees & Charges, Asset Management Strategy are updated and presented for discussion, prioritisation and endorsement

· Statutory Financial accounts – presented to Finance Committee, Councillors and ARIC for review and endorsement before submission to Council for approval

5. If Council wishes to “streamline” processes, this would generally involve a reduction in the number of consultations and time available for Councillor and community consultation.

6. However, if Council wishes to add the opportunity for additional Councillor consultation, guidance and feedback will be required as to which specific documents, processes and timeframes Council wishes to be reviewed, and the costs and resource implications of these will need to be developed and considered.

7. Attachment 1 provides examples of the recent program of Councillor involvement on key strategic projects including the updated Community Strategic Plan, the new Delivery Program and Operational Plan for 2022/23. It also includes examples of timelines presented to Councillors throughout the consultation process, and the standard process for Councillor consultation on Planning Proposals.

FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

8. Should Council resolve a streamlined response and report, we anticipate this would take 12 to 18 months to develop given the scope of the documents included, and current priorities. This process would have additional costs and resourcing implications and would impact existing work programmed for this time period.

Sameer Pandey

Deputy Lord Mayor

Nicole Carnegie

Group Manager, City Strategy

John Angilley

Chief Financial and Information Officer

Brett Newman

Chief Executive Officer

Attachments:

1 ⇩

Attachment 1 - Examples of Councillor consultation

3 Pages

Council 27 June 2022 Item 14.2

NOTICE OF MOTION

ITEM NUMBER 14.2

SUBJECT Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 - Announcement to fund $600 million

REFERENCE F2022/00105 - D08565049

FROM Councillor Paul Noack

MOTION

(a) That the City of Parramatta Council note the NSW Government’s recent announcement to fund $600 million towards the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2. We welcome this announcement but express concern that this does not fully commit to the entire project.

(b) That the City of Parramatta welcome this announcement but express concern that this does not fully commit to the entire project. Accordingly, we call on the NSW State Government to fully commit and fully fund the Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 project.

(c) Further, that the Lord Mayor, Councillor Donna Davis write to Dominic Perrottet, Premier of New South Wales and David Elliot, Minister for Transport for NSW, conveying the views of Council.

BACKGROUND

1. None was provided.

Paul Noack

Councillor

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CITY PLANNING & DESIGN RESPONSE

1. The NSW Budget papers released on the evening of Tuesday, 21 June 2022 provide $26.2 million for PLR Stage 2 in 2022-23. The Budget papers indicate provision of $372.5 million over the next four (4) years, with a total of $602.4 million reserved for the ‘first phase’ of the Project. There is no timeframe for the first phase in the Budget papers.

2. TfNSW has provided the following advice in respect of the Project, which indicates the priority is to deliver the Stage 2 Environmental Impact Statement and planning for the bridge over the River to connect Wentworth Point and Melrose Park:

“The $602.4 million funding commitment will go towards continuing the detailed planning work for Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2, which includes public exhibition of the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) later this year, as well as delivery of the vital bridge connection between Wentworth Point and Melrose Park. As announced in the 2022-23 NSW Budget, $26.2 million has been allocated to Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 and the project team are currently focused on working through the scope of work and requirements to deliver the EIS and planning for the bridge only” (emphasis added).

3. Officers support the call for the NSW Government to commit to full Project funding, design and construction in the Budget forward estimates.

FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

4. The letter can be prepared within existing resources.

Paul Noack

Councillor

Jennifer Concato

Executive Director City Planning and Design

John Angilley

Chief Financial and Information Officer

Brett Newman

Chief Executive Officer

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

Council 27 June 2022 Item 14.3

NOTICE OF MOTION

ITEM NUMBER 14.3

SUBJECT Subsidised Rates for Car Parks

REFERENCE F2022/00105 - D08568635

FROM Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Sameer Pandey

MOTION

(a) That Council, on a trial basis, promote Wentworth Street Car Park for visitors to Harris Park and Parramatta CBD at a subsidized rate at evenings and weekends.

(b) Further, that Council, on a trial basis, promote special deals for the Harris Park retailers to use Wentworth Street Car Park.

BACKGROUND

1. No background was provided.

Sameer Pandey

Deputy Lord Mayor

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PROOPERTY & PLACE RESPONSE

Similar Previous Initiatives

· In early 2021, Council undertook a program to offer free parking to customers of CBD businesses. This program was a response to food and beverage businesses impacted by COVD and direct impacts from the construction of Parramatta Light Rail along Church and Macquarie streets. The program offered free parking to customers at the Eat Street and City Centre car parks if the customer spent $20 or more at a participating business.

· The total loss of revenue from the use of free parking tickets was $183,152 (note that this cost was shared between Council and Transport for NSW).

· Council’s current car park infrastructure does not allow the easy implementation of differential pricing. As such, implementing this program required the manual recruitment of businesses, training of businesses and patrons, creation of collateral, and regular printing and hand delivery of bespoke tickets to participating businesses. This was a high-effort program for Council Officers with over 30,000 free parking vouchers printed and distributed to 78 different businesses.

· The total set-up cost of the program was approx. $20,000 including Council staff time, educational materials and program promotion (including printed and online promotion).

· There was an ongoing weekly cost of approximately $5,000 per week in staff time to deliver tickets and troubleshoot ongoing issues. Additional Secure Parking staff were also required to monitor pay stations and car park exits as there were ongoing issues with correct use of the free parking vouchers.

Current cost of Parking at Parramatta Station Car Park (Wentworth Street)

· Parking in Parramatta Station car park is currently the cheapest of all of Council’s multi-level car parks.

· The current cost of the Parramatta Station car park is $3 per hour, with a maximum cost of $14 for 18 hours. Therefore, a diner could park in the car park for dinner (for a three hour stay) for less than $10.

· On Sundays, Council offers free parking for four hours in all its car parks followed by a $10 flat-rate for the remainder of the day.

· Parramatta Station carpark is currently promoted as a destination car park for food and beverage retailers in Parramatta Square. These businesses (as well as other CBD food and beverage businesses) are not being offered discounted parking for customers.

Recommendations:

· It is not recommended that Council offers discounted or free parking in the Parramatta Station car park for Harris Park businesses as this would not be equitable to all businesses when they are not being impacted by major construction or COVID disruptions. Further, implementing a program of this nature would have a substantial financial and staff resource cost to Council.

· It is recommended that Council promotes the use of the Marion Street West car park (112 spaces) to Harris Park businesses and customers (refer to the map and image below). This car park is closer to Harris Park businesses and provides free parking after 6:00pm and free parking all day on Sundays.

· A recommendation of the CBD Parking Strategy was to increase on-street paid parking to the CBD fringe. It is now also recommended that the introduction of metered (paid) parking in Harris Park be added to the scope of works of this project to encourage turn-over of on-street parking spaces which are currently free.

FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

2. Current cost of Parking at Parramatta Station Car Park (Wentworth Street):

· Parking in Parramatta Station car park is currently the cheapest of all of Council’s multi-level car parks.

· On Sundays, Council offers free parking for four hours in all its car parks followed by a $10 flat-rate for the remainder of the day.

3. The estimated cost for a three (3)-month promotional campaign encouraging parkers to use Marion Street West Car Park is estimated to cost approximately $25,000. This campaign would include targeted social media, posters and flyers for businesses, emails to businesses with collateral or information they could add to their on-line presence. The Parramatta Ward Initiatives Budget is suggested as a funding source for this campaign.

Sameer Pandey

Deputy Lord Mayor

Bryan Hynes

Executive Director Property & Place

Brett Newman

Chief Executive Officer

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

Council 27 June 2022 Item 15.1

QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

ITEM NUMBER 15.1

SUBJECT Questions Taken on Notice - 14 June 2022 Council Meeting

REFERENCE F2022/00105 - D08569708

FROM Governance Manager

QUESTIONS TAKEN ON NOTICE FROM THE COUNCIL MEETING OF 14 JUNE 2022

Item	Subject	Councillor	Question
15.1 (23 May 2022)	Questions Taken on Notice from Council Meeting – 23 May 2022	Noack	In the last meeting, it was noted that Council is currently obtaining approvals from TfNSW and Ausgrid and it is anticipated the process will be completed by the end of June. Is there an expectation that this will indeed be finished by June? Regarding the round-about and street crossing on the corner of Hill Road and Burroway Road, how is the meeting with the developer going in terms of the design works? When do we expect work to start on the round-about? And is there a reason why we can’t start work on the street crossing now?
12.1	Completed works on Private Land – Bungaree Road Shops, Toongabbie	Garrard	How often is the cleansing team attending the site referenced in item 12.1?
12.1	Completed works on Private Land – Bungaree Road Shops, Toongabbie	Green	Can staff please provide advice as to whether a smart bin or an alternative bin or alternative cleaning arrangements can be provided at Bungaree Road Shops?
13.1	Quarterly Budget Review – March 2022	Bradley	Can staff clarify the details of the savings in relation to employee costs, as noted in point 4. (ii) of the Council report, and any impact that may have occurred with relation to staff workload or service performance as a result?
13.4	Local Heritage Grant Applications	Garrard	How many applications for heritage grants were refused in the financial year?
13.11	Gateway Request: Planning Proposal for 19 Hope Street, Melrose Park and 69-77 Hughes Avenue, Ermington (Melrose Park North Precinct)	Darley	What are the heights of the powerlines? And why is the planning proposal looking to build up next to the powerlines when the rest of the North Precinct sets back from the powerlines?
14.5	Acknowledgement of all Faith (Deferred Item)	Bradley	With relation to Council’s current prayer practices for Council Meetings, have we had any examples where there have been Prayers or acknowledgements for the other faiths instead of a Christian Prayer?
14.7	Relocation of Willow Grove	Garrard	What is an approximate timeframe for the combining of the videos?

BACKGROUND

1. Paragraph 9.23 of Council’s Code of Meeting Practice states:

“Where a councillor or council employee to whom a question is put is unable to respond to the question at the meeting at which it is put, they may take it on notice and report the response to the next meeting of the Council.”

STAFF RESPONSE

2. Item 15.1 (23 May 2022 Agenda) – Questions Taken on Notice from Council Meeting – 23 May 2022

Question from Councillor Noack

Further questions were raised by Councillor Noack regarding the responses provided to the Questions Taken on Notice from the Council Meeting of 23 May 2022:

In the last meeting, it was noted Council is currently obtaining approvals from TfNSW and Ausgrid and it is anticipated the process will be completed by the end of June.

Is there an expectation that this will indeed be finished by June?

Regarding the round-about and street crossing on the corner of Hill Road and Burroway Road, how is the meeting with the developer going in terms of the design works? When do we expect work to start on the round-about? And is there a reason why we can’t start work on the street crossing now?

Executive Director, City Planning and Design Response in relation to the first paragraph of questions

Regarding the intersection of Hill Road and Bennelong Parkway, an update was provided to Councillor Noack and the Lord Mayor on 7 June 2022 advising Council is now targeting July 2022 for completion of the approvals. On 22 June 2022, TfNSW provided advice from its 7 internal referrals regarding Council’s most recent version of the design plans. The comments are for minor changes and drafting issues. Council will respond to TfNSW in the week commencing 27 June 2022. Council also met with TfNSW on 21 June 2022 and was advised to expect further correspondence related to conditions that would apply to the approval of the plans (once this has been obtained). Based on these discussions Council is now targeting July 2022 for the approval of the design. This approval will give Council the confidence to advertise the tender. Note that the change of TfNSW approval date from June to July 2022 has not impacted Council’s ability to commence the preparation of the tender, which is scheduled to commence in July 2022. There are no outstanding issues with Ausgrid.

Executive Director, City Planning and Design Response in relation to the second paragraph of questions

Regarding the works at the north end of Hill Road, these works are to be completed prior to occupancy of the second stage of the development. The scheduling of the commencement of the construction works is a matter for the developer. Council staff will meet with the developer at any time they have questions regarding the design requirements. The ‘street crossing’ is part of the package of the works to be done by the developer. It may be possible to start construction of the pedestrian facilities earlier than the roundabout works, however, it is too early in the process to know if this is possible. Note there is an existing alternative route for pedestrians, avoiding Hill Road, that involves crossing roads with much lower vehicle volumes and speeds. Although construction of stage 1 of this development is complete, it was not necessary on traffic grounds for these Hill Road works to be completed prior to the occupation of this stage.

3. Item 12.1 – Completed Works on Private Land – Bungaree Road Shops, Toongabbie

Question from Councillor Garrard

During discussion on the motion moved by Councillor Pandey, Councillor Garrard asked the following question:

How often is the cleansing team attending the site referenced in item 12.1?

Executive Director, City Assets and Operations Response

Litter picking is done on a daily basis and the bins are emptied Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

4. Item 12.1 – Completed Works on Private Land – Bungaree Road Shops, Toongabbie

Question from Councillor Green

During discussion on the motion moved by Councillor Pandey, Councillor Green asked the following question:

Can staff please provide advice as to whether a smart bin or an alternative bin or alternative cleaning arrangements can be provided at Bungaree Road Shops?

Executive Director, City Assets and Operations Response

The area has been monitored by our cleansing staff and believe that a smart bin is not warranted. It seems at times one of the shop owners take advantage of one of the bins provided. The area is serviced daily and the two (2) bins in place service the area.

5. Item 13.1 – Quarterly Budget Review – March 2022

Question from Councillor Bradley

During discussion on the motion moved by Councillor Esber, Councillor Bradley asked the following question:

Can staff clarify the details of the savings in relation to employee costs, as noted in point 4. (ii) of the Council report, and any impact that may have occurred with relation to staff workload or service performance as a result?

Chief Finance and Information Officer Response

The quarter-on-quarter variance in Employee Costs are due to a combination of normal vacancies across the organisation, the timing of recruitment related to finalising organisational redesign programs, and a delay in seeking staff for PHIVE as a result of the rescheduled opening date. Overall, the teams have managed the workload and service levels by multi-tasking and prioritising critical activities and projects

6. Item 13.4 – Local Heritage Grant Applications

Question from Councillor Garrard

During discussion on the motion moved by herself, Councillor Garrard asked the following question:

How many applications for heritage grants were refused in the financial year?

Executive Director, City Planning and Design Response

No applications for heritage grants were refused in the financial year. All eight applications lodged for heritage grants were approved, although two were deferred from Council's meeting of 21 February 2022 they were approved on 14 June 2022.

7. Item 13.11 – Gateway Request: Planning Proposal for 19 Hope Street, Melrose Park and 69-77 Hughes Avenue, Ermington (Melrose Park North Precinct)

Question from Councillor Darley

During discussion on the motion moved by Councillor Noack, Councillor Darley asked the following question:

What are the heights of the powerlines? And why is the planning proposal looking to build up next to the powerlines when the rest of the North Precinct sets back from the powerlines?

Executive Director, City Planning and Design Response

Height of the transmission line

The powerline in question is identified as a stanchion transmission line and is owned by Ausgrid. The height from existing ground level to the lowest cable ranges between approximately 17.2m – 21m, depending upon the ground level.

Setbacks to transmission line

The transmission line is located within a 30.5m-wide easement that runs the length of the transmission line. This easement is set by Ausgrid and restricts any buildings or significant structures being built within the easement. There is no restriction on development in relation to the transmission lines outside of this easement.

The site-specific Development Control Plan (DCP) for Melrose Park North adopted by Council on 11 October 2021 includes a road reserve along the eastern side of the Melrose Park North Precinct (north of the subject site) that is 20m wide that abuts the overhead transmission lines and that is partially within the transmission line easement. Buildings adjacent to the transmission lines are required to have a further 3m setback from the road reserve and thus will be setback 23m from the transmission lines.

Amendments are now required to be prepared for the DCP to include controls relating to the subject site and these will include specific provisions that address setbacks from all boundaries (including to the transmission lines). The proposed amendments will be reported back to Council for endorsement to place on exhibition with the adopted Planning Proposal. The amendments will include provisions to ensure there are appropriate setbacks and screening to the transmission line.

8. Item 14.5 – Acknowledgement of all Faith (Deferred Item)

Question from Councillor Bradley

During discussion on the motion moved by Councillor Pandey, Councillor Bradley asked the following question:

With relation to Council’s current prayer practices for Council Meetings, have we had any examples where there have been Prayers or acknowledgements for the other faiths instead of a Christian Prayer?

Chief Finance and Information Officer Response

Following the December 2012 Council resolution to implement a prayer before Council Meetings, prayers have been undertaken utilising Ministers from Christian-based Churches.

9. Item 14.7 – Relocation of Willow Grove

Question from Councillor Garrard

During discussion on the motion moved by Councillor Pandey, Councillor Garrard asked the following question:

What is an approximate timeframe for the combining of the videos?

Executive Director, Community Services Response

Work is currently underway to combine the videos and this process is expected to be completed by the 31st of July 2022.

Rebecca Srbinovska

Governance Manager

John Angilley

Chief Financial and Information Officer

Brett Newman

Chief Executive Officer

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.