LET the MINISTER & Department KNOW:

Time for inconsistent decision-making to end

After untangling fact from spin, it is clear that the real reasons for unreasonably-large minimum lot sizes in our area have more to do with power and privilege than sense and reason. As outlined in correspondence with the planning department, the planners haven't even followed their own rules.

Now is the time, before the LEP is gazetted, to write to the Minister and Director General of Planning, and let them know we don't accept the way our rights have been dismissed for no good reason. Contact details:

• Minister for Planning & Infrastructure
• Director General of Planning

Correspondence & points discussed at our recent meeting available here.

landowners prohibited from addressing meeting; concerns rejected

LEP approved; landowner concerns rejected

Listed as "Consideration of Submissions", debate on the 2010 draft LEP at the Hills Shire council meeting of 23 August 2011 was anything but. Although many post-exhibition changes were made to comply with new department of planning requirements issued during the final days of the former Labor government, all the key concerns raised by acreage landowners in their submissions – opposition to the biodiversity overlay, opposition to community title and cluster subdivision, and failure to restore the minimum lot size to 5 acres in most rural areas – were rejected as “inconsistent with Council's strategic framework”. more>>

JULY 2011: Submission period closed

Over 400 submissions made to 2010 draft LEP

We have been advised that the council has received over 400 submissions to the 2010 draft LEP. Councillors are due to be briefed in July 2011 on the issues raised, followed by a report in September to a full council meeting, which we encourage all members and supporters to attend.

When the LEP was last reviewed, the council failed to make any amendments in response to submissions. This must not happen again. Landowners have serious and legitimate concerns about the impact of the 2010 LEP upon their ability to manage and use their properties productively. It is not acceptable for the council to dismiss these concerns because they don't fit their plan, or because they only affect a minority of ratepayers.

It is within the power of the council to amend the LEP to take account of issues raised by those affected, and we call on the council and councillors to do so.

In particular, we call on the council to reduce the minimum lot size in the rural area to 5 acres—now!

• 5 Acres Now submission to 2010 draft LEP (pdf)
• 5 Acres Now presentations and information re 2010 draft LEP
• Council website with information about the 2010 draft LEP

Token lot-size reductions and more restrictions

2010 Draft LEP resurrects Environmental Overlay

Minimum lot size reduced to 5 acres in one area only

Cluster subdivision elsewhere, but only if property is 25+ acres, and at least half quarantined off as de-facto National Park

Another draft LEP, another attempt to lock up most undeveloped land in the Shire and maintain the prohibitions against development in the so-called 'rural' areas. Click the image below to see what our President has to say about it. More>>

And here's what landowners have been up against for the last 40 years:

Planning behind closed doors

2010 Draft LEP finally revealed

After a lot of dithering, on 26 July 2010 the council finally revealed the draft LEP they have been working on behind closed doors for the last couple of years. No surprises to find that once again it has been based on the discredited rural land study, and apart from a token reduction in minimum lot sizes in Maraylya, and a limited opportunity for cluster subdivision elsewhere, it is simply more of the same. Worst of all, the environmental overlay is back - only the name has changed. We'll have more to say about it soon, but in the meantime you can read it here: 2010 Hills Shire Draft LEP.

Landowners left out of the loop

Secret Draft Rural Plan

A recent council report revealed that the council has already decided on the future of our area, but is keeping the details under wraps. The report, tabled at the council meeting of 24 June 2008, relates to the 2010 LEP, and includes the following statement:

“To date, draft zoning, minimum lot size, height of buildings, floor space ratio and heritage maps have been prepared for the rural areas.”

No further details are offered, and requests have been met with silence; however prior reports, such as the draft Local Strategy (see Newsletter 13 for more details) suggest that the plan makes no provision for incorporating the wishes of those affected for a reduction in the minimum lot size.

We call upon the council to put the details of this plan on the table now, so it can be openly debated, and amended to incorporate the wishes of affected landowners. Otherwise, there remains the risk that details will leak, perhaps benefiting some, while the most important “stakeholders”—current landowners—are once again excluded from the process.

Study seeks to stop growth

Councillors reject Rural Resource Lands Study

At their meeting of 16 May 2006, Baulkham Hills Council debated a motion regarding a new government-funded study titled “Rural Resources Lands Study”. The key strategy recommended in the study was to “Protect rural resource lands from urban development, subdivision, land speculation and other incompatible land uses”.

Thankfully, when it came to the vote, councillors firmly rejected the Study, recommending that it should not be considered by the Department of Planning when they develop policy for the rural lands. more>>
 

Draft plan shelved

State Government rejects Draft LEP & DCP

Sometime during December 2005 the State Government returned the draft Rural Plan to the council, without the necessary section 65 certificate that would have permitted it to be placed on public exhibition. In itself, this is a good outcome for landholders affected by the proposals in the draft Plan, however the government's intentions as revealed in the metropolitan strategy are not encouraging. more>>

PLAN fails to incorporate wishes of affected landowners

Draft LEP & DCP do not deliver

Following the loss of a rescission motion on 21 June 2005, the draft Rural Plan was submitted to the State Government for issuance of a "Section 65" certificate to enable it to be placed on public exhibition. The plan, hardly altered since it was rejected by the council on 16th September 2004, does not provide sufficient opportunity for growth in the district, and is not supported by residents. more>>

A new challenge to private property rights

Environmental Management Plan

Since 1997 the Baulkham Hills Council has been quietly working away on an "Environmental Management Plan". The intention is to produce a document which will become the foundation on which other plans, for example Local Environment Plans (LEPs), are based. With input coming almost exclusively from environmental advocates, this plan will further restrict landholders' choices if it is adopted. more>> 

DOWNLOAD (289K PDF): 5 Acres Now Submission

Overwhelming support for 5 acre subdivision

Almost 400 attend meeting

Rural residents, some of whom had to travel long distances to Castle Hill, came out in force on the evening of the 16th February 2005 to show their overwhelming support for subdivision of large lots to 5 acres, and absolute opposition to the imposition of any environmental zone over their properties. more>>

community meeting with review consultants

Liaison group to council - 5 Acres Now!

Part of the Rural Land Study review process included a "Community Liaison Group" meeting, held on 1 February 2005. About 40 were invited, representing a reasonable cross-section of the rural community. Conducted by the review consultants, Connell Wagner, the central message to come out of the meeting was that residents want 5 acre subdivision - now! full details>>

Review to focus on subdivision

Consultant to review latest Rural Land Study

At the extraordinary council meeting of 16th September 2004, Councillors resolved to appoint a consultant to review the latest Rural Land Study. Accordingly, on 23 November 2004 an advertisement appeared in the local media, seeking a "suitably qualified and experienced planning consultant to undertake this review". This time the objectives are firmly focussed on the key issue overlooked in the Rural Land Study, that of rural residential subdivision. more>>

Unanimous vote against plan based upon rural land study

Councillors vote against draft Rural Plan

It seems that sense and reason are finally starting to prevail. On the 16th of September 2004, Councillors voted unanimously against adopting the council-officer-prepared draft Plan developed from the Rural Land Study. As well as providing virtually no opportunities for rural residential subdivision, the draft Plan astoundingly attempted to impose an environmental "protection" zone over 54% of the Shire, without the consent of landholders, and without offering any form of compensation for the loss of value suffered by owners. more>>

Massive turnout at extraordinary meeting

With the public gallery overflowing, and many forced to sit on the floor, the attendance at the council's extraordinary meeting of 16th September 2004 was one of the biggest ever–over 300! Most were wearing the pink and white ribbons handed out by 5 Acres Now committee members to identify supporters, and many addressed the meeting. more>>

a green belt of low density housing

5 Acres Now–a balanced approach

The Rural Land Study, and the ensuing draft Rural Plan prepared by council officers, both lacked one vital ingredient–vision. Instead of providing hope for a prosperous future, the draft Plan gave the community nothing more than a future locked away among the trees and the bush and the rabbits. That is not what the community is calling for. What everyone wants is a balanced approach–a Plan that delivers moderate growth, retains desirable natural characteristics of the area, acknowledges the demands due to increasing population and the need for choice, and above all, delivers hope. Our call for 5 acre subdivision achieves all those goals, and more:

Download now (570K pdf): A Balanced Approach to Growth

Councillors voice support for 5 Acres Now

On the 28th of November 2004, 5 Acres Now held a general meeting for members. All 3 north ward councillors attended; all voiced strong support for a restoration of growth to the area through relaxing the restrictions against rural residential subdivision. more>>

private property rights ignored in push to satisfy green lobby

Environmental Zone–unwanted & unnecessary

Perhaps the most outrageous proposal in the draft Rural Plan tabled at the council meeting of 17 August 2004 was the proposal to impose an environmental zone with a 100 acre minimum lot size over most of the remaining non-urban land in the Shire. Not only is this completely undemocratic, as almost none of the affected owners agree or were even consulted, it also undermines a key foundation of our society–private property rights. If it goes ahead, it will set a dangerous precedent, which will almost certainly be used to justify other reductions in the rights of private property owners.  more>>