Geoff Helisma|

Councillor Andrew Baker was successful in gaining the support of a majority of councillors at the July 27 Clarence Valley Council (CVC) meeting, to support two planning proposals (PP) rejected by CVC staff.

Both PPs sought to amend the Clarence Valley Local Environmental Plan 2011, to rezone RU2 Rural Landscape to R5 Large Lot Residential, in order to: permit the subdivision of the land into a maximum of six (6) lots of 4,000m2 (minimum) at 4 River Road, Palmers Island; and, to facilitate rezoning part of the large lot residential subdivision at Lot 231 Hampton Road, Waterview Heights, into one (1) additional lot.

Staff listed multiple reasons for not approving the PPs, each of which led with, “The proposal lacks adequate strategic justification in the context of the North Coast Regional Plan 2036 (NCRP) and relevant Minister’s section 9.1…”

Cr Baker argued that the “onus was on the applicant to provide something suitable [to the planning gateway]”.

“The council is not called upon to do anything, except receive [the application] so it becomes part of a planning proposal,” he said.

He said it “will be a very onerous” task to get approval from the NSW Government, “if it’s even possible”.

He said that the objectors would “embrace this concept … changing from a 109-lot caravan park to a six-lot residential component”.

There was some strident debate on the matter, however, in the end, Cr Baker’s motion was unanimously supported.

Meanwhile, Cr Baker ran the same argument for the Waterview Hights PP and, while there was far less debate than that for the Palmers Island decision, councillors Greg Clancy and Debrah Novak opposed it – Cr Peter Ellem declared a non-significant, non-pecuniary interest and left the meeting for that item.