Was the 33 Lawson St motel development, (given consent for a four storey, 12.5 metre high development in a nine metre, two storey zone) the actual reason for the prior, publicly rejected, staff supported Byron Bay Town Centre Planning Control that proposed height increases specifically for this same section of Lawson St? And when the public submissions rejected that, staff proposed Lawson St height increases (Plan A?), was the subsequent DA just ‘Plan B’ from the staff/councillors/developer?
A bit like the Northern Regional Planning Panel’s rejection of the Jonson St mall’s original developer/staff-supported DA (Plan A?) as it breached the nine metre height, but then they moved on to Plan B, where the same staff brought the reports, supported by the developer-friendly Councillors, to increase the development’s height to 12.5 metres.
Cr Ndiaye did vote against the Lawson St Motel DA, but it’s worth a read of the Byron Bay Community Board, where, during a flurry of chest-beating by Lyon, she joined in by saying she only rejected the DA because of the developer contributions (and falsely states that this nine metre height zone wasn’t a nine metre height zone).
Cr Ndiaye is playing to the voters and appears to actually be using the Greens just to get elected, despite actually still being a part of Lyon’s group, where it appears her voting loyalty actually lies.
Anticipate further pushes for height increases from Lawson St to the beachfront. The developers are frothing at the mouth in anticipation of the Masterplan proposals to bulldoze the First Sun Caravan Park, the adjacent car park and the adjacent pool complex for the richest
development site out of Sydney. Didn’t hear about that? No, nobody did, the pool licensee engaged with the Masterplan proposal and says there was never any discussion of demolishing the pool and the proposal only came out in the Final Report to Council (where the usual suspects voted for it).
Regulatory capture is an ICAC class of Council corruption, where Council staff and councillors pervert the planning rules for a developer that has formed a relationship with them.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
