Byron Bay resident, John Lazarus, pointed out in last week’s Echo letters that Councillor Peter Westheimer had declared a conflict of interest and left the meeting for item Report 13.9 – Planning Proposal 26.2020.1.1 Amendment to State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 Short-term Rental Accommodation in Byron Shire – Submissions Report.
However, he also noted that the draft Council minutes recorded Cr Westheimer as present and voting on the motion.
A Byron Shire Council spokesperson has since stated that ‘Councillor Westheimer’s name was inadvertently not removed from the prefilled list of councillor names in the voting section. This was an error.’
‘As the minutes are still in draft form and will not be adopted until the meeting on 9 February 2023, the error has been corrected and the draft minutes republished on Council’s website.’
