An experienced and well-regarded local architect has resigned from Council’s Affordable Housing Committee and Place Planning Collective (PPC), claiming Byron Council is ignoring their input with the creation of ‘affordable housing’ policies.
David Brown’s letter to Mayor Michael Lyon and Council’s chief planner, Shannon Burt, also says the mayor is ignoring the community-led Mullum Masterplan by pushing for a car park to be built opposite Northern Rivers Auto Care on Argyle Street.
This would compensate for the community losing a busy car park – Council is planning, behind closed doors, an ‘affordable housing’ project between the former Hoopers restaurant and Milk & Honey restaurant.
The mayor also wants to house Council staff there.
Mr Brown says, ‘While I acknowledge the need for additional parking, the site was identified in the masterplan as a “green entry” to our town’.
Cr Lyon was contacted for comment, but none was received by deadline.
The Echo put Mr Brown’s question to the mayor: ‘Why can’t Council put another deck on its own car park?’
Mute mayor
‘Is Council considering developing its own car park as “affordable housing”, and if not, why?’
Furthermore, Mr Brown also believes Council’s Affordable Housing Contribution Policy is fundamentally flawed, and supplied detailed data to support his view (see page 9).
The resignation letter also includes his disappointment that an ‘affordable housing’ proposal in Myocum he was involved with was knocked back by planning staff, something that he claims would help alleviate the chronic shortage of accommodation.
In conjunction with Christopher Dean, Mr Brown submitted plans for 1247 Myocum Road (near the Mullum Golf Course) for ‘Dual Occupancy Detached Dwellings with Expanded Dwelling Modules’.
It follows on from similar projects that Mr Dean has undertaken elsewhere, which provide homes for essential workers.
Mr Brown told The Echo the DA has now been abandoned.
Mr Brown concludes the letter by accusing the mayor of ‘smoke and mirrors proposals’, and ‘poorly researched and written policies’.
Smoke and mirrors
‘You were briefed on the [Myocum] proposal, appeared supportive, and recently suggested such proposals, on rule, had merit.
‘Then, instead of being properly assessed as a permissible, dual occupancy development, occupying just 2.6 per cent of the site with attendant environmental and employment benefits, it was incorrectly deemed to be a multiple occupancy development with flood and contamination issues.
‘One can only conclude Council and Council officers are scared to step outside what they perceive to be in these inviolate rules when the land environment court has concluded that levels of flexibility can be given to the strict interpretation of a DCP.’
What do Council committees do?
Council’s voluntary advisory committees advise Council on matters such as town planning and other areas of policy. Their meetings and subsequent minutes contain recommendations, which are noted/adopted at Council meetings.
Voluntary advisory committees also manage the Shire’s many halls. Currently, Council’s 16 advisory committees function with community members, and some without. The Communications Panel lists only three councillors as members (no community or staff are mentioned), as does the Business and Industry Advisory Committee. As previously reported, this committee, under mayor, Michael Lyon, operates without much transparency. They move out of committee session to invite unnamed business owners into the room. Who are they? Council won’t say.
