Local residents and Wilson Nature Reserve Landcare Group have said they are ‘dumbfounded’ at the lack of scrutiny of the ongoing development application (DA) at 37 City View Drive, East Lismore (DA 21/253) that they witnessed at the Lismore City Council Information Briefing meeting on April 23.
The DA is now in its third iteration since it was first submitted in 2021 and the applicant is now seeking for the development to be done as a Community Title development rather than a standard urban development.
‘This DA is located on high ground, but is far from level. Adjacent to the western boundary of the proposed site there is a land slippage from the 2022 floods that affected a nearby sewage line. It remains in disrepair. In close proximity to this and on even steeper land, house sites are proposed. Nearby residents have expressed concerns about the inherent risks for the proposed houses, the access road and associated drain construction,’ said a representative of the group.
‘Community Title developments are not common in urban environments. They come with onerous obligations, most of which are ultimately borne by allotment owners who bear major expense burdens. This aspect of Community Title appealed to the majority of Councillors who reasoned that infrastructure and development costs together with compliance issues were not their responsibility.’
Stormwater runoff risks
Residents have raised concerns over the adequacy of the storm water provisions presented by council planning staff. At the briefing session residents were prevented from asking questions or contributing to the discussion.
‘Only two councillors appeared to have read the many informed submissions and tried to ask relevant questions. Another councillor berated and dismissed the relevance of the public submissions, many of which raised important questions that have been left unanswered,’ they told The Echo.
‘Residents who attended were left dumbfounded at what they saw as a serious lack of scrutiny of significant financial and legal risks to council associated with this DA. A close examination of the details – also an arduous task for members of the public given the confused presentation of documents on the Council DA Tracker – reveal serious short-comings and possible risks to Council.’
Residents said that the mandatory requirement for a comprehensive Neigbourhood Management Statement, specified in the Community Land Development Act (NSW) 2021, has not been provided by the developer.
‘This effectively leaves both the Council and neighbouring residents in the dark about the full intentions of the development. Will council be in breach of the legislation if approval is granted without this?’ they said.
‘The proposal requires massive amounts of storm water run-off and drainage engineering, extensive road works on site, and alterations to an already dangerous section of City View Drive. All these works have to comply with rigorous Rural Fire Service requirements – which have not been adequately addressed in the DA submission. These are just a few points glossed over by Councillors and staff at the Briefing.’
Wilson Nature Reserve
Adjacent to the development site is the Wilson Nature Reserve and the Wilson Nature Reserve Landcare Group said there was no consideration given to the potential risk this development may have on that site.
‘There are major environmental impact concerns to the adjacent Wilson Nature Reserve about which the majority of councillors appear to have zero interest. At least they should do their due diligence when it comes to the other issues raised here,’ said the spokesperson.
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