How many people know that Lismore City Council (LCC) is about to take away their right to know about, or object to, many developments? Even next-door neighbours to developments will lose their right to be notified.
People can be forgiven for not knowing, because the LCC hasn’t advertised this significant change, and has buried it deep in an Appendix, ironically named the Community Participation Plan. In this case your right to participate will be nil, unless staff decide otherwise.
It’s all part of LCC’s Community Engagement Strategy currently on exhibition and due to be adopted very soon.
Currently, adjoining neighbours receive notification of any development application (DA), the DA is advertised to the community, people can make submissions on it, and if submissions are received then elected councillors vote on the staff recommendation. An open and transparent process.
The new plan staff will now make the decision on whether neighbours should be notified and the DA advertised, based on if the development is ‘expected’ and ‘low impact’. If staff decide the development should proceed unadvertised, the first that neighbours will know about it is when work commences.
It’s difficult to see how rural subdivisions of up to nine lots and blocks of four units, could by their very nature have ‘negligible impacts’, but those, along with single dwellings (all types), dual occupancies and secondary dwellings, home-based businesses / industries / occupations, urban subdivisions (not involving any new public road openings), low-impact commercial / industrial uses and low-impact public administration, education, and health services are all to be removed from public exhibition and councillor scrutiny unless staff decide otherwise.
This seems yet another sneaky step by the current council to minimise community engagement, rather than improve it.
Is this legal? Yes. Does it pass the pub test? I suspect not.
You have until 12 June to object to losing your rights to know and have a say, by making a submission at https://yoursay.lismore.nsw.gov.au/community-engagement-strategy-2025, or lobbying your LCC councillors.
The relevant section of the proposal is on page 36 of the Strategy document: https://yoursay.lismore.nsw.gov.au/100819/widgets/463573/documents/309061
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