Appendix to Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of RASAD of 10 August 2006
Report to Members
Is RASAD still relevant?
The RASAD committee thinks that so long as we represent the silent part of the community, continue our aim to promote “Appropriate Development” , as our name implies, and put forward logical and considered arguments towards this aim, then we will be heard, and accepted as a legitimate organisation in the eyes of the community and the Council. We can do this with your support and encouragement, and with help in the many tasks that need to be undertaken.
We would love to see more members actively involved in the organisation, and encourage you to contact any of the committee to talk about how you, and in many cases your expert knowledge, could be of help to RASAD.
This report will summarise RASAD’s contribution to some of the issues affecting the Village Centre – the area that we are primarily concerned with - over the last 18 months. Some of these have been noted in the minutes of the committee meetings held, but could not be reported upon in depth in those minutes.
Market Square
The major issue has again been Woolworths Market Square proposals. Development Consent, with some 150 Conditions, was granted in January 2005. RASAD commented on these Conditions and the subsequent amendments that Woolworths requested. Most of our comments were accepted in some form. A resident appealed to the Land and Environment Court on 5 issues arising from the consent. Four of these were dismissed, and one was upheld – that the Conditions did not include a requirement for a school drop off zone. A subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court upheld this decision, and the original Development Consent was declared invalid, with Council required to include Conditions covering a school drop off zone.
Council, the school, the Department of Education and Training, and Woolworths have now agreed to an upper drop off zone. A new set of Development Conditions have been approved by Council, incorporating all of the original conditions, and adding about 30 new conditions covering the drop off zone. This is about to be submitted to the L & E Court for their endorsement. We understand that the resident has reserved the right for a further appeal, but no grounds have been revealed.
The delays in commencement of the development have meant that the original construction schedules have had to be revised, and there will be much more work in the early stages being carried out simultaneously than in the original proposals, with possibly more confusion in the Centre during this construction period. Pedestrian safety and traffic movements are of particular concerns at this time, and these issues have yet to be agreed by Council. RASAD will continue to monitor developments, but there is no opportunity to play an active role at the present.
Lane Cove Alive
The Lane Cove Alive Action Plan was presented to Council, and subsequently adopted. Part of the Plan was the formation of a Leadership Group to carry the actions forward and to continue to promote the Centre. Susan O’Neill applied for membership and was successful.
The Group is now up and running, and has commenced putting together a strategy for their future action. We understand this will involve primarily actions centred on commercial activities. There will be an open day at their office on 12th August. RASAD has forwarded their submission to the original LC Alive deliberations to the Leadership Group for their information.
After the adoption of the Lane Cove Alive Action Plan, Council applied for grant money from various Government organisations, and asked RASAD to support these applications, which we did.
Rosenthal Avenue
In September 2005 Council resolved to begin the process of reclassifying the Rosenthal Avenue carpark from Community land to Operational land. The reason being that the “return to the community is less than desirable because it is underutilised”. This places a purely commercial value on the site, and does not consider other attributes that it possesses for the community. The process of reclassification required a public hearing, as well as reports on the fact that Council wished to place no conditions on the site, that would impede flexibility for development. RASAD made a submission and spoke at the Public hearing against the reclassification. Almost every Group and individual who made submissions, including the Chamber of Commerce, opposed the reclassification. We expect that there may be a report to Council on the Commissioner’s report at the Council meeting on 21 August.
Carparking Needs Survey
At the same meeting of 5 September 2005, Council also resolved to report back to Council on a needs analysis (of carparking needs), and to develop a Traffic Management Plan for the Centre by March 2006. By the March date, Council had only appointed a Consultant to carry out the traffic study and report. The Consultants have now done considerable work on traffic movements, and have held a Workshop (2 August) with some community members, including RASAD, representatives from RTA and STA, some Councillors and staff. Issues and ideas were freely canvassed. Little was provided in the form of needs analysis for parking requirements and little is indicated at this stage about the future and the effects of Woolworths development and the possible traffic implications after the tunnel is completed. We are awaiting further information on this issue.
Epping Road
RASAD also commented in some depth on the design plans for Epping Road (known as Sub Plan C) after the tunnel is open, as we felt that this will have a profound effect on the traffic in the Centre as well as the appearance of the approach to the Centre. The contractors, TJH, did not accept most of our concerns and refused to give us, or the public as a whole, an opportunity to further comment when they had made any changes that they saw fit to do after considering the submissions.
Subsequent to that Plan, the issue of the use of the traffic lanes on Epping Road has become a hot topic – whether there should be a dedicated bus only lane in both directions along the road, or whether that lane should be either a T2 or T3 lane. RASAD committee strongly believes that it should remain as planned, that is a dedicated bus only lane, thus promoting the better use of public transport, the reduction in car use, the reduction in pollution and possibly the need for fewer parking spaces generally.
Development Applications
We have also commented on a number of applications for work in retail and commercial premises in the Centre. The development on the hotel was approved with some amendments proposed by us. The large development at 98 –102 Longueville Road was withdrawn after approval, and some of the sites have been sold individually. Telstra applied to replace their public phone booths with ones which included illuminated advertising. This was initially refused, but later approved after some amendments by Telstra. There will not be advertising on the booths outside Westpac bank, but others will include illuminated advertising signs.
Most of the other applications were for change of use or occupancy, and did not warrant detailed comment from us.
Where to now?
RASAD has consistently advocated that there should be a Master Plan for the Village Centre, rather than the piecemeal planning that has happened, and is still happening, vis a vis the traffic parking study and the possible redevelopment plans for Rosenthal Avenue carpark. The Lane Cove Alive Leadership Group is drawing up a Strategic Plan for it’s activities. This is not an experts plan for the Centre, but will be a list of activities that will enhance the commercial sector, with spin off for the community in the form of some public domain improvements. The impact of the tunnel on traffic and the impact of the Woolworths development cannot be assessed, and can only be experienced after the event. A full scale Master Plan, with 3 dimensional illustrations, should be commissioned now to help us to see how we can advance the amenity of our Centre. This we will continue to advocate, despite the opposition from some Councillors at the moment.
Doug Stuart, Convenor, on behalf of the Committee
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