From the Mayor - 28 February 2024
Thank you Mosman for your overwhelming concern and disgust. Please stay vigilant as we work together to stop abhorrent tree vandalism. Balmoral has understandably grabbed the headlines but the truth is trees are vandalised across the municipality. I will have more to say at our upcoming 5 March Council Meeting.
It was a full house at Council’s community meeting to outline the proposed NSW Government planning reforms to increase housing density across NSW. Residents heard that Council has always worked with the NSW Planning Department and the now defunct independent Greater Cities Commission to meet the initial target set in late 2020 for Mosman to increase housing supply. Compared to other LGAs our target was small, but it was a target that took into account key factors including no Northern Beaches Tunnel, our small land size and that Mosman already has more than 65% medium and high-rise apartment buildings.
Most recently, the General Manager and I met with the former City Commissioner Dr Deborah Dearing. The Commission had been working with councils to determine what each area could realistically provide in terms of increased density and which ones could be expedited to achieve housing more rapidly. Disappointingly, the expert advice was ignored, and the subsequent proposal released by the government just before Christmas, euphemistically titled an Explanation of Intended Effect is a one-size-fits-all approach that does not take into account local circumstances and capacity.
Our Northern Sydney councils want to work collectively and collaboratively with the NSW Government to find workable solutions but the current approach - not consulting with local government, but more importantly, communities - is disrespectful, undemocratic and risky. The one-size-fits-all approach trashes local government’s significant attempts to date to strategically provide increased well-designed density, especially at key sites around new metro stations and existing heavy rail stations.
Planning on the run is not planning; all local governments are deeply concerned about the ill-considered consequences that will no doubt occur when density does not match social and capital infrastructure growth. All levels of government need to be brave but fair. Increasing supply is only one lever government can pull – but, to date it is the only lever government is wholeheartedly pushing, the supposed ‘quick fix’, no doubt to the absolute joy of developers.