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| Aerial view of a section of Yamba township precinct during flooding in 2022. IMAGE: Clarence Valley Independent |
On Tuesday, 18 March 2023 Clarence Valley Council held its Ordinary Monthly Meeting.
Officially present at that meeting according to the Minutes were:
Cr Greg Clancy [Deputy Mayor], Cr Bill Day, Cr Peter Johnstone, Cr Debrah Novak, Cr Steve Pickering, Cr Jeff Smith, Cr Ian Tiley [Mayor], Cr Karen Toms and Cr Allison Whaites, General Manager (Laura Black), Director – Corporate & Community (Alex Moar), Director – Environment & Planning (Adam Cameron), Director – Works & Civil (Jamie Fleeting) and Minutes Secretary (Lee Boon).
The fourth item of business for Council In The Chamber that day was the following Notice of Motion:
Item 06.23.004 Rezoning Lands on West Yamba Floodplain
Note: Crs Tiley and Johnstone left the Chamber ahead of this motion at 2:08pm, having asserted a non-pecuniary conflict of interest existed in relation to Item 06.23.004. Both noting sitting members on Northern Joint Regional Planning Panel. Under s6.1 of the Code of Meeting Practice, the Deputy Chair became the chair in the Mayor’s absence.
MOTION
Clancy/Smith
That Council:
1. note the legal advice tabled at the February Ordinary Council Meeting that compensation would not be
payable in the event that the Department of Planning and Environment, on the recommendation of
Council, was to approve a rezoning of lands in the West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA) from
residential R1 to C2 or a mix of C2 and RU2 depending on the results of the planning study;
2. prepare a planning proposal for submission to the Department of Planning and Environment requesting
that the vacant land, which do not have development approvals for subdivision, in the West Yamba
Urban Release Area (WYURA) be rezoned from Residential (R1) to Conservation (C2) zoning or a mix
of Conservation (C2) and Rural (RU2) based on the impacts of further development on the environment
and the risk to human life and property from future flooding.
Voting recorded as follows
For: Clancy, Smith
Against: Day, Novak, Pickering, Toms, Whaites
The Motion was put and declared LOST
[my yellow highlighting]
To say that the writer of this post is disappointed beyond measure at this outcome is an understatement.
Those names listed as voting down the re-zoning motion, Bill Day, Debrah Novak, Steve Pickering, Karen Toms and Allison Waites, should be noted for future reference by Yamba residents & ratepayers when - as landfill proceeds apace - the next inevitable major Lower Clarence River flood arrives.
An alternate Motion in Item 06.23.004 was put up by Cr. Day & seconded by Cr. Smith and lost. That particular risible motion all but issued an invitation to the NSW Nationals to turn any rezoning of the West Yamba Urban Release Area into both a regional and state brawl along partisan political lines in which property developers would have eagerly participated. It was voted down by Crs. Clancy, Novak, Toms, Whaites.
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
Approved development of the Yamba floodplain under the provisions of the West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA) planning approval has resulted in large amounts of fill being transported to the site, particularly along Gardeners Road, Yamba Road and Carrs Drive. The constant truck movements (1 every 10 minutes), has caused great consternation among a number of Yamba residents. The large amount of fill would appear to be exacerbating localized flooding around the Carrs Drive roundabout and the area surrounding it. There is also concern that the large amount of fill is affecting, and will increasing affect, the drainage of the area, adversely affecting low lying residences and the environment.
PROPOSED MOTION
That Council:
1. note the legal advice tabled at the February Ordinary Council Meeting that compensation would not be payable in the event that the Department of Planning and Environment, on the recommendation of Council, was to approve a rezoning of lands in the West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA) from residential R1 to C2 or a mix of C2 and RU2 depending on the results of the planning study;
2. prepare a planning proposal for submission to the Department of Planning and Environment requesting that the vacant land, which do not have development approvals for subdivision, in the West Yamba Urban Release Area (WYURA) be rezoned from Residential (R1) to Conservation (C2) zoning or a mix of Conservation (C2) and Rural (RU2) based on the impacts of further development on the environment and the risk to human life and property from future flooding.
The eighth item of business at that 18 April ordinary council meeting was a development application for a 6 lot subdivision of an existing parcel of land in West Yamba Urban Release Area, lodged on behalf of a commercial fisher-cum-property developer.
It was refused as per COUNCIL RESOLUTION - 07.23.050
Clancy/Johnstone
That council refuse Development Application SUB2021/0045 for the following reasons covered by
Section 4.15 of the Environmental, Planning and Assessment Act 1979:
a) The land being a wetland (Swamp Forest of Swamp Oak) making it unsuitable for the proposed development;
b) The nine submissions raised major concerns about the potential for flooding, impacts of stormwater runoff and clearing of natural vegetation.
c) The likely impacts of the development on the natural environment;
d) Impact on areas of C2 zoning for some infrastructure.
Voting recorded as follows
For: Clancy, Day, Johnstone, Pickering, Smith, Tiley
Against: Novak, Toms, Whaites
DISCLAIMER: The author of this post is a Yamba resident living alone in a single storey dwelling in a street adjoining a 20 year-old 6.65ha landfill comprising est. 90,000 cubic metres of river dredge & soil. The street is regularly cut off by riverine floodwater, or a combination of floodwater and storm water, preventing access to the town's nominal evacuation centre. The author has no independent means of leaving the town if residents are advised to do so ahead of a large flood front. In 2022 a small number of houses within this short street experienced flooding.
