Housing estate being built on a floodplain leaves flooded homeowners outraged

Ch 9, "A Current Affair" segment, 2 April 2023:

Locals' outrage as $34m estate approved to be built on a floodplain

With sweeping views on the New South Wales coast, it's easy to see why Yamba has gone from being a small, sleepy, coastal town to a holiday favourite for tourists.

But locals say their idyllic lifestyle is now under threat because the town is being drowned by developers who were given the green light to build on a flood plain.

Dozens of Yamba residents turned up to protest outside a $34 million development being constructed in the town's west.

(NINE) Click on image to enlarge

Locals claim developers are filling the land in with 3.5m of dirt.

They say it's towering over their backyards, means constant vibration and trucks, and worse - has changed the area's water flow and is causing their homes to flood.

Lynne, who is spearheading the town's campaign to 'stop the fill' said the developments are "devastating (the) local people". 

"It's 136 manufactured housing estate, very small lots from 240 to 280 square metres per block, it's all cramped in," she said.

Video of full Current Affairs segment (including February-March 2022 Yamba flood footage) at:

https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/yamba-flooding-locals-outrage-as-housing-estate-approved-to-be-built-on-a-floodplain/0ef4a211-74de-4b0e-835d-8fbbc6ca202d

Tonight A Current Affair will be taking a look at what one large American residential land lease company is willing to do to a small Australian coastal town in order to make a quick buck for its stateside owners.

A Current Affair

7pm on Channel 9 tonight

Tuesday 2 April 2024

https://www.9now.com.au/a-current-affair/season-2024

Yamba CAN Inc Community Action Network - Protest Banner

Tonight A Current Affair will be taking a look at what one large American residential land lease company is willing to do to a small Australian coastal town in order to make a quick buck for its stateside owners.

Some of the program's promotional pics showing the approx. 6ha Park Ave, Yamba landfill site. 

 

YAMBACAN image showing the increased height of the landfill and boundary fencing in relation to existing housing.

BACKGROUND

Hometown America LLC is a residential land lease company in the U.S. operating over 60 manufactured home sites containing over 24,000 home sites styled as affordable housing.

The corporation is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and has two business divisions – the Hometown America Family Communities and Hometown America Age-Qualified (55+) Communities.

Hometown America has been the defendant in multiple legal actions principally brought by individuals and groups of individuals who were residents in its U.S. land lease-manufactured home sites. In December 2023 Hometown America management was named in a class action alleging collusion between a number of land lease companies to fix and inflate lot rental prices.

Hometown America is the parent company of Hometown Australia headquartered in Queensland and when it was establishing itself in Australia was composed of the following entities:

A.C.N. 626 522 085 Pty. Ltd – registered in NSW on 31 May 2018

Hometown Australia Management Pty Ltd (ACN 614 529 538)

Hometown Australia Nominees Pty Ltd (ACN 616 047 084) atf Hometown Australia Property Trust (Hometown).

Through its Australian subsidiary Hometown Australia this U.S. corporation currently operates est. 51 sites in Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales, marketed as affordable housing and lifestyle living for the over 50s. By 2021 these land lease sites reportedly housed 10,000 people. Four of these sites are in the Northern Rivers regions, with more on the drawing board.

On completion of construction, 8 Park Ave will be Hometown America’s sixth site in the Northern Rivers region – bringing its land lease sites in Yamba to two manufactured homes estates.

It will also increase the Yamba population by between 136 and 272 people over 50 years of age, in a town where 57.50% of the population are already aged 50 to 85 years of age and older [Australian Census, August 2021].

This development will also increase the population in the 0.37sq.km SA1 statistical precinct it lies within – from 654 persons to between 790–926 persons depending on number of occupants per dwelling at 8 Park Ave.

Note: This statistical precinct is bounded by sections of Park Ave, Wattle Drive, Gumnut Road, The Links, The Mainbrace, Shores Drive and Yamba Road and currently contains more than 200 houses, townhouses and apartments/units. Along with one childminding centre and one motel [maps.abs.gov.au, 2021]

Hometown America’s land-lease sites in NSW are governed by the provisions in the Residential(Land Lease) Communities Act 2013.

In the first financial year Hometown America LLC was operating in Australia 2019-20 its local arm Hometown Australia Holdings Pty Ltd declared an income of $185,480,667 with no taxable income and no taxes paid. In 2020-21 its second financial year its local arm declared $314,117, 781 in income with no taxable income or tax paid. [Australian Taxation Office, Data Sets, Corporate Tax Transparency, Report on Entity Tax Information 2019-20 & 2020-21]

Hometown Australia is gaining a similar reputation to its U.S. parent company when it comes to resident’s complaints and concerns about its business practices – particularly in relation rent increases and poor maintenance of community facilities [media report 2020, media report 2021 & media report 2022].