- Home
- Hansard & Papers
- Legislative Assembly
- 1 June 2007
State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living
Printing Tips |
Print selected text
| Full Day Hansard Transcript
« Prior Item |
Item 12 of 26
| Next Item »
About this Item
Speakers - Stokes Mr Rob
Business - Private Members Statements
|
Page: 669
Mr ROB STOKES (Pittwater) [10.50 a.m.]: I bring to the attention of the House an environmental outlaw at large in Pittwater: State Environmental Planning Policy No. 5, alias SEPP [State Environmental Planning Policy] Seniors Living. Developments under these policies have caused considerable concern and resentment in the Pittwater community. While State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living was supposed to address concerns that State Environmental Planning Policy No. 5 was being used as a subterfuge for overdevelopment, the experience from Pittwater is that the new policy has failed to counter these perceptions. For example, Pittwater has a difficult topography, ranging from low-lying coastal lands susceptible to flooding to steeply sloping land with a real risk of landslip.
Seniors Living flats are being built on steeply sloping land, accentuating the height and bulk of unit developments. Also, flats for aged housing are being built on low-lying land, where increased impervious surface areas will exacerbate the consequences of flood. The reality of climate change promises to aggravate this problem. Development consents for State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living developments typically involve a large number of conditions. It is very expensive and time-consuming for local councils to monitor and enforce these conditions of consent. It is unfair for ratepayers' funds to be spent on monitoring and enforcing conditions of consent for developments that are inconsistent with local planning controls.
The barren concrete, glass and steel style of many Seniors Living flats is unsympathetic to the low-density character and local heritage of the Pittwater area. More flats will bring more traffic and parking issues, which will exacerbate the long-standing congestion problems in areas of the northern peninsula such as Bayview and Church Point. It is unfair that developers can build residential units in areas where families can build only one house on a large block. Opportunities for development should be equitable: there should not be one rule applying to resident homeowners and another for outside developers.
State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living provides developers with a device for making big profits, but leaves the local community to live with a legacy of overdevelopment. Medium density State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living flats are being built with no improvements to our core infrastructure. With no certainty as to where these units might be built, it is impossible for local and State Government authorities to engage in proper strategic planning for new and upgraded services, such as upgrades to Mona Vale Hospital, Mona Vale Road, the Warriewood Sewage Treatment Plant, and local roads, parks and transport links.
The central problem with State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living is that it allows medium-density flats to be built in areas zoned for low-density family homes, totally ignoring planning controls developed by local communities. This raises fundamental issues of public participation and empowerment. It is not surprising that State Environmental Planning Policy No. 5 and Seniors Living developments have generated so much resentment, litigation and conflict when one considers that homeowners make decisions about where to live based on the future desired character of an area and the zoning of an area, only to find out too late that medium-density units for aged or disabled residents can ostensibly be built next door— The central problem with State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living is that it allows medium-density flats to be built in areas zoned for low-density family homes, totally ignoring planning controls developed by local communities. This raises fundamental issues of public participation and empowerment. It is not surprising that State Environmental Planning Policy No. 5 and Seniors Living developments have generated so much resentment, litigation and conflict when one considers that homeowners make decisions about where to live based on the future desired character of an area and the zoning of an area, only to find out too late that medium-density units for aged or disabled residents can ostensibly be built next door—against the planning controls designed by local communities.
There is a feeling in the Pittwater community that the Government has had long enough to fix the problems with State Environmental Planning Policy No. 5 and its successors. It is significant to note that the latest review, which took 18 months, is the fourth major review of the State Environmental Planning Policy since the Government came into office. Yet none of the reviews has addressed the central problem: State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living is perceived to be a loophole allowing medium-density flats in areas zoned for detached housing. The lipstick—indeed, the facelift—does not hide the pig. It is time for the Government to repeal State Environmental Planning Policy Seniors Living and implement appropriate housing targets based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data on how the community is likely to age and how many disabled people are living in a community through the local environmental plan so that residents can participate democratically in the process whereby planning controls are developed and applied. Otherwise our local environment will be lost under this Government's watch, and that would not be a legacy to be proud of.
Last modified 05/12/2007 16:46:16 : Update this page