27 February 2009

Reversal a win for good governance: “..Tuesday night’s decision by Shoalhaven City Council, to overturn a decision made only two weeks earlier to allow a development in breach of its own planning regulations, was a victory for good governance. Too often councils are in the position of having to put off what is important to try and accomplish what is urgent, and that was nearly the case with the development proposed for Fegen Street, Huskisson. In its haste to approve what was obviously a high quality and appropriate development, the council was almost in the difficult position of ignoring its own rules and regulations.” From an Editorial in the South Coast Register. Read more…

ABOUT FACE - Community concerns prompt planning reversal: Despite being universally praised, a development proposed for Huskisson has been put on hold while Shoalhaven City Council tries to update a development control plan. The three-storey residential and tourist development proposed for 19 Fegen Street was actually approved by council two weeks earlier, but was brought back for reconsideration on Tuesday evening following a recision motion instigated by Cr John Fergusson. That reconsideration resulted in councillors bowing to community concerns that the organisation was turning its back on its own processes and policies by approving a project that did not comply with the relevant development control plan.

But the change of direction did not come without pain, with several councillors arguing the development equated to jobs and growth. However the mood of the meeting changed when Crs Nigel Soames and Andrew Guile, who both supported the development proceeding at the previous meeting, indicated they had changed their minds. Cr Guile said his change of tack was based on the belief the DCP could be quickly overhauled, resulting in only a minor delay for the developer. From the South Coast Register. Read more...

25 February 2009

South Coast Register sales up: Regional newspapers are showing resilience amid the bleak economic conditions putting pressure on media companies around the world. January circulation figures for the South Coast Register confirm that people still rely on quality local news sources - in good times and in bad. The Register reported a five per cent spike in circulation for the month of January, off the back of an exceptionally strong tourist season all along the South Coast. Over the long term, the readership of the Monday and Friday editions continues to increase, month on month and year on year. This growth has been steady now for almost 10 years. From the South Coast Register. Read more...

Threat to wildlife may halt South Coast project: One of the most bitterly fought housing developments on the South Coast is almost certain to be halted by the federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, who has made a preliminary decision to reject a proposed 1200-lot estate at Jervis Bay. It is feared the project will threaten vulnerable native animals and plants and have a damaging effect on wildlife in the popular Booderee National Park. Last night the Shoalhaven City Council received a communication from Mr Garrett indicating he would reject the plan, though he offered more consultation. From The Sydney Morning Herald. Read more...

18 February 2009

New council, same issues: “Shoalhaven City Council’s statement of business ethics states that all councillors are required to comply with its code of conduct, adding that the code was developed to assist council officials to “act in a way that enhances public confidence in the integrity of local government”. I emailed all councillors in December asking them to explain to me how that decision had enhanced public confidence. Only two councillors had the courtesy to respond - John Fergusson and Gareth Ward.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register. Read more...

16 February 2009

Holiday letting hurts residents: “There are many residents who live in coastal towns up and down the eastern seaboard who are living in agony due to what is loosely called short-term holiday letting. I refer to weekend letting of residential houses and would like to put the issue into perspective....yobbos who come to do what they cannot do in their own neighbourhood: drink all night on the external parts of the property, yell, sing, chant, swear and behave badly and prevent neighbours from conducting any semblance of normal life....this type of letting brings nothing into local government areas. These groups arrive with their own food and alcohol. They leave their excess rubbish and little more. The benefactors are the landlords, many of whom do not live in the local government area and leave none of the money they make. The net effect is a cost on the ratepayers.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register. Read more...

13 February 2009

Planning policy vacuum a risk to Husky’s future: “A graphic indication that all is not well in Huskisson sits at the entrance to the town, where a welcome sign has been defaced with the words ‘Developers paradise’.

While many thought the election of the new council would defuse the acrimony over development in Huskisson, the old battle lines are reforming. Unfortunately, the new council is responsible.

In deciding to ignore its own development control plan and approve a unit development in Fegen Street, the new council is risking accusations that it is sliding into the bad old habits of making ad hoc planning decisions and overturning its own policies.

At the heart of the issue is a planning document that was due for review three years ago and is out-of-date, leaving decisions like the Fegen Street development in limbo. There are compelling arguments on both sides.” From an Editorial in the South Coast Register. Read more...

Council breaks its own code to approve unit development: An application to build units in Fegen Street, Huskisson, may well determine the face and shape of a large section of the seaside town into the future.

Shoalhaven City Council approved the application at its full meeting on Tuesday night despite the fact the application contravened the area’s development control plan and ignoring an impassioned plea from Councillor John Fergusson.

Council’s development committee had approved the application and called for an immediate review of the development control plan applying to the area.

Cr Fergusson wanted decisions about the application deferred until after the DCP had been reviewed.

Otherwise the unit block was pre-empting any review, and the application “may well determined the whole appearance and context of a substantial part of Huskisson,” he warned. From the South Coast Register. Read more..

New Council was elected by you: “How trite it is for G. Gibson (SCR Letters, February 9) to wax so lyrically about democracy and then complain that the newly elected council, one which he and his apparatchiks worked so hard to have put in, doesn’t do their bidding.

The council was elected by the people of the Shoalhaven to do their best for the people of the Shoalhaven, not for Mr Gibson and his misguided and minority representing Community Voice. No doubt we will have to put up with more of his whinging and I’ll get another bashing for daring to voice an opinion contrary to his (again...yawn) but some people believe in achievable and long-term progress for our area and that we must move forward.

No doubt it will come up again that “we don’t want another Gold Coast”, something nobody wants and the only ones that bring up that option are the fear-mongers. But have a look at sensible and sustained growth in places like Noosa, Port Stephens and Lorne and see what we can achieve instead of putting heads in the sand and whining.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register. Read more...

9 February 2009

Different spots, same leopard: “Many in the Shoalhaven welcomed the major changes to the make-up of our council at the election last September and many see that there are noticeable and very welcome improvements in the way council conducts its business. But it’s fair to say that in the case of major development at the expense of community interests, the developers are winning hands down. Balanced and sensible development doesn’t seem to be on the agenda for this council, and it still seems that Huskisson is a major target with a spate of approvals for four-storey developments on the waterfront – approvals granted in a policy black hole....The voters of Shoalhaven and those who care deeply about Huskisson – which is many more than those who live or own property there - have every reason to be disgusted with this council and disappointed in the attention individual councillors are paying to their legitimate concerns.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register. Read more…

21 January 2009

Dogs don’t need to run on beaches: “Is R.Van Mastrigt (‘Dogs, birds and some balance’, SCR Letters, January 16) seriously suggesting that the loss of an endangered nesting bird may simply be an unfortunate by-product of a dog’s right to run free on our beaches?..... Of course many, if not most, dog owners are responsible and have an interest in the protection of our wildlife, but serious harm can be done by a small number of those who aren’t so responsible. So can ignorance or simply misguided ideas about the rights of dogs or owners.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register. Read more...

19 January 2009

Cowardly threat to little terns: “There is a small group of gutless cowards trying to stop the threatened little terns from nesting at Lake Wollumboola. At the beginning of the breeding season this small group vandalised signs in the Lake Wollumboola carpark with obscene graffiti targeting the NPWS and a local community volunteer. Signage was stolen, fencing that surrounds the breeding colony was smashed and cages that are placed over nests to protect against predators were thrown into the lake...I have also had a report that there is a petition going around to the removal of fencing that protects the little terns and prevents people walking through the colony and trampling eggs and chicks. In the mid 1980s the total NSW population of little terns was 110 breeding pairs.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register. Read more...

16 January 2009

Dogs and birds need some balance: “As a dog owner and a ratepayer (believe me, it is not cheap to live in the Shoalhaven), I already have enough trouble finding an off-leash beach. I often have to travel some distance just to let my pooch run free. Most parks and beaches only allow dogs on leashes. But having a dog on a leash all the time is cruel. They also want to run – remember, it is intended for them to do so in nature. While on the beach, an off-leash dog does what a dog does, it chases anything that moves, running and enjoying the freedom of being away from its kennel.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register. Read more...

8 January 2009

Residents will fight to stop their parks going to the dogs: “If I played the kind of games that the "unleash" websites play, such as getting signatures for your (unleashed) park outside pet-supply shops, then I might have got up early and spoken to the many groups that use our park: football teams, schools which have activities there, early morning walkers, picnickers, bikers, children on holidays just mucking around, or the elderly who play lawn bowls and walk across the park.

Instead, when our local park was proposed as off-leash I went house to house and had 200 signatures from people wanting dogs to stay on leashes in parks. Every person but one was firmly against an off-leash proposal. If a proper survey was ever done I think that few would support turning over our parks to the dogs. I think the one park for each council zone that the 1998 NSW Companion Animal Act required should be fenced, have proper warnings, keep children out and charge an entrance fee for maintenance costs.

I have no problem with unleashing dogs if no one else is in the park. Perhaps this could be the compromise. Anyone who has been harassed or attacked by dogs in an unleashed area should sue the owners and council jointly for their ridiculous promotion of voice control as a serious dog control method for the average pooch among a group of unleashed dogs.

Parks are for everyone to use safely, and dogs must be controlled by something more than fantasy. A park should be safe enough for a toddler to run freely.” From a Letter to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald Read more...

7 January 2009

Shorebirds are being ‘hounded’: “Last summer I wrote an appeal for more enforcement of the regulations dealing with dogs on beaches in the Shoalhaven. Now again we are witnessing how extinction processes are promoted by unwitting/ignorant/selfish humans who want to use our more remote beaches for dog rest and recreation. It is as plain as day how our endangered shorebirds at Bawley Point and southward are being hounded out of existence – the phraseology is highly pertinent here. During the week before Christmas a pair of hooded plovers were observed for at least three days inhabiting Murramarang Beach at the southern bank of the Swan Lake estuary. Then arrived the usual onslaught of summer visitors who feel they must bring their unleashed dogs onto just this beach – and guess what, December 23 no more plovers! The myriad of dog prints leading up to the lip of the Swan Lake estuary told the whole story.” From a Letter to the Editor, South Coast Register Read more...

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