No public meeting ...

Another motion was put forward at the meeting on 13th April 1999 which was "...That prior to Council approving any development proposal in any part of the subject area Council consult wih landowners to the area by holding public meeting in relation to the location of the Public Open Space ..." which sounds like a good thing, but ...

at the meeting of 13th July that motion was revoked, that is dropped, because "...That in light of further advice by staff outling the staus of development of the Towncentre Drive Reserve, Resolution 223 of the Ordinary Council Meeting held 13 April 1999, which reads ... be revoked"

seems that "... as it is considered that this reserve is almost fully developed ..." there was no need to have a meeting about it, the reserve is the existing reserve the one that does not actually exist anymore, the developers have cut into and built onto this reserve so back then we did not need to have a public meeting because the reserve was made but since then it has been cut back, and now we are asked to comment ...

check out the minutes for 13th July 1999 here

The answer lies in the meeting of 1999 ...

"...It is therefore proposed that the portion of Lot Pt 11 currently reserved as Public Open Space be zoned to Residential “B” (R30) in accordance with the surrounding land in order to remove the boundaries between zones and thus provide flexibility in the ultimate subdivision design. The area finally set aside for recreation purposes shall then be reserved when the subdivision has occurred.

In this regard it shall be noted that the normal subdivisional process is for land vested with the local authority for recreation purposes to be reserved by way of an omnibus amendment to the Scheme after the subdivision has occurred and thus the precise boundaries of the recreation reserve defined. The above would in no way relinquish the developer from the obligation to provide the normal public open space land area..."

from the minutes of the meeting in 1999

So way back then it was decided that the boundaries would be defined once the development had occurred, they would change the zoning of the area, meanwhile we are given the opportunity to comment, after the event? Well to bad if I was to say "no don't do it, it will kill the lake and wildlife will disappear", but wait it has, what is the point, the developer was given license to develop and use whatever portion they deemed necessary, now the development is right on top of the lake/drain, there is no buffer zone around it and the damage is done!

This amendment is really just about the zoning of the R80 section, the modifying of the boundary of the Local Open Space has been done, it's too late to comment on that.

Dying environment ...

What was just two years ago a lush lake/drain now is a dying drain, with the road now right up to the western side of the water, reeds are dying and wildlife is rarely seen, but at least we are being given the chance to comment on the boundary change, a bit late don't you think!

Modify the boundary ...

Amendment No. 75 to the Town Planning Scheme No. 6 starts off with "...modify the boundary of the Local Open Space Reserve on Towncentre Drive", but as you can see from the picture above, the boundary has already been moved, and building is well under way, yet we are being asked to comment on this, why, for what reason, the developer has already "modified the boundary" the answer lies in the minutes of the meeting held back in 1999!!!

More info supplied ...

Today we received another letter from COG council regarding the Amendment No. 75 to Town Planning Scheme No. 6, seems that several residents (myself included) have contacted the City to point out difficulty understanding the previous correspondence, this time some colour print outs of the existing and proposed zoning under the heading of "Map Amendment" have been supplied (these maps can be found by following the link below).

More info can be found on the COG site here

Soon to be zoned R80

The above pic is the section of Lot 9005 that the developers want rezoned to R80, in the background you can see the recently completed stage of the shopping center, in the foreground you can see the school bus stop, which is the only regular transport that passes this location, there is no regular bus service, only a couple of feeder services about 1km away, and their are no railway stations, unless the Thornlie Spur is suddenly diverted here?
This area should not justify rezoning to R80, yet the developers will probably get the Council's rubber stamp on this part of the amendment, no matter what public comment they receive.
The development will probably increase my houses value, so why should I care if they build here, after all I don't live directly opposite, and no houses actually front the land so why not...

Seeking public comment

We recently received a letter in the mail from the COG council concerning "... Amendment No. 75 to Town Planning Sceme No. 6 - modify the boundry of the Local Open Space Reserve on Towncentre Drive, Thornlie and rezone a portion of Lot 9005 Towncentre Drive, Thornlie from "Residential R30: and "District Centre" to "Residential R80" and asking for public comment."