Ryde Connector A Community Newsletter from Victor Dominello MP
June 2018
Overdevelopment
Enough is enough! Overdevelopment is unquestionably the number one issue affecting our community.
ÈÈI have stopped the Manor Houses Code in Ryde, PLUS, I have stopped Council deals with developers Now that we have stopped the code and the deals, Ryde council can update its Local Planning Laws (LEP) to make sure it aligns with community expectations. Sydney’s population is growing by about 100,000 each year. This means we need to build the roads, rail, schools and houses to support this surging population. One way to accommodate this surging population is to encourage medium density, such as duplexes, villas, manor houses and terraces. In November last year the NSW Parliament passed the Medium Density Code that enables a faster approval process for medium density, but only in areas where councils already permit medium density in accordance with its LEP. Ryde Council’s LEP determines where low, medium and high density is permitted and the height permitted. The Council’s LEP determines which areas will be commercial, residential or recreational. When the Code was debated, the NSW Labor Party did not oppose the Code as in its view it was “largely inoffensive”. I imagine it was “largely inoffensive” as Councils could opt out of the Code by simply changing Council’s LEP. Medium density such as large scale villas is not the only issue. We also need
to do something about the proliferation of apartments. To reduce traffic, planners allow increased density around railway lines (eg Macquarie Park and Meadowbank) so that people use more public transport instead of cars. In relation to apartments, Ryde Council can also enter into deals with developers, whereby developers get increased density (above the LEP) in exchange for financial contributions. Below are some examples of such deals: 112 Talavera Rd: Council’s LEP = 30 storeys, however Council voted to support 60 storeys 68 Talavera Rd: Council’s LEP = 10 storeys, however Council voted to support 49 storeys 388 Lane Cove Rd: Council’s LEP = 11 storeys, however Council voted to support 20 storeys There has been a significant increase in developments in Ryde over the past 10 years with all the duplexes, villas and apartments approved. Indeed on 16 May 2018, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on its front page that; ÈÈalmost 75% of the 7,450 new dwellings built in the Ryde council area over the past decade were initiated by the council, with about a quarter arising from the former government’s Part 3A system [eg the Meadowbank developments].
Given all this development, like many of you, I was both alarmed and surprised when I received a letter from Ryde Council indicating that based on Council’s current LEP, over 10,000 properties in Ryde could be subject to Manor Houses when the medium density code is due to commence on 6 July 2018. I was surprised as I had assumed that Ryde Council would have changed its LEP in order to opt out or minimise the impact of the Code on our community. In Ryde Council’s letter to every resident, they were asking to be exempted from the Code. However, with the greatest respect to Ryde Council, this proposal did not go far enough, as it did not deal with excessive villas
STOP PRESS Ryde Council GM welcomes new housing code delay... See page 3