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PRE-ECLAMPsia
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november 13 2013 www.newcastlepost.com.au
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Development concerns Councillor calls for tighter control on DA amendment process Melissah Comber
M
aitland ratepayers are being ripped off by developers’ constant abuse of the DA amendment process, a councillor has said. West Ward councillor, Henry Meskauskas, is fighting to have tighter controls placed on Section 96 applications, which allow developers to modify their original development applications. Of particular concern to Cr Meskauskas is the use of the section by developers to reduce lot sizes and increase the number of dwellings in housing estates. “All it is money grabbing,” Cr Meskauskas said. “If that is what the developers want, then they should have put it in their original DA.” According to Cr Meskauskas, the problem is city-wide, with approvals for such moves being given in Aberglasslyn, Anambah, Louth Park and most recently, Bolwarra. Last month, Cr Meskauskas was the only councillor to vote against an application which will see an 84 lot subdivision off Hunterglen Drive increase to 102 lots. “What happens to the residents who have already bought into the facility? People aren’t recognising what they’re buying into when a developer comes back with changes. “People are sick of it, I’m sick of it, and it’s about time the State Government did something about it.” Councillor Meskauskas believes that some of the blame for the constant abuse lies with Council. “Maitland City Council are just pushing the issue aside and hoping it will go away, but it won’t, it will just get worse and worse. Too much heartache over it has been caused already.” Council’s Manager Development and Environment, David Simm, said that the Section 96 is a legitimate planning tool for developers to make amendments to applications. “The same level of scrutiny is applied to Section 96 assessments that was applied the
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Cr Henry Meskauskas is asking council to tighten control on Section 96 applications
UPGRADE
original application,” Mr Simm said. “An amendment can only be made via Section 96 if the development remains substantially the same as the original proposal.” In May, a motion was moved to make representation to the Minister for Planning that fees be revised to reflect the amount of work
New England Highway at Rutherford
involved in a Section 96 application. This was an amendment to Councillor Meskauskas’ motion to ensure limited use of the section. “They’re not taking into consideration the people and their concerns. We’ve been given no respect at all and that’s not good enough for the ratepayers of Maitland.”
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