Update on Ku-ring-gai Housing Policy

For those Ku-ring-gai residents attending the Housing Crisis Forum on Wed 7th August at the NSW Parliament Theatrette 6.30pm this Mayoral Minute provides an important update

BOOK HERE

When: Wednesday 7th August, 2024

Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Venue: NSW Parliament House Theatrette, Macquarie Street, Sydney

The Theatrette is located near the front foyer within the NSW Parliament House.  Proceed down a set of stairs and you will find it

Please find the Ku-ring-gai Council Housing Policy Updates (July 2024) that will assist Ku-ring-gai residents understand the background to the Housing Forum at the NSW Parliament House:

Read the KU-RING-GAI HOUSING UPDATE HERE or below

Housing Policy Updates (16 July 2024) File: S14427Vide: MM.3 
 This Mayoral Minute provides an update on local activity regarding the State Government’s housing policies since the Ordinary Meeting of 18 June. 

As this Mayoral Minute is longer than those of prior months, I will draw attention to key actions required by Council: 

·    From 1 July 2025, dual occupancies will be allowed in Ku-ring-gai via private certifier Exempt and Complying CDCs. The default minimum lot size for dual occupancies in the Exempt and Complying Development SEPP is 400 sqm (for two dwellings). However Ku-ring-gai can update its Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan if it wishes to introduce a minimum lot size that is more sympathetic to urban tree canopy, biodiversity, climate resilience and heritage.

 ·    From 1 July 2024, a Ministerial Statement of Expectations Order requires all NSW Councils to improve their Development Application turnaround times and update their local planning strategies in line with the Department’s dwellings targets and SEPPs. If a Council’s performance is not satisfactory, the Minister may appoint a planning administrator or confer the function of council onto a Sydney district or regional planning panel. As such, Ku-ring-gai should note the Ministerial Statement and work towards delivering upon it. 

Further detail below. 

Transport Oriented Development

As of 13 May, landowners have been able to lodge Development Applications within the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) precincts of Gordon, Killara, Lindfield and Roseville with heights ranging 22-24m and floor space ratio of 2.5:1. However as of 12 July, we have not received any development applications (DAs) for TOD-related uplift in these precincts.

We expect DAs for TOD-related uplift to start coming in the next few months. The reason why we have not yet received any DAs may be that it takes time to properly draw up the plans and commission the relevant studies.

Real estate activity has been on the rise. Some developers have actively been targeting individual lot owners with high-pressure tactics and attempting to secure options for land at below-market prices. This has been creating angst amongst portions of the community, especially when some residents have succumbed. Other residents who are not keen to be exploited by developers have banded together and are attempting to sell as a group. However, the likelihood of achieving a sale at their desired price is not yet known, with an influx of land at 37 TOD precincts to be established within a year, limited availability of construction workers, high construction costs, rising high interest rates, and a fixed number of developers who are willing to take on the risks. In the short term we are likely to see developers focus on higher-yielding below-market options.

The legal action with the NSW Government is ongoing and as previously noted, would not have been necessary had the State Government provided a deferred commencement to Ku-ring-gai on the same terms that it had offered to 12 other councils. With the cost of inaction being far greater than the cost of legal action, we proceed under legal advice to protect our ratepayers’ financial interests.

Another consequence of the State Government’s unwillingness to collaborate has been the immediate impact on Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs) within each TOD precinct. While other councils may have the opportunity to avoid the impacts through a reasonable-length deferred commencement, this option was not given to Ku-ring-gai on the multiple occasions that we requested it. To explore options for saving our HCAs and mitigating the impacts on our urban canopy, council staff continue to prepare different scenarios for each TOD precinct and these will be consulted with the public around November of this year for a council decision in February. From what I understand, NM4 proposes another option for protecting our HCAs prior to February and will be considered later tonight.

345 Pacific Highway Planning Proposal

At the Ordinary Meeting of Council on 18 June, Council resolved to support a planning proposal for this site with building height 32 metres (9 storeys) and floor space ratio of 2.31:1. It should be noted that this floor space ratio is less than the current TOD controls of 2.5:1, so a developer would more likely opt for the TOD.

As part of Rezoning Review 2024-9, the Sydney North Planning Panel had also met to discuss this planning proposal and after an unusual delay of one fortnight, decided that the applicant should come back with an updated urban design report to test a range of building heights from 12 to 15 storeys before the panel makes a decision for submitting to a Gateway determination [see attachment 1]. The interim record of decision is ambiguous as to whether the planning panel has considered the bottlenecking impacts on Pacific Highway.

Feedback to NSW Department of Planning re: Low- and Mid-Rise Housing

On 21 May, Council resolved unanimously as part of GB11 that Council:

B. Requests a 12 -month deferral of the low- and mid -rise Housing SEPP from the department upon agreeing reasonable 5 – year and 20 – year new-dwelling targets as implied by the SEPP. The targets will form the basis of an update to its Local Environment Plan over 12 months with the intent to match state policy objectives while providing a superior and more environmentally sensitive outcome for future residents.F. Endorses the exclusion of all town centres and stations from the Low and Mid-rise Housing Policy as discussed in this report and specified in Attachment A3 -Feedback form – Station and town centre precinct selections and Attachment A4 -Feedback form – Bushfire, Flood, and other hazards.

Council staff provided this feedback to the Department of Planning on 22 May.The Department responded with a letter on 03 July [see attachment 2]. The letter was silent on the issues raised by Council, in other words it implied that:

·    it did not support Council’s request for 20-year (or any other form of long-term) housing targets;

·    it did not support a 12-month deferral for planning towards a long term target;

·    it did not support the exclusion of any of the train stations from the Low- and Mid-Rise Housing SEPP provisions; and

·    the Low- and Mid-Rise Housing SEPP provisions will be implemented as per the details on their website. 

In the absence of housing targets, an update to the LEP (beyond the TOD precincts) has not yet commenced. 

Official Launch of Low- and Mid-Rise Housing SEPP Provisions

From 28 June 2024 to 2 July 2024, the NSW Department of Planning website was iteratively updated and corrected to announce the implementation details of its anticipated Low- and Mid-Rise Housing SEPP provisions.

The webpage [see attachment 3] attempts to communicate what the policy is, however its wording is ambiguous and is open to interpretation. In particular, there is mix-up of terminology including two different uses of the word ‘stage’ as well as the term ‘well-located’ being used in a manner that is contrary to the National Housing Accord.

The implementation details are still being clarified with the Department of Planning but at this point in time my understanding is as follows:

·    ‘Well-located’ areas within 10 minutes’ walk or 800m walking distance of ‘station and town centre’ precincts will not have any change until sometime in the second half of 2024 (as part of ‘stage 2’). These changes will involve apartment buildings, terraces, townhouses, and other forms of housing with the specifics yet to be confirmed.

·    Outside of the ‘well-located areas’, all R2 low-density residential zones in NSW with the exception of areas such as bushfire and flood-prone zones will support dual occupancies and semi-detached dwellings. These changes take effect 01 July 2024 (as part of ‘stage 1’) and the dual occupancies will be approved via private certifiers through Exempt and Complying Development.

o  13 local government areas including Ku-ring-gai are temporarily excluded from the complying development pathway as they currently “lack controls for dual occupancies, such as minimum lot sizes”. These councils have until 01 July 2025 to “consider appropriate controls for dual occupancies”, after which the complying development pathway will be turned back on with a minimum lot size of 400 sqm if these councils do not establish relevant controls. What this means for Ku-ring-gai residents seeking to build dual occupancies

The majority of Ku-ring-gai residents who own R2 low-density residential land that isn’t flood or bushfire-prone will be able to build dual occupancies through a private certifier via the Exempt and Complying Development SEPP from 01 July 2025.

The minimum lot size of such dual occupancies in Ku-ring-gai is currently not specified. But for ‘well-located’ areas within 800m of stations and town centres, there will be non-refusal standards and controls that will be revealed as part of ‘stage 2’. As for those outside of ‘well-located’ areas, the minimum lot size will be the Exempt and Complying Development SEPP’s default of 400 sqm (for two dwellings) unless Ku-ring-gai updates its Local Environment Plan before 01 July 2025 to introduce a larger value.

As such, it is in Ku-ring-gai’s interest to update its Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan before 01 July 2025 if it wishes to establish appropriate controls for dual occupancies that can protect our urban tree canopy, biodiversity, climate resilience and heritage.

Ministerial Statement of Expectations Order

On 01 July 2024 the Planning Minister also made an Environmental Planning and Assessment (Statement of Expectations) Order 2024 under section 9.6(9) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 [see attachment 4].

The Statement of Expectations sets the Minister’s performance expectations of each Council. If a Council’s performance is not satisfactory, the Minister may appoint a planning administrator or confer the function of council onto a Sydney district or regional planning panel as per section 9.6(1)(b) of the Act.

The three performance areas of the Statement of Expectations are:

·    Development Assessment

o  Preparing assessment reports for regionally significant development applications within an average of 250 days from lodgement

o  Lodging development applications within:

§ 14 days from submission (FY25)§ 7 day from submission (FY26+)

o  Determining development applications (including DAs by local planning panel) within an average days from lodgement of:

§ 115 days (FY25)§ 105 days (FY26)§ 95 days (FY27)§ 85 days (FY28+)

·    Planning Proposals

o  Support the planning proposal process within the timeframes stated in the LEP Making Guideline (August 2023).

·    Strategic Planning

o  Prepare a Local Strategic Planning Statement and a Local Planning Strategy in line with the Department’s standards, timeframes, dwelling provision targets, and State Environmental Planning Policies. 

As such, all Councils are expected to improve their Development Application turnaround in the coming years and update their Local Strategic Planning Statements to align with the Department’s dwelling targets and SEPPs if they wish to maintain control of their planning and development functions. 

Of course, many Councils including Ku-ring-gai already strive to lift perform in these three areas however we face the realities of competing with the private sector and State Government for appropriate talent. Councils are at a disadvantage in securing the quality and volume of talent that we need as rates are pegged while development assessment fees are regulated by the State and do not reflect the cost of providing the service. Nevertheless, we are required to strive to deliver on these expectations.

Delivering on the Ministerial Expectations

On 3 July 2024 the Planning Minister wrote to all Mayors regarding the updated Ministerial Statement of Expectations Order [see attachment 5].

To assist with reducing DA timeframes and delivering more homes, the NSW Government has announced the funding of cadetships for planners in councils and the opening of a new TAFE course for para-planning.

The NSW Government also expects Artificial Intelligence to play a greater role in producing efficiencies, and has committed to $5.6m of funding as part of an Early Adopter Grant Program, however not all Councils that applied for the grant were successful in securing first round funding. 

 Recommendation: That Council:

A.   Notes and receives this Mayoral minute.

B.   Staff review Ku-ring-gai’s planning controls for dual occupancies (especially with regard to minimum lot sizes) and report back to Council with the view of updating the Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan prior to 30 June 2025.

C.   Notes the Ministerial Statement of Expectations Order 2024 and will work towards delivering upon it, with a report back to Council no later than December 2024 proposing a way forward for meeting our strategic planning requirements. 

The Motion was put and declared CARRIED 

For the Motion:   The Mayor, Councillor Ngai, Councillors Kay, Lennon, Smith, A. Taylor, G. Taylor, Ward and Wheatley 

Against the Motion:   Councillors Pettett and Spencer 
 Resolved: 

(Moved: The Mayor, Councillor Ngai)  

That Council:

A.   Notes and receives this Mayoral minute.

B.   Staff review Ku-ring-gai’s planning controls for dual occupancies (especially with regard to minimum lot sizes) and report back to Council with the view of updating the Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan prior to 30 June 2025.

C.   Notes the Ministerial Statement of Expectations Order 2024 and will work towards delivering upon it, with a report back to Council no later than December 2024 proposing a way forward for meeting our strategic planning requirements.  

For the Resolution:  The Mayor, Councillor Ngai, Councillors Kay, Lennon, Smith, A. Taylor, G. Taylor, Ward and Wheatley 

Against the Resolution:  Councillors Pettett and Spencer 

CARRIED