Agenda - Byron Shire Council - NSW Government

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BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL ORDINARY MEETING 9 MAY 2013 (56) ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING – EXECUTIVE MANAGER’S REPORTS 5 Report No. 12.9. NOROC Affordable Housing Strategy Executive Manager: Environment and Planning Report Author: Sharyn French, Manager Land and Natural Environment File No: #E2013/10353 Theme: Summary: Environment, Land and Natural Environment The Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC) General Managers group financed the development of an affordable housing strategy for the Northern Rivers that built on the work already done by individual councils and in accordance with state government provisions. Clarence Valley Council managed the consultants engaged to deliver the strategy through a steering group of respective council representatives, NSW Housing and NSW Planning and Infrastructure. The Draft Northern Rivers Regional Affordable Housing Strategy is presented to Council for consideration. 10 15 20 RECOMMENDATION: 1. That Council note the draft Northern Rivers Regional Affordable Housing Strategy and proposed Memorandum of Understanding contained in Annexures 3(a), #E2013/10886 and 3(b), #E2013/10885. 2. That the General Manager liaise with the NOROC councils in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues outlined in this report and report to Council on the outcome of those discussions. Attachments: Draft Northern Rivers Regional Affordable Housing Strategy #E2013/10886 [28 pages] ......Annexure 3(a) NOROC Memorandum of Understanding Affordable Housing #E2013/10885 [4 pages]...... Annexure 3(b) Ordinary Meeting Agenda 09/05/13
BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL ORDINARY MEETING 9 MAY 2013 (57) Report 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 One of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC) projects was the development of an affordable housing strategy for the Northern Rivers that built on the work already done by individual councils. Clarence Valley Council managed the consultants engaged to deliver the strategy through a steering group of respective council representatives and officers from NSW Housing and NSW Planning and Infrastructure. The draft Northern Rivers Regional Affordable Housing Strategy, Annexure 3(a) builds on the initiatives contained in Councils Affordable Housing Options Paper, 2009. The direct provision of affordable housing by local councils is problematic in so far as this is (a) not a traditional or core responsibility for NSW local government, and (b) is not affordable within the current constrained financial resources available to most councils. Councils’ current role in affordable housing is restricted to advocacy and collaboration with other levels of government and facilitation through complementary and enabling provisions within its major planning instruments. The use of Voluntary Planning Agreements (VPAs) between councils and developers has also been a successful tool in generating additional affordable housing stock. Since Council’s adoption of the Affordable Housing Options Paper in 2009 there has been little implementation of the Strategy’s initiatives. When Council included one of the Options Paper’s initiatives, the provision of developer incentives in the draft Byron LEP 2012, Council was not supported by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. Two development applications for boarding houses have been received in the past three years; one at Suffolk Park was approved but not yet built and one at Brunswick Heads was refused. On a positive note, the provision of secondary dwellings has significantly increased since Council lifted the S94 charges. Whilst the draft Northern Rivers Affordable Housing Strategy actions are similarly unlikely to realise an increase in affordable housing in Byron Shire, Council would benefit from being part of a consortium of Council’s advocating to state and federal government on the need for affordable housing in the region. Accompanying the Strategy is a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Annexure 3(b), between the seven NOROC local Councils that aims to bring the NOROC councils together as a united front on the issue of affordable housing in the region. There are however a number of potential issues associated with supporting the draft Strategy and MOU at this time and it is recommended that the Council simply note these documents at this time pending resolution of those issues. These issues include: Since the Affordable Housing Strategy was formulated two NOROC councils (Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley) have resolved to end their membership of NOROC (Clarence Valley Council was the lead council in this project); Kyogle Council has signalled that it is contemplating withdrawal from NOROC; NOROC Funds earmarked for the appointment of a Regional Affordable Housing Officer are now in dispute; The 3 year budget developed to fund the Regional Affordable Housing Officer is predicated upon the commitment (for 3 years) of substantial contributions by NOROC councils (how many NOROC councils remain to share the burden of these costs is now unclear); The draft MOU provisions relating to the “Scope of the Work for Strategic Areas” are not unanimously supported by NOROC councils. As such it is recommended that Council note the draft Northern Rivers Regional Affordable Housing Strategy and the draft MOU and request the General Manager to liaise with the NOROC councils in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues outlined in this report. Financial Implications 55 Central to the implementation of the actions in the draft Northern Rivers Regional Affordable Housing Strategy is the proposed employment of a Regional Affordable Housing Officer. The Strategy proposes that this officer be funded by the seven NOROC councils potentially with Ordinary Meeting Agenda 09/05/13
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Agenda - Byron Shire Council - NSW Government

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