The Weekly Times - TWT - 28 November 2018

12 THE WEEKLY TIMES Wednesday 28 November, 2018
Hunters Hill threatens heritage protection of entire municipality
HUNTERS HILL Council has threatened to
consider listing its entire municipality as a
heritage protection area unless the State
Government gives ratepayers a street by
street right to reject private certifiers.
About three-quarters
of the municipality has
heritage protection
but Gladesville, Boronia
Park and streets
around St Joey’s College
are not heritage
protected and ratepayers
in these areas are
furious about developers’
use of certifiers to
approve new homes
that faced rejection by
the Council under previous
planning laws.
Monday night’s council
meeting saw councillors
vote by 5 - 2
to issue the heritage
ultimatum to Planning
Minister and Lane
Cove MP Anthony
Roberts.
Council is warning
that unless ratepayers
are given the option to
suspend the powers of
private certifiers in affected
areas by March
1, it will act.
Debate on the issue
arose from ratepayer
concerns that a private
certifier had approved
a two-storey home
at 18 Milling Street,
near the college, without
an opportunity for
neighbours to object
on privacy or heritage
grounds.
Councillor Jim
Sanderson proposed
the ultimatum and accused
the government
of using private certifier
approvals to silence
objecting neighbours.
“The compliant development
process has
the power to undermine
all our controls ..
clearly, individuals are
not having any luck
fighting certifiers,” he
said.
Councillor Ross Williams
agreed, saying
“private certifier compliance
approval has
taken planning powers
away from the council
and the community
and put them into the
hands of developers.”
Liberal Clr Zac Miles
and Deputy Mayor
Ben Collins (Lib) voted
against the motion.
“The Department of
Planning is simply not
going to issue a random
ban (on private
certifiers) it is just not
going to happen,” Clr
Miles said.
Like Clr Miles, his
colleague Clr Collins
supported an alternative
motion to seek
Mr Robert’s support
to reform private certifier
approvals in streets
with low density homes
and heritage properties.
They made the point
that Clr Sanderson’s
motion was too late to
help Milling Street residents
and supporters
like Matt Fehon, who
argued the approved
height of the 18 Milling
Street home impacted
privacy.
“This structure now
towers and looks into
our yards,” he said.
“There are young
This development at 18 Milling Street sparked a council threat against the state government on Monday night. TWT on-the-spot PHOTO
children and it is critical
their privacy is protected,
this is quite distressing.
“The system has
failed us.”
Neighbour John Baird
suggested the private
certifier had approved
a number of noncompliant
aspects of
the development but
Acting Group Manager
(Service Delivery)
Steve Kourepis said a
current council investigation
had not found a
breach.
“People have got
rights and we need to
have evidence before
we can take action,”
Mr Kourepis said.
Mr Roberts told The
Weekly Times there
was an ongoing review
of the private certifier
approval system with
the aim to identify and
act on allegedly unscrupulous
private certifiers.
“These private certifiers
have not been held
to account and they
should be,” Deputy
Mayor Collins said.
Hunters Hill Council
has previously attempted
to apply heritage
protection to the
whole of the municipality
but on each occasion
has been thwarted
by governments.
~
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