Addendum Agenda of Ordinary Meeting

Ordinary Meeting 25 September 2019

City Economy and Growth Report

EGROW 05

Draft Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 – Austral and Leppington North

Strategic Direction	Strengthening and Protecting our Environment Exercise planning controls to create high-quality, inclusive urban environments
File Ref	222530.2019
Report By	Barry Millwood - Strategic Planning Contractor
Approved By	Tim Moore - Director, City Economy and Growth / Deputy CEO

Executive Summary

The Austral/ Leppington North urban development area has recently undergone a refresh of the planning controls, as considered by Council at its meeting of 27 March 2019 (EGROW 06). This amendment provided Council with the opportunity to update specific elements of the accompanying development contributions plan, particularly as it relates to stormwater management, water quality and the escalating cost of land and works.

The draft Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 – Austral and Leppington North (refer to Attachment to be provided as an addendum to the Council business paper) proposes a rate of $56,097 per lot created. This is an increase of approximately $500 from the current rate, though this is currently capped at $30,000. Despite the minor increase, the draft Contributions Plan has been comprehensively reviewed to ensure that the precinct is supported by a robust plan that minimises financial risk to Council and provides value for money to developers and the broader community.

In addition to addressing the changes included in the most recent amendment to the SEPP and DCP, the update to the draft Contributions Plan enables Council to commence the process to incrementally increase the NSW Government imposed cap on contributions within the precinct. In this regard, the draft Contributions Plan is consistent with the NSW Government’s latest directions in relation to contributions, specifically what Council can collect (roads, drainage, open space, land) and cannot collect (any community facilities, high level park embellishment).

The draft Contributions Plan needs to be placed on public exhibition in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and Regulations. Following exhibition, a report will be prepared for Council to adopt the contributions plan, subject to any necessary amendments in response to exhibition. If no submissions are received, the finalisation of the draft Contributions Plan can be delegated to the CEO.

RECOMMENDATION

That Council:

1. That Council endorse draft Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 – Austral and Leppington North for public exhibition in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979 and Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000;

2. Delegate authority to the CEO to make any typographical or other editing amendments to the draft Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 – Austral and Leppington North prior to exhibition if required; and

3. Delegate authority to the CEO to finalise Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 – Austral and Leppington North following its public exhibition if no submissions are received or report back to Council the results of any submissions received and how the plan addresses those submissions.

REPORT

Background

The Austral and Leppington North Precincts were rezoned by the NSW Government for urban development in March 2013. The NSW Government controlled the preparation of the Indicative Layout Plan, the rezoning and the subsequent Development Control Plan all with input from Council.

The NSW Government also prepared Liverpool Contributions Plan 2014 - Austral and Leppington North, based on the Indicative Layout Plan and with input from Council. This contributions plan came into force on 26 May 2015. Council has been collecting contributions since that time to fund infrastructure in the precinct. This contributions plan for the precinct is subject to a cap on contributions imposed by the NSW Government.

There is a procedure for having the cap progressively lifted and for recovering foregone funds from the NSW Government. This begins with preparing a submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to obtain an assessment of the contributions plan. Council has been advised that IPART will only consider a recently made plan. Accordingly an updated contributions plan for the Austral Leppington North Precincts has been prepared in conjunction with consultants.

Scope of Contributions Plan

The Draft Contributions Plan would continue to levy contributions from residential, non-residential, commercial and industrial developments for the following:

· Local parks (Land and embellishment) (levied on residential development only);

· Local roads (Land and construction);

· Local drainage (Land and construction of swales and basins);

· Local community facilities (Land only) (levied on residential development only); and

· Administration costs.

Council is bound by a Ministerial Direction which limits the range of facilities that it may include in the contributions plan. Those facilities which are excluded from the Draft Contributions Plan include:

· Local community facilities;

· Significant park embellishment;

· Major community facilities (including libraries); and

· Major recreation facilities.

Outline of changes

Since the current contributions plan came into force a number of changes have taken place that need to be incorporated into the version of the plan that will be submitted to IPART. A summary of the key changes is included below.

Amendments to Indicative Layout Plan

Since the completion of the original Indicative Layout Plan, some amendments have been proposed by Council as initially reported to Council at its meeting of 27 June 2018. They included amendments to the Growth Centres State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) 2006 (the land use zoning plan) and the Development Control Plan (DCP). These amendments were then endorsed for public exhibition by Council at its meeting of 27 March 2019. Council has recently received Gateway Approval to exhibit the amendments to the SEPP subject to some conditions.

The changes to the DCP are as follows:

· Some minor adjustments to the street network;

· Deletion of some creek crossings;

· Adjustments to the drainage network arising from a recent review of the drainage strategy (details below);

· Street cross section design to improve traffic safety and incorporate water sensitive urban design; and

· Redesign of stormwater quality management controls.

These changes result in some minor changes to the scope of works in the contributions plan.

Adjustment to the scope of drainage works

Council in 2017 commissioned consultants to review the drainage strategy for the Austral and Leppington North Precincts and prepare detailed concept designs for each item of major drainage infrastructure. The detailed concept designs assists with implementation of land development.

As a result, the following amendments are proposed to the drainage strategy:

· Deletion of two detention basins;

· Replacement of some drainage channels with pipes;

· Deletion of some road frontages to deleted channels; and

· Deletion of separate rain gardens (water quality measures), which are replaced with works in the land subdivision (included in DCP amendment).

Adjustment to the value of land

Since the adoption of the original contributions plan in 2015 the value of land has increased substantially. Council, in recent negotiations for the acquisition of land have experienced substantial increases in the value of land (determined by the NSW Valuer-General and the Land and Environment Court), even in excess of the indexed value anticipated by the current contributions plan.

Revised estimates for the acquisition of englobo land from independent valuers have now been received and incorporated in the draft Contributions Plan. The cap on contributions is likely to have contributed to the increase in the englobo land values.

Despite the general increases in land acquisition costs across the precinct, the cost of acquisition of flood liable land is expected to be reduced, as identified in the independent valuers report.

It must be emphasised that the scope of land acquisition will in fact decline slightly as a result of the revised ILP. Any increase in land acquisition costs is not as a result of Council seeking to acquire additional land.

Adjustment to the value of infrastructure

The unit cost of infrastructure other than drainage has been indexed to today’s values.

The average contribution per conventional lot, if there was no State imposed cap, under the current contributions plan would be $55,532. The proposed contribution under the draft Contributions Plan would be $56,120 per lot.

The main reasons for the change in the per lot contribution is the increased cost of drainage infrastructure (including land and works) which is mostly offset by reductions in the acquisition cost of specific, flood liable land, and the overall number of stormwater structures required to support the precinct.

Next steps

Exhibition

The next step is to exhibit the draft Contributions Plan for a period of 28 days. Following exhibition it is anticipated that a further report on submissions will be submitted for Council’s determination.

Submission to IPART

Once the revised contributions plan has been adopted a submission to IPART will be prepared by consultants, familiar with the requirements of IPART. It is anticipated that IPART will do an initial assessment of the submission and will have a series of meetings with Council/our consultants to explore fine detail in all the costings supporting the Contributions Plan. It is anticipated that this process may take 6 – 12 months.

Once IPART has done an assessment, it will issue a preliminary report for Council to comment on and then following receipt of comments, prepare a final report to submit to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces.

Ministerial Determination

Once the Contributions Plan has been approved the Minister will then determine whether to provide gap funding for the value of contributions foregone due to the cap and whether to alter the cap.

It must be emphasised that any eventual removal of the cap will not apply to existing consents or new applications once the new contributions plan has been made. It will only apply to new applications determined or received after the Minister determines to remove the cap, a process that has to date involved the cap lifting by $5,000 each year for 2 years before reverting to the full contribution amount.

CONSIDERATIONS

Economic	Deliver and maintain a range of transport related infrastructure such as footpaths, bus shelters and bikeways. Deliver a high quality local road system including provision and maintenance of infrastructure and management of traffic issues. Ensures equity across the precinct in provision of infrastructure to support the community.
Environment	Manage the environmental health of waterways. Support the delivery of a range of transport options.
Social	Provide cultural centres and activities for the enjoyment of the arts. Provide public communal spaces that support incidental interactions.
Civic Leadership	Act as an environmental leader in the community. Foster neighbourhood pride and a sense of responsibility. Actively advocate for federal and state government support, funding and services.
Legislative	Ensures consistency with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979, Environmental Planning And Assessment Regulation 2000, and relevant planning circulars and directions related to developer contributions.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Draft Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 - Austral and Leppington North

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EGROW 05	Draft Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 – Austral and Leppington North
Attachment 1	Draft Liverpool Contributions Plan 2019 - Austral and Leppington North

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Ordinary Meeting 25 September 2019

City Presentation Report

PRES 01

Mosquito Management Plan

Strategic Direction	Strengthening and Protecting our Environment Develop, and advocate for, plans that support safe and friendly communities
File Ref	230220.2019
Report By	Kevin Smith - Acting Manager City Works
Approved By	Peter Patterson - Director City Presentation

Executive Summary

Recently, mosquito management in many parts of Australia has taken on a regional focus with collaborative strategies employed by adjacent local governments. For example in far north NSW a number of councils have formed the Regional Mosquito Management Group.

Liverpool City Council (LCC) has initiated the process to facilitate creating a relationship between various stakeholders along the Georges River and neighbouring councils. This relationship is in the early stages of development with commitment from a number of stakeholders to participate in a working group.

The warmer weather is approaching and so is the risk from mosquito issues. While LCC continues to collaborate with stakeholders it has taken the initiative to engage the Department of Health to prepare a Mosquito Management Plan for the Liverpool Local Government Area (LGA) for this summer. This report provides an update on the progress of the working group to date, the status of the draft mosquito management plan and recommends actions to be implemented now to address the mosquito risk this summer.

RECOMMENDATION

That Council:

1. Notes this report on progress with implementing the mosquito management plan; and

2. Allocates $30,000 in the 2019/2020 Operational Plan to address mosquitoes in Liverpool.

BACKGROUND

Mosquitoes are a natural part of the Australian environment. They adapt to a wide range of habitats. They are a food source for birds, bats, fish and frogs but a small number of mosquito species are serious nuisance-biting pests and vectors of disease-causing pathogens.

Emerging public health threats can take many forms. As urbanisation and changing climate influences the local environment, the pest and public health risks associated with mosquitoes may rise. Australia experienced one of its worst outbreaks of mosquito-borne Ross River virus disease on record during 2015. This highlighted the importance of understanding the connections between mosquitoes, wetlands, wildlife and human health.

Wetland managers, whether they’re building wetlands in densely urbanized suburbs or managing existing wetlands, have a duty of care to ensure both pest and public health risks associated with mosquitoes are minimised. Mosquitoes will always be active during the warmer months and local authorities should develop strategic plans to ensure the local community is not adversely impacted. Like bushfires and floods, outbreaks of mosquito-borne disease are, essentially, an environmental hazard that needs to be managed.

ACTIONS TO DATE

Liverpool City Council recently took the initiative to host a conversation about establishing a working group to develop a regional mosquito management plan. This meeting was held at our Depot Operations office on Tuesday 4 June 2019. Representatives from Canterbury-Bankstown Council, Fairfield City Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Campbelltown Council, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney Water, Georges River keeper, Sydney Olympic Park and NSW Health were invited to attend.

Dr Cameron Webb from NSW Health presented two papers at this meeting: “Mosquitoes of pest and public health concern in the Georges River Region” and “Managing Mosquitos in Georges River Liverpool”. Both presentations highlighted facts about virus carrying mosquitoes, monitoring programs, community awareness and the options for establishing a regional mosquito management plan.

On 16 July 2019, LCC invited all stakeholders to register their support and participation in a working group to develop a regional mosquito management plan for the Georges River area for the future. To date, Council has received responses from the following stakeholders confirming their support:

§ Professor Mark J Ferson – South Eastern Sydney Public Health

§ Rob Stevenson – Fairfield City Council

§ David Dekel – Canterbury Bankstown Council

§ John Birkett – Liverpool Public Health Unit

§ Beth Salt – Georges River keeper

§ Jaynia Sladek – Sutherland Shire Council

LCC is leading this working group and will arrange regular meetings to discuss and develop resources, including factsheets that will provide our community a consistent response to concerns about mosquitoes, while at the same time collaborating with Dr. Webb on a regional mosquito management plan for the Georges River area.

Stakeholders have registered interest in participating in the working group, however their role at this stage is limited to observing until further commitment is received from the NSW State Government in accepting the leadership role and funding for the development of a regional management plan.

In the interim, as we await further assistance/direction from the NSW Government, LCC has taken the opportunity to engage Dr. Webb to prepare a mosquito management plan proposal specific to the Liverpool City Council LGA. This plan includes undertaking mapping of the LGA to identify priority areas and potential control options to target specific mosquito larvae.

MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT PLAN

During the 2018/2019 summer, mosquitoes were identified as a problem at numerous locations across the Liverpool LGA. The objective of the mosquito management plan is to manage the pest and public health risks for the coming summer period and beyond.

NSW Health has been engaged by LCC to prepare a mosquito management plan. A draft report was received on Thursday 5 September 2019. This report is currently being reviewed.

Even though the report is in draft form, LCC has enough information to make an informed decision now to ensure proper strategies are in place to prepare for the summer and the mosquito threat.

To date there has been limited mosquito monitoring conducted in the Liverpool LGA. As part of the NSW Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Monitoring Program, the South Western Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit has undertaken monitoring in wetlands adjacent to LCC (ie. Bankstown, Picnic Point). Limited mosquito sampling has also been undertaken in the suburbs of Liverpool, Cabramatta, Holsworthy, Chipping Norton and Wattle Grove. Medical Entomology conducted limited mosquito investigations in the western areas of LGA around the suburb of Luddenham. Site inspections were also undertaken in estuarine wetlands adjacent to the suburbs of Voyager Point and Hammondville in early August 2019. This information has been used to form the conclusions in the report and its action plan.

The report states:

“There is often broad reference to Georges River and associated estuarine wetlands as sources of pest mosquitoes. However, due to the topography of the river adjacent to LCC, the primary sources of mosquitoes are those mangrove, saltmarsh, and she-oak woodland habitats downstream alongside the suburbs of Chipping Norton, Hammondville and Voyager Point. Upstream from these areas, the banks of the river become steep and/or heavily developed and there is relatively little wetland available for major pest mosquitoes. While there may be small pockets of wetlands where mosquitoes are present, their abundance will remain relatively low or only infrequently abundant.

Within LCC, the highest priority areas for mosquito control are the estuarine and brackish water wetlands adjacent to the suburbs of Hammondville and Voyager Point. In reviewing the LCC vegetation maps and coastal management zones, and in combination with surveys of wetlands in July 2019, it appears that the highest risk areas are shoe-oak woodlands adjacent to Lieutenant Cantello Reserve, Hammondville. While there are areas of saltmarsh, sedgeland, and mangroves nearby in Voyager Point, there is no conclusive evidence yet that these areas pose a significant risk of producing large populations of Aedes vigilax and control is not currently recommended for this area.”

The Mosquito Management plan is still in draft format, it will be endorsed by the CEO as an operational plan.

MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

There are nine key strategies in the Action Plan. They are;

1. Initiate participation with NSW Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Monitoring Program.

2. Identify mosquito control priority sites.

3. Create mosquito risk maps of key habitats within the LCC LGA.

4. Target mosquito control activities.

5. Take lead role in regional mosquito management working group.

6. Review local public education material.

7. Stormwater management.

8. Natural resource management.

9. Mosquito research projects.

All the strategies should be supported.

However, the three strategies that must be implemented now for the coming summer are:

1. Surveillance

While local government is responsible for the setting and collection of mosquito traps, the NSW Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Monitoring Program facilitates the identification of mosquito specimens, testing for pathogens and provision of reports.

It is recommended that LCC participate in the surveillance program and purchase 2 traps for placement at Hammondville / Voyager Point and Chipping Norton. The collection program is from December to April.

2. Mosquito Management

Habitats associated with the Georges River foreshore at Hammondville have been identified as high risk areas. Judicious use of mosquito control agents is required and between 4-6 treatments are required from November to March.

3. Public Education Programs

A framework for communicating issues regarding mosquito and mosquito borne disease awareness, together with information about personal protection measures to be used against mosquitoes has been provided and requires implementation.

FUTURE ACTIONS

An opportunity exists for LCC to take a lead role in the formation of a working group of local and state government organisations and other stakeholders, to address the mosquito issues facing the community along the Georges River. Such a group of contiguous authorities would be well placed to collaboratively better manage the pest and public health risk associated with local mosquitoes in cost effective ways. LCC will continue to pursue this opportunity.

CONSIDERATIONS

Economic	Explore a regional approach to mosquito management to improve the effectiveness of plans. A regional approach allows cost savings to be achieved. A regional approach allows a specific focus to be given to mosquito related issues.
Environment	Decrease the risk to public health from mosquitoes. Adopt mosquito control agents that are registered for use in estuarine wetlands. Do not use control agents in natural environments if there is a potential to have non-target impacts.
Social	Decrease the potential for mosquitoes to impact on the comfort and experiences of those living or undertaking recreational activities. Provide education programs to inform the community of protection measures and public health risks from mosquitoes.
Civic Leadership	Take the lead role in a regional mosquito management working group.
Legislative	There are no legislative considerations relating to this report.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Mosquito Management Plan - Liverpool City Council

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PRES 01	Mosquito Management Plan
Attachment 1	Mosquito Management Plan - Liverpool City Council

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