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Premier questioned over City of Sydney development exemption
By Max Maddison
NSW Premier Chris Minns is facing calls to explain why the City of Sydney council will be exempt from his government’s development reforms, despite promising to share housing density targets equitably.
An unlikely alliance of Liberals, the Greens, Business NSW and an independent mayor all questioned why the council of Lord Mayor Clover Moore had been excluded, saying the inner-city area was a prime candidate for higher residential density given its proximity to jobs and amenities.
The council of Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore has been excluded from planning reforms proposed by the Minns government for Greater Sydney.Credit: Steven Siewert
The government’s proposed development reforms have faced a backlash from industry and forced the department back into consultation, after peak bodies said the current measures were “impractical and unfeasible”, and unlikely to entice developers to build affordable housing.
But the government’s confirmation the City of Sydney would be exempt has raised eyebrows given the decision was not announced publicly, and the premier’s prior commitment to ensuring higher-density targets were not solely dumped on the city’s west.
Minns and Planning Minister Paul Scully announced plans in mid-June to let developers build higher and denser, but only if 15 per cent was set aside for affordable and social accommodation.
Developments worth more than $75 million that clear the 15 per cent hurdle would be fast-tracked through the “state significant development” pathway, which bypasses local councils and planning panels, and get access to a 30 per cent floor space and height bonus.
Opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow has questioned why City of Sydney council was excluded from the proposed planning reforms.Credit: Edwina Pickles
Opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow said the need to rewrite the planning reform demonstrated the policy was rushed and had failed to adequately consult industry and stakeholders.
“The government claimed their policy would accelerate housing delivery, yet the real outcome of their lack of detail has been to slow supply coming to the market as industry sits on their hands waiting for the detail,” he told the Herald.
Farlow called for an explanation as to why the City of Sydney would not be included in the scheme.
“While the premier has declared that Sydney has to ‘go up’, it is extraordinary that he has exempted the City of Sydney Council, serviced by extensive existing infrastructure, from his policy that would deliver additional height and density,” he said.
Government sources said the council already had an inclusionary zoning scheme that delivered affordable housing and other public domain benefits.
The calls for clarity were echoed by NSW Greens MP Kobi Shetty, who said the implementation of special rules around planning for a particular area should be “based on proper analysis of housing needs”.
Minns announced the proposed reforms in June, reiterating his commitment to imposing density requirements closer to the city, saying: “we can’t just keep adding a street to the fringes of Sydney every time we need more housing”.
“We need to look closer to the city, where so many people currently work, and where key workers need to travel to every single day.”
Liverpool City Council mayor Ned Mannoun said the exemption seemed “inconsistent” with the premier’s previous position, saying he was happy for his area to share the load of increased population density but “everyone should do the same”.
Fairfield mayor Frank Carbone accused the premier of prioritising his immediate political needs over ensuring density targets were distributed equitably.
“Chris Minns has sold out the people in western Sydney, by handing over transport and housing policy to Clover Moore and Eastern Sydney MPs in exchange for support in his minority government,” he said.
Business NSW executive director David Harding said now was the time to consider the composition of office blocks and residences in the CBD, saying Sydney had been looking for a 15-minute walkable city for 15 years and now was the time to implement the rules to make it happen.
“Currently we have twice the amount of parking space in the CBD than we do sleeping space,” he said.
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