Minutes
Ordinary (Planning) Meeting
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BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL
Ordinary (Planning) Meeting Minutes
14 April 2022
The following items are listed in the order in which they were dealt with.
Report No. 13.5 PLANNING - Report of the Planning Review Committee held 17 March 2022
Report No. 14.1 Report of the Local Traffic Committee Meeting held on 4 April 2022
Notice of Motion No. 9.1 Non-compliant companion animals
Report No. 13.4 Selection of community representatives for Northern Joint Regional Planning Panel
BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL
Ordinary (Planning) Meeting Minutes 14 April 2022
MINUTES OF THE BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL Ordinary (Planning) Meeting HELD ON Thursday, 14 April 2022 COMMENCING AT 11.15AM AND CONCLUDING AT 4.19PM
I2022/312
PRESENT: Cr M Lyon (Mayor), Cr S Balson, Cr C Coorey, Cr D Dey, Cr A Hunter, Cr S Ndiaye, Cr A Pugh, and Cr P Westheimer
VIRTUAL: Cr M Swivel
Staff: Mark Arnold (General Manager)
Vanessa Adams (Director Corporate and Community Services)
Cameron Clark (Acting Director Infrastructure Services)
Shannon Burt (Director Sustainable Environment and Economy)
Ralph James (Legal Counsel)
Heather Sills (Minute Taker)
The Mayor opened the meeting and acknowledged that the meeting is being held on Arakwal Country and that we pay our respects to the elders past and present and extend our respect to the Bundjalung clans whose lands and waters are part of the Shire.
Prior to dealing with the circulated reports and associated information, a Public Access Session was held and Council was addressed on the following:
Public Access
Report No and Title |
Name |
For/ Against |
Representing Organisation |
Via |
|
13.3 |
Byron Shire Council and Landcom Project Agreement for an Affordable Housing Development on 57 Station Street Mullumbimby |
Liz Collyer, Nicole Woodrow and Matt Beggs |
For |
|
In Person |
Michele Grant |
Brunswick Valley Community Care Council Inc |
In Person |
|||
13.6 |
PLANNING - DA 10.2021.707.1 - Stage 1: Dwelling House, Stage 2: construction of new dwelling house and change of use of existing dwelling to a secondary dwelling |
Luke Houghton |
For |
|
In person |
Michelle Wakefield |
Against |
|
Read out by staff |
Question No. 1 – Strategic Planning Workshop
John Anderson submitted the following question which was read by staff:
Considering Councillor Swivel's stated reservations about Council's use of the so-called Strategic Planning Workshop to consider a variety of matters which at first blush appear to have absolutely nothing to do with strategic planning or any other kind of planning, might he perhaps heighten public understanding of this searing anomaly by explaining how, why and when a clumsy but transparent committee system was largely replaced with a secretive and un-representative workshop system that undermines public confidence?
Cr Swivel provided the following response:
As a newly elected Councillor I can’t explain why and how the committee system has worked over the years, but I don’t think it is accurate to say that the committee system had been replaced by anything. In fact, the committee system seems to be in rude health, involving an extraordinary cross section of people from the community. So the assumption of the question just doesn't make sense to me.
The Strategic Planning Workshop this Mr Anderson is talking about; I think again, her is conflating the Community Strategic Planning process and the regular Strategic Planning Workshops. Maybe the proceedings of Council have moved on since Mr Anderson was directly involved, I can’t comment precisely on that either.
Long story short, every strategic planning process in every organisation is complex, problematic, and always capable of improvement. Given my personal background working with corporates particularly in the banking sector, but also in arts organisations, my experience is that strategic planning is a lot more goal oriented than it is in local government. At least based on my brief experience to date. The reservations, to the extent that I had any, to pay some respect to this question were about clarifying those objectives, having clearer targets, and in particular having an approach that incorporated Councillors in a fashion that you might expect to see company directors more immediately involved in determining key policy issues.
I guess there is an extraordinary amount of inevitable inertia. I don't mean that in a pejorative sense, just in a practical sense. There's inertia in any bureaucracy as extensive and as regulated as council happens to be anywhere, whether it's this LGA or elsewhere. So it's fairly difficult to incorporate Councillors generally in the determination of a lot of policy. There is a lot of process that needs to be attended to. There are quick, easy, and obvious things that Council can do to enliven and enhance the role of Councillors as more active representatives of the community in the strategic planning processes of local government in our Shire and I have put those thoughts together in a notice of motion on corporate governance for the for the next general meeting of Council.
I think that the ongoing obsession in Mr Anderson with the criticism of the way Council functions is not as helpful as he might intend it to be. And I would like to say very directly that we do have to work as a team, as Councillors together and with Council staff and management obviously. I think that collaboration and cooperative emphasis is just profoundly misunderstood by Mr Anderson.
The meeting adjourned at 12.08pm and reconvened at 12.49pm.
There were no apologies.
There were no requests for leave of absence.
Declarations of Interest – Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary
Cr Ndiaye declared a pecuniary/non-pecuniary interest in Report 14.1. The nature of the interest being that she works at Bluesfest. Cr Ndiaye elected to leave the Chamber and will not participate in discussion and the vote.
Tabling of Pecuniary Interest Returns
Under section 440AAB of the Local Government Act, and in accordance with clause 4.9 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors, the Mayor tabled the first Returns of Interests for the new term for the following Councillors:
Cr Sama Balson
Cr Cate Coorey
Cr Duncan Dey
Cr Alan Hunter
Cr Michael Lyon
Cr Sarah Ndiaye
Cr Asren Pugh
Cr Mark Swivel
Cr Peter Westheimer
Adoption of Minutes from Previous Meetings
Resolved that the minutes of the Ordinary (Planning) Meeting held 10 March 2022 be confirmed. (Hunter/Lyon) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. |
Reservation of Items for Debate and Order of Business
The Mayor suspended standing orders to allow for items to be reserved for debate, being:
Staff Reports
Sustainable Environment and Economy
Report No. 13.2 Supplementary Report - Resolution 21-221 - Report No 9.2 - Multiple Occupancies and Rural Workers Cottages
Report No. 13.3 Byron Shire Council and Landcom Project Agreement for an Affordable Housing Development on 57 Station Street Mullumbimby
Report No. 13.4 Selection of community representatives for Northern Joint Regional Planning Panel
Report No. 13.6 PLANNING - DA 10.2021.707.1 - Stage 1: Dwelling House, Stage 2: construction of new dwelling house and change of use of existing dwelling to a secondary dwelling
Reports of Committees
Infrastructure Services
Report No. 14.1 Report of the Local Traffic Committee Meeting held on 4 April 2022
6.1 2022 Bluesfest - Traffic Management Plan
The remaining Recommendations and Committee Recommendation were adopted as a whole, being moved by Cr Lyon and seconded by Cr Ndiaye. Each recommendation is recorded with a separate resolution number commencing at Resolution No. 22-115 and concluding with Resolution No. 22-116.
Staff Reports - Sustainable Environment and Economy
|
Procedural Motion |
Resolved that Council change the order of business to deal with Reports 14.1, 13.3, and 13.6 next on the Agenda. (Lyon/Balson) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. |
Reports of Committees - Infrastructure Services
The motions (22-118 and 22-119) was put to the vote and declared carried.
Cr Ndiaye was not present for the vote.
Staff Reports - Sustainable Environment and Economy
|
Procedural Motion |
Resolved that Cr Ndiaye be granted a one minute extension to her speech. (Lyon/Balson) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. |
The motion (Pugh/Lyon) was put to the vote and declared carried.
The meeting adjourned at 1.50pm for a lunch break and reconvened at 2.43pm.
|
Procedural Motion |
Resolved that Cr Ndiaye be granted a two minute extension to her speech. (Lyon) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. |
The amendment was put to the vote and declared carried.
Crs Hunter, Lyon, Swivel, Westheimer and Balson voted in favour of the motion.
Crs Coorey, Ndiaye, Dey and Pugh voted against the motion.
The amendment upon becoming the substantive motion was put to the vote and declared carried.
Crs Coorey, Hunter, Lyon, Ndiaye, Dey, Swivel, Westheimer, Balson and Pugh voted in favour of the motion.
Nil voted against the motion.
There was no Mayoral Minute.
|
Notice of Motion No. 9.1 Non-compliant companion animals File No: I2022/283
|
|
The notice of motion was deferred to the 28 April Ordinary Meeting. |
Cr Coorey left the meeting at 3.23pm and did not return.
Staff Reports - Sustainable Environment and Economy
|
Procedural MotionS |
Resolved that Council change the order of business to deal with Report 13.4 next on the Agenda. (Lyon/Balson) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. Cr Dey voted against the motion. Cr Coorey was not present for the vote. |
1. That
pursuant to Section 10A(2)(a) refer to relevant part of Act below) of the
Local Government Act, 1993, Council resolve into Confidential Session to discuss
the following report, namely Selection of
community representatives for Northern Joint Regional Planning Panel. 2. That the
reasons for closing the meeting to the public to consider this item be that:
3. That on balance it is considered that receipt and discussion of the matter in open Council would be contrary to the public interest, as the nominations contain personal information. (Dey/Hunter)
The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. Cr Coorey was not present for the vote. |
Resolved that Council move into Committee to allow for free debate. (Lyon) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. Cr Coorey was not present for the vote. |
Resolved that Council move out of Committee and resume the Ordinary Meeting. (Lyon) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. Cr Coorey was not present for the vote. |
Resolved that the meeting move out of confidential session. (Lyon) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. Cr Coorey was not present for the vote. |
Cr Ndiaye left the meeting at 3.51pm and did not return.
Staff Reports - Sustainable Environment and Economy
URGENCY MOTIONS
Resolved that Council appoint Heather Fenn, Michael J Omeara, Peter James Hill, Neville Barry Maloney, Murray Jonathan Hand, Jed Patterson, Heidi Oliveira, Richard Millyard, Shane Gregory Olive, Steve Jarrett and Ian Grissell to the Bangalow Showground 355 Committee. (Pugh/Dey) The motion was put to the vote and declared carried. |
There being no further business the meeting concluded at 4.19pm.
I hereby certify that these are the true and correct Minutes of this Meeting
as confirmed at Council’s Ordinary Meeting on 12 May 2022.
….…………………………
Mayor Michael Lyon