Council agreed to adopt the Bega Valley Shire Commercial Land Strategy but not before several councillors gave robust submissions against what was seen as a move to protect the primacy of Bega as the main centre of the shire.
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Both Crs Russell Fitzpatrick and Sharon Tapscott spoke strongly against wording in the lands strategy which said the primacy of the regional centre (Bega) should be "continually guarded and reinforced by consideration of the impacts of commercial development in other centres. Offerings of higher order goods and services, institutions, government offices and the like should be located in the regional centre".
Cr Fitzpatrick said every centre had the right to develop in its own way.
"Development will occur where people want to go. I have no problem with Bega growing but the other centres should have the right to grow too," he said.
Cr Tapscott said that people should not be forced to travel elsewhere to get certain goods or services in the name of protecting one area.
"We're a shire of many different centres," she said.
Councillors agreed the wording should be removed.
The strategy has already been on exhibition as a draft and received a number of submissions from the public. As a result recommended changes to the exhibited draft strategy now include:
- Support for shop top housing
- Clarification of changes to car parking requirements
- Altering zones at Snug Cove
- Applying commercial and residential zones to Cobargo, Kalaru and Wolumla villages
- Expansion of business zones in Bermagui and Tathra
- Clarification of the direction for rezoning B4 Mixed Use land in Merimbula
- Increase to maximum height limits on certain sites in Merimbula
In particular for Merimbula Club Sapphire requested an increase to building height from 16m to 26m so that a hotel could be built.
The additional height would permit an additional two-three storeys above the existing permitted height limit In a report to council, staff said that potential benefits may include increased employment opportunities and tourism visitation. "However, it is noted that the proposal could have considerable impacts on Merimbula's existing character."
The hotel would allow the club to offer full conferencing facilities and reduced reliance upon gambling revenue.
Council staff have recommended the strategy support consideration of site-specific proposals with a land area greater than 2000m2, to increase the maximum height of buildings in Bega and Merimbula by way of a combined Planning Proposal and Development Applications that allow the community to evaluate the merits of each proposal.
Council also looked at a request for increased height at 29-47 Market Street, Merimbula from Robert Green.
The request to increase the building height limit from 13m to 18m would allow up to five storeys. The request also seeks a variation to the setback requirements under Development Control Plan 2013 to allow a reduced setback for balconies.
The variation to the setback would be assessed at the time of lodgement any development application.
Merimbula and Tura Beach were identified as two locations which did not have an adequate residential land supply for anticipated demand over the next 20 years and council staff said stimulating redevelopment of the town centre would contribute to the provision of additional residential dwelling supply.
"The proposal demonstrates potential for good outcomes from increased building height limits. The size of the site provides room for large setbacks that greatly reduce the bulk, scale, visibility and overshadowing impacts of higher-level development," council said.
The draft Commercial Lands Strategy document prior to its approval by council can be found in the council business paper (agenda item 8.2 April 29) on council's website.
