Page 44 USING LAND FOR LIVING Ordinary Meeting, 30/1/07 Item no: 12 Source (PDF 1.9 MB)
Minute no. 18 F00241. Springwood Town Centre Revitalisation Source: Minutes (PDF 96 kB)
The meeting was addressed by Thelma Murphy.
RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY on the MOTION of Councillors McLaren and Myles:
The purpose of this report is to provide advice and a project plan to Councillors in response to their request for work to be undertaken for key sites in Springwood Town Centre owned by the Council. This report arose from a presentation to the Community and Facilities Working Party on 5 December 2006 where Councillors discussed a number of issues facing Springwood and Council-owned sites that may provide a catalyst to assist a revitalisation of the town centre.
The report will consider in further detail the three options discussed at the meeting and set out a proposed timeframe for the completion of this project. It will also raise matters related to the project that will contribute to the project's success.
The Options available to Council have been presented below. The Working Party indicated to staff that councillors favoured a process which could be achieved by December 2007. The recommendation is based upon this direction.
There are resource issues relating to the availability of staff and priorities will need to be reviewed to achieve the requested time frame.
The Springwood Town Centre revitalisation project stems from current concerns relating to the perceived decline of Springwood in relation to other commercial development. The Council is a major landholder within Springwood, having ownership of three key sites that may be suitable for additional development or redevelopment (shown on the maps in the Attachment).
Springwood Town Centre operates as a District Centre within the existing retail hierarchy for the Blue Mountains, generally at a comparable level to Katoomba (as a Sub-Regional Centre). The town centre focuses on food and grocery shopping for the Lower Blue Mountains along with a small range of non-food shopping and local professional services (e.g. doctors, dentists, etc.) Most non-food shopping (e.g. clothes, homewares, etc.) for residents of the Lower Mountains is undertaken at Penrith (a Super-Regional Centre) where there is a larger variety of shops, the scale and diversity of which could not reasonably be replicated within the Blue Mountains.
With the recent development undertaken at the Winmalee shopping centre, particularly with the opening of a Coles supermarket and a Target Country store, the attraction of Springwood as the key shopping centre in the Lower Mountains has been eroded somewhat. Councillors and members of the public have expressed concerns about depressed levels of retailing and some increasing levels of shop vacancies. Councillors have expressed the view that positive action to allow appropriate private sector development of Council owned sites with significant new 'anchor' retailing will enhance the attraction of the Springwood Town Centre. Councillors have expressed the view that this strategy should be pursued with some urgency.
The following three options have been identified and positive and negative attributes of each discussed. Option 2 is recommended consistent with the Working Party direction.
Option 1 - proceed immediately to expressions of interest
Option 2 - process involving limited scoping and research, preliminary consultation, establish parameters for calling EoI - programmed completion December 2007.
Option 3 - extended timeframe to enable full review/completion of updated studies, consultation, "visioning", etc. prior to EoI - anticipated completion December 2009.
Councillors have expressed the view during discussion that a decision on the selection of an appropriate Expression/s of Interest (EoI) should be made no later than December 2007. The adoption of a 10 month timeline is extremely limited however, the possible timeline has been prepared for consideration:
Preliminary investigations suggest that some of the land is owned by the Crown or is classified as Community Land. The Council will need to confirm the status of the land and obtain legal advice. In the event that the ownership and classification is confirmed rezoning will be required with a consequent timing implication. Action to address these issues would need to be undertaken concurrently or following the EoI process.
The concept under discussion involves the development of public land owned by the Council which is currently occupied/used for car parking, a former scout hall, a civic centre/neighbourhood centre and library. It is intended that the private sector be invited to make submission to redevelop the sites at a higher economic use while replacing existing community facilities in an appropriate form and location. The Council may also wish to seek solutions to some infrastructure needs and/or require additional and or enhanced community facilities as a product of any redevelopment process. It is anticipated that any development will also require enhanced and additional facilities such as car parking, road and pedestrian improvements, toilets etc required to service the new development/s. Subject to market conditions the Council may also wish to consider a financial return for the sale/use of the land.
The consideration of the facilities Council wishes to be provided and included in the EoI is likely to take some time to finalise and this process should ideally include community consultation.
The concept under consideration involves the use or sale of significant public assets and possible changes to the operation of the shopping centre. It is considered essential that the Council enter into some form of community consultation to both gather valuable community opinion/knowledge and to inform the community about the Council's possible intentions in undertaking an Expressions of Interest process. In addition agencies such as the Police and RTA are likely to be able to provide input which may assist in guiding Council's deliberations.
While community consultation is recommended, a 10 month timeframe to complete the whole process will limit the scope of this aspect of the investigations. It is noted that expressions of interest could be invited without this consultation. It is intended that the clear focus of consultation be to identify issues and needs that may be considered by the private sector. It will also be important that any consultation clearly communicate that identifying needs or wishes does not lift expectations unrealistically by the community.
It is recommended that the Council conduct a workshop/s comprising invited community representatives in late February/March. Parties that could be invited might include; Chamber of Commence, facilities users, relevant community groups etc. It is envisaged that a range of basic data will be collected for distribution at the workshop/s to assist and inform the participants. The information would include up to date land use, known traffic issues, market research information etc. The consultation and information will guide Council in the preparation of the EoI documentation and the assessment of the submissions. It is recommended that the Council engage an independent facilitator to conduct the workshop/s.
In the event that an appropriate EoI is selected a Development Application would be required which should be subject to extensive community consultation, technical investigation and reporting.
Public land is subject to both the provisions of Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan 2005 (LEP 2005) under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the land classification (Community or Operational Land) under the Local Government Act 1993.
The land has the following zones, precincts and provisions under LEP 2005:
The land is also subject to some or all of the following provisions under LEP 2005 (as gazetted):
The Civic Centre site is also affected by a proposed Heritage Conservation Area that was publicly exhibited under Amendment 1 to LEP 2005 (Heritage Amendment for Lawson, Hazelbrook, Springwood and Blaxland). This Heritage Conservation Area was deferred by a resolution of the Council at the meeting of 21 November 2006 (Minute 806), but is still a matter that will have to be considered.
In addition, the Council will need to confirm whether the land can be sold and used for non-community purposes. In the event that all or part of the land requires statutory changes (i.e. rezoning or reclassification), the process will also involve the preparation of an amendment to LEP 2005, which can take some time to achieve with associated community consultation and Government approval. This investigation should be conducted as soon as possible.
The EoI process involves three steps;
It is anticipated that this aspect of the overall process will take 4/5 months to complete (April-September). It is also anticipated that councillor input and briefings will be required to ensure an acceptable outcome. It is envisaged that at this stage it will become evident whether any projects are financially viable. In this regard it will be important to ensure that any private project can be carried through to completion and that any risks for the Council are carefully considered and assessed.
The proposed process will involve a range of steps and processes which have the potential to be seen as a 'conflict of interest' on the part the Council. It is proposed that a Probity Audit be conducted to confirm the process acceptability.
The proposed project is not included in the 2006/2007 Management Plan however, subject to a decision to proceed the 2006/2007 Plan will be amended. Funding will need to be allocated and reallocated. Of critical importance is the availability of appropriate staff to achieve the timeframes envisaged. The following people will be required:
If the Council decides to proceed, it will be necessary to identify those people to be involved immediately. Consequently, it is likely that existing priorities will need to be reviewed. It should also be noted that the Council has had no external applicants for a number of planning positions recently advertised and therefore, a combination of reallocation of staff from other projects and external consultants will be necessary.
Projects timelines which may need to be reviewed include; LEP 1991/2005 review, the Mid Mountains Integrated Planning process, the use of the Mechanics Institute at Lawson, the use of the Lawson Golf Course and various site specific LEPs.
The proposal as outlined in this report has been prepared to address a Community and Councillor concern regarding the economic sustainability of the Springwood Town Centre and to maintain the centre's viability as a place for the delivery of community services [both public and private]. At the appropriate time an Economic Impact Assessment may be required. It is envisaged that an Environmental Assessment will be undertaken with each specific proposal and as part of the Development Application process.
Provision has not been made in the latter part of the 2006/07 Management Plan/Budget and it is envisaged that $50,000 will need to be allocated for this purpose. Funds have been provisionally allocated in the Draft 2006/07 Budget.
The program as outlined may result in the significant upgrading of community facilities in the Springwood Town Centre. The long term management/maintenance of facilities may require additional funds in the longer term however, at this stage this possibility cannot be quantified.
Investigations need to be conducted to establish the land use zoning and the classification of the land under the Local Government Act. Rezoning/reclassification may be required. The Land Title situation needs to be confirmed on all land parcels.
The process involves the Council in possible multiple dealings in public land and as the Consent Authority, a formal independent Probity Audit is recommended.
External consultation is recommended as part of the overall process and with the community through a consultation workshop/s. Statutory consultation will occur with any required rezoning and land reclassification. Any Development Applications will be notified in accordance with Council's policy.
Councillors and the community have expressed their concerns regarding the economic viability of the Springwood Town Centre. The Council is the owner of a number of sites which have the potential for further development which could enhance the overall viability of the centre.
Councillors have expressed the desire to receive a report outlining a limited process to call for Expressions of Interest from the private sector to develop pubic land. The report outlines how this might be achieved.
Community consultation is recommended and a process to decide what public facilities should be provided and community outcomes has been suggested.
The report outlines how a decision to accept one or more Expression/s of Interest by December 2007 might be achieved.
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Minute no. 18 F00241. Springwood Town Centre Revitalisation