Council Meeting 16 November 2021
2 Mayoral Minutes (provided 16 November 2021)
2.1 Referendum on Number of Orange City Councillors
2.2 Waiving of Function Centre Fees - Funeral
5 General Reports (Provided 15 november 2021)
5.10 Joint Regional Planning Panel - Orange Region Representative Extension
RECORD NUMBER: 2021/2701
Mayoral Minute
That Orange City Council put forward to have a constitutional referendum to see the communities attitude toward Orange City Council having nine (9) Councillors instead of twelve (12).
That the information contained in this Mayoral Minute be acknowledged.
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Reg
Kidd
Mayor
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Having nine (9) Councillors would align with similar (or bigger) regional councils ie. Bathurst (9), Dubbo (10) and Wagga (9) and others.
Noting that if a referendum were to occur at the September 2024 Local Government election the changes would not come into effect until the following Election in September 2028.
Financial Implications
There would only be financial implications to Council if the constitutional referendum were held as a stand-alone referendum ie. not part of the scheduled Local Government election.
RECORD NUMBER: 2021/2702
Mayoral Minute
Local icon, Dennis Gregory passed away last week and his funeral will be held at the Orange Function Centre next Monday 22 November 2021 at 11.00am. I propose that Council forego the Function Centre fees in respect for the long standing dedication to the community by Dennis Gregory.
That the information contained in this Mayoral Minute be acknowledged.
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Reg
Kidd
Mayor
Financial Implications
As per Council’s Fees and Charges the amount to be waived is $1,165.00 for 300 -500 people.
RECORD NUMBER: 2021/2665
AUTHOR: Paul Johnston, Manager Development Assessments
EXECUTIVE Summary
Joint Regional Planning Panels (JRPP) have been established across NSW, with the Western Panel established in September 2009. The JRPP is tasked with assessing major or significant development applications that meet a range of criteria. The structure of the JRPP consists of five panellists, of which three are appointed by the State, including the chair, and the remaining two are local panellists appointed by the relevant Council.
All local appointments are for a period of three years. In 2018 Council undertook a nomination process that included a call for expressions of interest. This resulted in two nominated representatives, Mr Allan Renike and Cr Russell Turner.
The local appointments are now due to expire, and due to the caretaker period it may be inappropriate to appoint representatives for a full term prior to the elections. However the panel remains able to convene and determine matters with a minimum of three members. As such there is a concern that significant development applications could be determined by the panel without local representation.
Accordingly it is recommended that the current local representative Mr Allan Renike be nominated for an additional 6 months or until such time as the new Council is able to consider the matter further.
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “17.1 Collaborate - Provide representative, responsible and accountable community governance”.
Financial Implications
Nil
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
That Council resolves to extend the appointment of Councils representative on the Joint Regional Planning Panel, Mr Allan Renike, for 6 months (until 01 May 2022) as an interim measure until the matter can be reviewed in more detail after the local government elections. That staff commence an expression of interest process to seek interested members of the community to serve as local representatives on the JRPP with selections to be confirmed by Council as soon as practicable after the local government elections. |
further considerations
Consideration has been given to the recommendation’s impact on Council’s service delivery; image and reputation; political; environmental; health and safety; employees; stakeholders and project management; and no further implications or risks have been identified.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
The Joint Regional Planning Panel (Western when it sits on an Orange LGA matter) is made up of three State members not related to Orange Council, and two Council representatives (with a reserve ‘alternate’ representative also nominated in case one of the other representatives is unavailable). Council’s representatives may be Councillors or members of the public, but at least one of the representatives must have expertise in a related field.
Permanent non-Council Members
Council is reminded that the current JRPP sitting permanent non-Council related members are: Chair - Garry Feilding, State Members - Graham Brown and Sandra Hutton.
Council Representatives
Council may select three people to represent the Council and community, two primary representatives and an alternate. The primary representatives would be expected to participate in most cases, while the alternate can be called on should either of the two primary representatives be unavailable or have a conflict of interest.
Section 2.13(3) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act precludes property developers and real estate agents from serving as members of the JRPP. Beyond this legislated restriction nothing else prevents a current or former Councillor or former staff member from being selected, although at least one representative - who should be a primary representative - must have appropriate expertise.
Equally, there is no requirement for any of the representatives to be Councillors or Council staff, and they could all be selected from the community. The primary focus is to ensure that Council is fairly represented on the panel and can have confidence in its decisions.
Section 4 of the JRPP operational procedures states:
At least one council member is required to have expertise in one or more of the following areas: planning, architecture, heritage, the environment, urban design, land economics, traffic and transport, law, engineering or tourism.
The local appointments are now due to expire, and due to the caretaker period (local; Government elections) it may be inappropriate to appoint representatives for a full term prior to the elections. However the panel remains able to convene and determine matters with a minimum of three members. As such there is a concern that significant development applications could be determined by the panel without local representation.
Accordingly it is recommended that the current local representative Mr Allan Renike be nominated for an additional 6 months (until 01 May 2022) or until such time as the new Council is able to consider the matter further. Mr Allan Renike is considered to satisfy the criterion of having appropriate expertise in one or more of the areas described.
Each council identifies how their members are selected. In selecting members, councils should have regard to the conflict of duties that would be created for a person nominated to the planning panel if they were in any way responsible or involved in the assessment and recommendation of a DA or a rezoning review to be determined by the panel.
1 JRPP Operational Procedures, D19/58863⇩
2 JRPP Code of Conduct, D19/58862⇩