Coffs Harbor City Council has rejected the NSW government’s current draft master plan for the city’s Jetty Foreshore site.
Key points:
- The City Council has rejected the master plan for the wharf site in its current form
- Mayor Paul Amos led the motion to oppose the plan, arguing it does not reflect the wishes of the community
- Coffs Harbor MP Gurmesh Singh believes the council acted too quickly, with a community comment poll still open until next week
A motion tabled by Mayor Paul Amos was successful at this week’s council meeting, winning by six votes to three.
The draft master plan for the revitalization of the pier was presented last month, with comments from the community to close next Monday.
Councilor Amos said he believed the plan ignored a majority of residents who had already expressed a desire to keep as much open public space as possible.
“As we adopt a policy like our condensed city model, where we have people living on top of each other, we need these areas of rupture,” he said.
“We need to safeguard our important public recreational areas for the future.”
At the meeting, councilors set out a list of reasons for their opposition to the current plans, which include the lack of parking and the height of the proposed buildings.
Coffs Harbor Jetty Foreshores suffers from inadequate parking and traffic management issues during peak events. (Supplied)
Coffs Harbor State member Gurmesh Singh was critical of the council’s decision, as the state government was still seeking comments through a poll.
“I thought the town hall might have fired a little gun, the last time a poll was conducted [was in] 2018, ”he said.
“Just under 1,000 respondents and about two-thirds were happy with some level of low- and medium-rise development.”
The latest poll has had 3,000 respondents and 14,000 page views, according to Singh.
He said that given the level of commitment, the council should have waited.
“For the council to come out and say ‘this is what we think’, I think they are projecting their own opinions on the community,” he said.
But Amos disagreed, saying the council should have a position on the current plans before the presentations were closed.
“The way [council] the recommendation was drafted, it was not in that direction that I think the Coffs Harbor community wants to move, “he said.
“We had to make that call last night and we have concerns that this first round of consultations will reflect where we are going.”
“Don’t listen” to the staff
Singh said councilors voted against a staff recommendation, which was generally in favor of the state government’s plan.
“They’re not listening to their professional staff either,” he said.
“The staff recommendation also did not fully support the proposal, it gave quite constructive feedback.”
Resident Jill Bundagen sent a message to ABC’s Mid North Coast Morning program saying the pier survey was a “misleading document.”
“It leads you to give them the answers they want, like a situation of Yes Prime Minister, outrageous,” he said.
Amos said he was not in a position to comment on the government survey, but said he had heard concerns of this nature.
Artist Impression of Coffs Harbor Remodeling Jetty Foreshores. (Provided by: NSW government)
The mayor said he was willing to return to the table with the state government to resolve the differences.
“Life is a commitment, there would be ground to give, I imagine as we move forward,” he said.
“The starting point must be in a reasonable position on behalf of our community.”