Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Walk to Petersham (30 June 2020)

Today's walk through Petersham via White's Creek to coffee and spinach roll at Gloria's in Petersham.
 
1885 Petersham Station

Justice for David Dungay Jnr Rally, Djarrbarrgalli (Domain) July 5.. facebook




More photographs on instagram

Plotting June 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown Walks

Parramatta Road Urban Improvements from 6 July 2020 Traffic Committee Agenda

6.    Catherine Street (refer to plan no. 3010-1F-TCP-001) 

The proposal includes the following:

·    Central median between Redmond Street and Albion Street to provide protection for cyclists utilising the cycle link between these streets;

·    Conversion of a short section of existing angle parking to parallel parking;

·    Kerb extensions to improve pedestrian safety, increase amenity and calm traffic; and

·    Landscaping and public domain upgrades.

Banksia, Petersham TAFE, Crystal Street

4.    Crystal Street (refer to plan no. 3010-1D-TCP-001 sheets 1 and 2)

The proposal includes the following:

·    Shared path and signalised cycle crossing connecting Margaret Street and Elswick Street; and

·    Landscaping and public domain upgrades.

 





Sunday, June 28, 2020

Leichhardt Walks 23, 26, 27 June 2020


Walk to Leichhardt 23 June

More photos on instagram

Walk to Leichhardt (26 June 2020)



Walk to Hawthorne Canal & Dinner in Norton Street (27 June 2020)


Route of walks

Friday, June 26, 2020

Precinct 75

Precinct 75 Marrickville Local Environmental Plan 2011 (Amendment No 18)
under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Published LW 18 June 2020 (2020 No 268) https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/EPIs/2020-268.pdf

(6) The development control plan must provide for all of the following—
(a) design principles drawn from an analysis of the site and its context,

(b)buildings to be retained in, and incorporated into, any future mixed use development,

(c) distribution of land uses, including open space (its function and landscaping),

(d) building envelopes and built form controls, including specified building storeys, and bulk, massing and modulation of buildings,

(e) housing mixes, including affordable and adaptable housing,

(f) vehicle access arrangements,

(g) encouraging sustainable transport, including increased use of public transport, walking and cycling, and appropriate car parking provision,

(h)improvements to the public domain,

(i) the application of the principles of ecologically sustainable development,

(j)environmental impacts such as overshadowing and solar access andvisual and acoustic privacy,

(k)the mitigation of aircraft noise (including through building design and the use of appropriate building materials).


Precinct 75 Voluntary Planning Agreement (23 June 2020 Council Meeting)


C0620(3) Item 7   Precinct 75, St Peters Voluntary Planning Agreement public exhibition

Motion: (Da Cruz/Steer)

THAT Council:

1.    Enter into the Voluntary Planning Agreement for Precinct 75, St Peters, as provided in Attachment 1 to this report; 

2.    Note that the DCP will require the development to include affordable housing, and that this is VPA entirely separate and in no way contributes to this requirement; and

3.    Review its consultation process for Voluntary Planning Agreements to see where improvements could be made.

Motion Carried

For Motion:  Crs Byrne, Da Cruz, Drury, Hesse, Iskandar, Kiat, Lockie, Macri, McKenna OAM, Passas, Raciti, Stamolis, Steer and York

Against Motion:  Cr Porteous

Source Minutes of Coucil meeting 23 June 2020)


Further Reading






Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Possum and Kangaroo Skin Cloaks

"Last night Clr Pauline Lockie brought a motion to council which included the possible banning of the sale of fur. The Motion was modified to acknowledge Traditional Uses of Fur.

As a councillor sought explanation about the Traditional uses of fur in Australia, I had the opportunity to speak about Professor Larissa Behrehnt's exhibition "Sorry for your Loss" at Boomalli Aboriginal Art Gallery in 2018. I bought a Possum Skin keyring at the exhibition.

The 2018 exhibition was opened with "the Welcome to Country and deeply heartfelt words by Donna Ingram. Donna had participated in the possum cloak making week and shared her warmth and support to the project.".... https://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/jumbunna-institute-indigenous-education-and-research/jumbunna-news-and-events/news/sorry-your-loss-launch

Possum and Kangaroo Cloaks are now also a familiar site in Federal Parliament.

2019: "It was Wyatt, wearing his traditional Nyoongar kangaroo cloak, who made history as he was sworn in by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove on Wednesday." https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/ken-wyatts-cloak-of-responsibility/news-story/97d08b0c40e5bc0aedf4eb6046962c04

AIATSIS: "Once an everyday item for Aboriginal people in south-eastern Australia, possum skin cloaks were worn for".. https://aiatsis.gov.au/exhibitions/possum-skin-cloak

ACT Assembly thanks Ngunnawal women for gift of possum-skin cloak https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/files/articles/media-releases/2019/assembly-thanks-ngunnawal-women-for-gift-of-possum-skin-cloak


First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria December 2019: "At the commencement of the meeting, the Treaty Advancement Possum Skin Cloak was brought into the Legislative Council chamber and placed on the central table." https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/news/4404-historic-day-for-first-peoples-assembly

2017: With a possum-skin cloak draped on her seat, Lidia Thorpe broke down 161 years of Victorian parliamentary history https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2017/11/30/something-i-was-told-could-never-happen-thorpe-becomes-first-victorian-aboriginal

2016: "But the Speaker of the Lower House made an exception so that Lynette Riley — a Wiradjuri Gamilaroi woman — could give a traditional Indigenous welcome and ensure Linda Burney was "sung into her seat" according to Indigenous tradition and protocol. Ms Riley rose in the public gallery, where even pen and paper is banned lest it be used to send messages or projectiles, clothed in a kangaroo skin cloak."... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-07/indigenous-mp-makes-history-as-world-watches-wiradjuri-welcome/7822482

2016: "The [kangaroo] cloak was made by Ms Burney's Wiradjuri sister, Lynette Riley, who "sang her in" from the public gallery with a song in language of welcome and celebration. The cloak featured her clan totem, the goanna, and her personal totem, the white cockatoo – "the noisy messenger bird'." https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/tears-song-and-history-as-the-lower-house-welcomes-its-first-aboriginal-woman-20160831-gr5szn.html

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Streetscape Operations Service Reve (Inner West Council Meeting at Leichhardt) 25 June 2019

Streetscape Operations Service Reve (Inner West Council Meeting at Leichhardt) 25 June 2019



C0619(2) Item 3  Streetscape Operations - Service Review

Motion: (Passas/Macri)

 

1.   Adopt a service standard for street sweeping of seven days per week for mainstreets;

 

2.   Retain the existing service standard for street sweeping of a 40 working day cycle for residential streets;

 

3.   Adopt option 4 – extending a full verge mowing service in the former Ashfield LGA and rescind the Mowing of Verges Policy of the former Ashfield Council;

 

4.   Adopt a service standard for verge maintenance of a 20 working day cycle from November to March and a 40 day working cycle from April to October;

 

5.    Develop an Inner West Street Gardens Policy, allowing residents to plant and maintain the verge in front of their property; and

 

6.    Have available an on-call verge maintenance hotspot crew, during each season, should there be unseasonably warm weather which necessitates additional maintenance.

Motion Carried

For Motion:                 Crs Byrne, Drury, Iskandar, Lockie, Macri, McKenna OAM, Passas, Raciti, Stamolis, Steer and York

Against Motion:          Crs Da Cruz, Hesse, Kiat and Porteous

 

Foreshadowed Motion: (Da Cruz/Kiat)

 

1.   Adopt a service standard for street sweeping of seven days per week for mainstreets;

 

2.   Retain the existing service standard for street sweeping of a 40 working day cycle for residential streets;

 

3.   Council maintains the mowing policy of the former Ashfield Council in relation to Verges in the former Ashfield LGA and;

 

a)    Notes the cost of extending the verge mowing service to the old Ashfield LGA would cost $1.2 million (or $720,000 if privatised);

 

b)    Notes that there has been no community consultation on whether residents in Ashfield wish their rates to be spent in this way; and

 

c)    Consults with the community in the old Ashfield LGA on measures to improve street amenity, including options such as verge mowing, garden planting, preventing and addressing illegal dumping, and footpath repairs or upgrades, with a view to spending some or all of the $1.2 million saved per year by not extending the verge mowing service.

 

4.   Adopt a service standard for verge maintenance of a 20 working day cycle from November to March and a 40 day working cycle from April to October.

 

5.   Council consults with the community on a Verge Maintenance Policy to transition away from council maintained lawn verges to:

 

      i)council maintained habitat verges  providing where required paths connecting the footpath and kerbs or

 

      ii)resident maintained verges including grass lawn and providing where required         paths connecting the footpath and kerbs.

 

The Foreshadowed Motion lapsed.

Minutes at http://innerwest.infocouncil.biz/Open/2019/06/C_25062019_MIN_3699.htm


Sustainable Streets https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/live/environment-and-sustainability/in-the-neighbourhood/clean-green-streets

Council maintains our streets on a full time basis, with a combination of staff and contractors. At the Council meeting on 25 June 2019, new harmonised service standards for the Inner West were adopted. The new standards are as follows:...https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/live/information-for-residents/roads-and-footpaths/nature-strips-and-verge

Sunday, June 21, 2020

'17 Norton Street Ashfield'

The attachment to the council report says that the property was listed as part of 9 Victoria Street until 10 March 2009 , at which time the Valuer General advised "the lot had been identified as a residual lot from the original subdivision and the legal owner was the Estate of the Late Charles Clarence Gale."




Searches of Trove and Sydney Morning Herald Archives revealed:

Agenda Council Meeting 23 June 2020
Item No:         C0620(3) Item 6

Subject:         17 Norton Street, Ashfield        

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council:

1.   Approves the sale of 17 Norton Street, Ashfield by Council pursuant to s.713(2)(a) of the Local Government Act 1993; and

2.   Authorises the CEO to undertake all actions and negotiation in relation to the sale including the setting of a reserve price and signing all relevant documents to complete the sale.

DISCUSSION

The property at 17 Norton Street, Ashfield currently has outstanding rates in the order of $12,941.82. Rates have been outstanding for more than 5 years.

The property is a residual vacant lot of 28m2 sitting between 9 Victoria Street and 19 Norton Street Ashfield. There is an existing right of way to 1-7 Victoria Road at the rear. 

The property is owned by The Estate of the Late Charles Clarence Gale. Mr Gale died in 1958 and preliminary searches by Council’s Legal Team have not ascertained a current beneficiary/owner. The cost to undertake additional searches will likely outweigh the value of the property and the amount of overdue rates.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

If the property is sold, Council will be able to recover all or part of the overdue rates and going forward rates will be charged to the new owner

ATTACHMENTS

1.

17 Norton Street, Ashfield

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Ashfield and Marrickville Special Rate Variations

INNER WEST LOCAL COUNCIL SPECIAL RATE VARIATIONS APPROVED
19 May 2015

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved applications from Ashfield and Marrickville councils to increase general income by more than the rate peg amount of 2.4% from 1 July 2015.

Ashfield Council applied for 4 consecutive increases of 7.5% in 2015-16, 8.2% in 2016-17, 8.9% in 2017-18 and 9.3% in 2018-19, all including the annual rate peg, to be retained permanently in its rates base.

Marrickville Council applied for a permanent increase of 5.4% from 1 July 2015, including the rate peg.

In approving the councils’ applications, IPART has imposed conditions requiring that the additional income be used for the purposes outlined in the applications, and that the councils report to their communities in their annual reports each year until 2024-25 on the outcomes achieved.


Ashfield Council
Expenditures to be funded from the special
variation above the rate peg
Table A.1 and Table A.2 show Ashfield Council’s proposed expenditure of the
special variation funds over the next 10 years.
The council will use the special variation revenue above the rate peg of
$46.5 million over 10 years to fund: 8
  • loan repayments of $18 million to bring forward the associated redevelopment
  • of the Aquatic Centre
  • $9.6 million for roads and streetscape
  • $1.4 million for traffic facilities
  • $1.0 million for stormwater
  • $10.0 million for buildings, and
  • $5.0 million for parks.
As a condition of IPART’s approval, the council will indicate in its Annual
Reports over the next 10 years how its actual expenditure compares with this
proposed program of expenditure.


Source: Special Variations & Minimum Rates 2015-16

Marrickville Special Rate Variation

IPART’s approval of Marrickville Council’s application for a special variation in 2015-16 is subject to the following conditions:
  • The council uses the additional income from the special variation for the purposes of reducing infrastructure backlogs as outlined in the council’s application and listed in Appendix A.
  • The council reports in its annual report for 2015-16 to 2024-25 on:– expenditure consistent with the council’s application and listed in Appendix A, and the reasons for any significant differences from the proposed expenditure, and – the outcomes achieved as a result of the actual program of expenditure.
  • The council reports in its financial statements from 2015-16 to 2024-25 (currently in Special Schedule 9) on its compliance with the special variation and these conditions.

June 2020 Scenarios in Inner West Council Budget

Scenario 1 outlines the method of delivering business as usual whilst Scenario 2 outlines a method of dealing with the infrastructure renewal backlog.

Scenario 2:

The annual budget includes provisions for operations, maintenance, renewal, new and upgrade expenditure on infrastructure. When renewal funding is inadequate, any unfunded renewal demand is deferred, which
generates a backlog. The existing backlog is reduced by increasing renewal expenditure.

Council identified an infrastructure renewal backlog in its 2018/19 financial reports, estimated to be approximately $142m across its asset portfolio. In order to address this backlog additional funds are
required to be sourced.

The renewal funding planned in Scenario 2 is insufficient to reduce the backlog of deferred renewal demand, therefore a special rates variation of 6.5% would be require to the rate base. This will be sufficient to fund the emergent renewal demand over the coming decade.

Source: Attachment 4 - Long Term Financial Plan 2020-30.pdf via https://yoursay.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/council-strategic-documents-2020-2030

NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Ability of local governments to fund infrastructure and services

Councils receive grants from Federal and State Governments as well as Charging Fees (e.g. for School Swimming Carnivals and Domestic Wast...