When authorities were planning Marys Mount, they were most likely not bargaining on revised native vegetation laws.
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The new legislation, which came into effect in July, places extra protection on some vegetation, including an apparently rare grassland that proliferates at Marys Mount. It means that developers, like Tony Lamarra (pictured), are obliged to find offsets either on the land itself or elsewhere. In Mr Lamarra’s case, it is a property at Biala.
Developers are working around this legislation, but there is clear frustration that it’s affecting the number of available lots. It’s also proving a nightmare for graziers, who describe it as ‘bureaucracy gone mad,’ and are lobbying politicians for change.
Whether the council’s projected 2500 lots for Marys Mount materialises in this context remains to be seen. But the area is still going gangbusters with close to 600 more blocks planned. We note Spacelab’s DA intends attractive landscaping throughout the subdivision. That’s to be welcomed. We just hope they also build an attractive frontage to Marys Mount Road rather than continuing a hotch-potch line of ugly fences along the thoroughfare.
Former Goulburn City Council principal planner Bruce Lambert highlighted this issue last year when he accused the current council of not abiding by its own fencing policy.
Councillors and planners are well aware of this now and we hope they exercise the necessary rigour when determining the latest applications.
As the area accommodating most of the city’s growth, it deserves nothing less.
No truck with quarry
The Joint Regional Planning Panel performed two services during its sitting in Goulburn last week.
Not only did members approve the city’s performing arts venue but it rejected Jasminco Resources’ application for a quarry on Tiyces Lane.
This project has soaked up considerable council resources in its various incarnations, all of which have been rejected either by the JRPP or the council. The latter has not recovered some $42,000 costs incurred in a 2013 Land and Environment Court appeal, which it won.
Residents have been highly organised in their very valid arguments against this project.
Road safety is a priority but so too is the right to enjoy a peaceful lifestyle.