The issue flared earlier this month when two buyers into the Belmont Estate residential subdivision off Lansdowne Street told councillors the B6 Enterprise zoning did not allow them to build homes on their blocks.

This was despite the blocks being marketed as residential. The buyers only discovered the anomaly when their builders lodged development applications.

Developer Herb Schuster has rejected any wrongdoing and said he was of the clear understanding the 17-lot subdivision allowed residential. He told The Post the council knew his intentions and had signed off on the subdivision certificate.

But council general manager Warwick Bennett said section 10.7 planning certificates issued to buyers’ conveyancers and solicitors clearly stated that residential uses were prohibited in the zone. 

Locals Ashley Yeadon, speaking on behalf of his parents, and Sinead Callaghan have asked the council to resolve the roadblock.

A report to Tuesday’s meeting acknowledges that the council’s amendment to planning laws in 2012 unwittingly altered housing permissability on Mr Schuster’s land.

The amendment removed housing from the B6 zone, whereas previously it was allowed as part of a “mixed use development.”

Mr Schuster’s subdivision at that stage proposed a mix of housing, with commercial/industrial enterprises fronting Lansdowne and Robinson Street. He has since lodged a DA for residential lots on this outer area.

A planning proposal to resolve the issue has been underway for several years. But a recommendation to Tuesday’s meeting won’t please all parties.

Planners suggest that only the inner 17 lots on the former Drive-in site be rezoned from B6 Enterprise Corridor to RU5 large lot residential. This would clear the way for buyers like Sinead Callaghan to build a home.

While it would expedite the planning proposal, it would  still have to be placed on public exhibition and be endorsed by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. 

Planners also recommend that the outer area fronting Lansdowne and Robinson Streets retain its B6 Enterprise zoning. This would put an end to Mr Schuster’s hopes of developing a further 20 residential lots on this portion for the time being. 

However it would help pacify nearby business owners concerned about land use conflict and complaints about their operations from nearby homeowners.

They expressed these concerns during the planning proposal’s public exhibition in February and again at a meeting convened by the council on December 7.

The truck and freight company representatives raised the possibility of complaints about their 24/7 operations, road safety, given the interaction of heavy vehicles, light cars and pedestrians, and the fact that the outer zone was historically zoned commercial/industrial. 

Planners have put up three zoning options for councillors’ consideration but believe an inner residential and outer commercial area is the best mix in order to provide a buffer from nearby businesses.

They said Mr Schuster still had the option of submitting a planning proposal for the B6 outer zone but he would have to address land use conflict as part of the process.

Tuesday’s meeting starts at 6pm and is open to the public. People can also watch the live webcast at www.goulburn.nsw.gov.au

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