Mayor Bob Kirk says he doesn't expect a flood of developers to request reductions on infrastructure fees, following a council decision.
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Councillors decided four votes to three at their recent meeting to allow the developer of the Marian College site to pay $428,768 in water, sewer and stormwater fees.
The charges would have applied to the project under an old regime. But in November, 2017, the council adopted a new scale which increased charges for all developers. Under that regime, the Marian developer, Nicolas Daoud, would have paid $690,573, a figure which also took into account a modification to the plan to build apartment blocks, villas and a commercial area on his Clinton Street site.
However, in a public notice, those with current applications were given until June 30, 2018 to take advantage of the old rate.
Cr Kirk told The Post that Mr Daoud contacted him and then general manager Warwick Bennett explaining that he was not aware of this deadline. His correspondence was distributed to all councillors.
A public notice had been placed in Post Weekly, which Mr Daoud, as a Wollongong based developer, did not see.
"...This has come to us because (he) has said he had no opportunity to take up the (lower rate)," Cr Kirk told Tuesday's meeting.
"The question is - do we accept that? I accept the explanation because I'm sure as an astute businessman he wouldn't have left himself open to accepting the $690,573.
"I don't see how he could have been made aware in the circumstances and...I think it would be unreasonably harsh if we didn't consider how he missed the deadline."
Cr Margaret O'Neill said it was "wrong" that developers, especially major ones like Mr Daoud, were not contacted personally about the changes.
"Somewhere along the line we've fallen down," she said.
But Utilities director Marina Hollands said there were many outstanding development applications at the time and it would have been difficult to contact every one.
Nevertheless, she said most had accepted the new scale. Planners' report to the meeting stated that many had made arrangements, such as taking out loans, to lock in the old infrastructure charge rate on their projects.
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Deputy Mayor Peter Walker argued the council needed to "take on board how it advertised" such changes. He conceded it would have been difficult to contact every one of them but perhaps it could be done for those incurring above a certain rate.
He also told the meeting it was "disingenuous" for the council to factor the higher rate into its budget, when the $428,768 had originally applied.
Staff had recommended the new rate apply "to ensure fairness to the developers that had paid upfront."
Cr Sam Rowland agreed and said ratepayers shouldn't be "deprived" of the $261,805 differential.
Crs Margaret O'Neill and Carol James also voted against Cr Kirk's motion, while Crs Peter Walker, Denzil Sturgiss and Leah Ferrara voted in favour. Cr Alfie Walker was an apology for the meeting, while Cr Andrew Banfield declared a conflict of interest in the item as his employer, Concrete for Goulburn, had provided product to the Marian site. He left the room during discussion.
After the meeting, Cr Kirk said if other developers came forward with similar complaints, they would have to be assessed on their merits. He did not believe it would "open the floodgates."
Councillors on Tuesday also agreed to change paving and landscaping conditions struck last October. These were imposed on Mr Daoud as a penalty for breaching consent conditions, when an apartment block encroached on an old convent.
The paving pattern on the Clinton Street frontage will now have a slightly different geometric pattern to that in the CBD. This is aimed at ensuring the corner of Auburn and Clinton Streets is still seen as the "gateway" to the city centre.
It will be undertaken before three main apartment buildings are completed, except for driveways, to allow construction vehicles access. The driveways will be paved when the site is complete.
The apartments are approaching occupation stage but villas are yet to be constructed.
In addition, grass will be restored and and six new trees planted on the Bourke Street aspect to "soften" its appearance. Councillors in October had insisted on paving in this area.
But planning director Scott Martin said the landscaping was negotiated, along with a final design for paving, in March.
"On Bourke Street...there are a lot of masonry products, such as the building and the brick wall and it was thought that adding more would make it appear dry and solid," he said.
The council approved redevelopment of the historic Marian College site in late 2014. However the project has undergone several modifications since that time.
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