Marking SA’s About Time history month

Two events with a focus on Adelaide and whether we can find a balance between development and heritage conservation, and between urban density and community aspirations.

Has South Australia given up on heritage?

Wednesday 8 May, 6pm Bradley Forum, UniSA City West campus

Not in my backyard: Community responses to higher density living - is it all in the mind?

Wednesday 29 May, 6pm, Allan Scott Auditorium, UniSA City West campus (recorded presentation)

Greens MP Mark Parnell has legislation before Parliament which aims to prevent planning rule changes coming into effect before public consultation about the changes has been completed. This was recently the case in the Adelaide City Council area where heights of multi-storey flats were hugely lifted by a Development Plan Amendment and developers came in and lodged their applications to which they gained approval before local residents had put their comments into the City Council about the changed rules.

A public forum on planning, titled The Great NIMBY or QUIMBY Forum is to be held on 29th April 2013 at 7.00 pm in the Norwood Town Hall.

What is the planning future of Greater Adelaide? Can QUALITY IN MY BACKYARD be expected? Or will it be a DEVELOPERS’ DREAM and promote a NOT IN MY BACKYARD attitude? A report on the forum has been published.

The event is sponsored by Community Alliance SA. Please promote this event using the twitter tag #QUIMBYSA.

Daniela Abbracciavento covered the council meeting where Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council decided to hold public meeting and forum on River Torrens building height changes. The article has been published in the Eastern Courier.

SPRA is pleased with this outcome, when the alternative motion proposed by Mayor Bria was to close the workshops to the public. The expectation of SPRA is that the public meeting will be about concerns raised by residents in submissions to the rezoning proposals in the Development Plan Amendments now under consideration by Council. On the issue of degradation of the natural environment by dense blocks of multi-storey flats next to the Linear Park, residents are encouraged to read the Billabong Achievement at Risk and Influence of Linear Park on Coastal Water Quality articles for an understanding of the potential impacts.

The public hearing for The Parade and Kent Town Strategic Growth Development Amendment Plan (the "uplift" DPA) was attended by about 50 people on 27th March. Developers and their representatives argued for higher multi-storey flats and residents generally pressed for lower multi-storey flats. One resident said that the only place the government had had the "ticker" to show what these multi-storey flats would look like was on Port Road.

We supported the Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources recommendation that Council strengthen its policies on landscaping and urban biodiversity by embedding "Green Infrastructure' principles in this DPA. Landscaping ie "green infrastructure" is, said the Department, "especially important for higher density development".

We strongly opposed the Property Council's push to have any development application over $5 million or over 2-storeys referred to the Development Assessment Commission for assessment on the grounds that this would remove more power from local communities. It is worrying that Planning Minister John Rau has spoken of referring this suggestion to the current review of the Development Act.

Mayor Robert Bria has written a letter to the editor titled Public Hearings in which he outlines his plan to close the planning workshops to attendance by the public. SPRA is disappointed by Mayor Bria's attempt to further reduce the information available to residents and their involvement in the DPA process. The proposed motion is available in the Council Meeting Agendas 2013 on page 2.

It is of major concern that Mayor Bria states in his "Reasons for Support of Motion":

With regard to part (c) of my Motion, a number of submissions have referred to issues related to and associated with the draft DPA, that are not of a planning policy nature, but rather related to the liveability of our City and in particular, the area adjacent to the River Torrens Linear Park.

It is great to see that Mayor Bria understands people are concerned about impacts on the Linear Park, however SPRA will be asking Mayor Bria if liveability of the city is not considered part of planning policy, then what is the purpose of planning policy?

As Coordinator of Friends of the Billabong (FOB), St Peters Park, this is the area that I know in particular. I am also familiar with the Linear Park that runs through St Peters Park towards the city and Walkerville, Marden, Vale Park, Felixstowe.

First, I must say that the Billabong is a magnificent accomplishment of Council, and of the State and even Federal Governments. It provides an amenity for the whole of Adelaide, not just for our City of NPSP, not just for the surrounding residents. However, under current planning laws, three story medium-density developments in a strip 50 metres or less wide will shade the biodiverse areas, prevent their access to seasonal water, and greatly diminish the natural assets that Council has worked hard to achieve.

Let us avoid setting this DPA in concrete, literally, until there are planning laws in place that are more sensitive to the environment.

The 20 March 2013 newsletter covers the following topics:

• 2nd Residential DPA public meeting
• Developers to Strip Councils of Power
• Uplift DPA public meeting

Memberships for 2013 are now due. Membership is only $20 per household.

Terry Walsh repeats the tired old mantra that there is a “gaping chasm” between the Development Act and Regulations and local councils Development Plans (“The relaxation of building heights is modest – the Gold Coast is definitely not coming to Adelaide” The Advertiser 12 March 2013). Will developers ever be satisfied that local councils and communities are not impeding the developers’ dream of untrammelled development?

If this quality is to be sacrificed in the name of economic growth, then clearly there is something very wrong with the notion of growth. A bigger pie does not mean a better pie.
In the interests of citizens, it is the responsibility of governments to rein in the excesses of property developers not to kow-tow to them. Rather than bland, centralised cookie cutter planning, local councils should be discussing with residents to identify the unique characteristics of neighbourhoods within their boundaries and tailoring zoning to foster the growth of those characteristic.

TThe densification of housing along the edges of the Linear Park negates decades of scientific advancement towards the improvement of coastal water quality and marine life. By infilling backyards with housing and concrete driveways, we reduce the area of land available for uptake of rainwater. Instead, rain falls onto roofing and concrete that is delivered into the storm water system, including the River Torrens. The River Torrens is part of an urban catchment that receives and carries pollutants from our urban activities to our coast. This delivery system has driven loss of marine life, with the larger population-sizes causing larger losses (Gorman et al. 2009).

It is worth knowing that our state scientists and managers have pursued environmental improvements needed to underpin the recreational and commercial values of coastal Adelaide. These improvements represent millions of dollars of investment in science and infrastructure for the long-term benefits of South Australia. By recognizing this pursuit and investment, a better considered 30 –Year Plan is needed for the long-term benefit of South Australians.