A LANDOWNER at Evanston South’s Northern Trade Centre (NTC) says Gawler Council’s move to delay a decision on the zoning of Gawler’s ‘green belt’ will cause extended pain for his fellow landholders.
At their August meeting last Tuesday, elected members ratified a previous motion from its Infrastructure and Environment Services Committee to set aside further debate on its ‘Gawler Rural Land Use Investigation Report’ until a new State Government Planning and Design Code is released next year.
Compiled by consultants Jensen Planning, the report includes recommendations to conserve the ‘buffer zone’ suburbs of Kudla, Hillier, Evanston South and Evanston Gardens.
NTC landowner Tony Fahey has owned his land since the late 1970s, when he purchased it as industrial-zoned land under the former Munno Para Council.
A boundary change in 1985 saw the land brought into Gawler Council’s jurisdiction, with further changes by the council in 1998 resulting in his property – as well as all land around the NTC – being re-zoned as rural, with exceptions for existing industrial infrastructure.
The land remains rural to this day, meaning he can’t lease it out for further industry and must submit non-complying development applications whenever a tenant moves out of a property, and a new tenant with different needs for the property moves in.
Mr Fahey said this process has cost him tenants in the past.
“It affects a lot of the people here, if they’re leasing one industry on their property and they transfer to another – which needs a slightly different use out of the land that is normally permitted in an industrial zone – they require approval from council.
“They have to submit a non-complying application through the council which requires extra fees, a very drawn out affair.
“I had a tenant want to move onto my land and I went through one (a non-complying development application) that took three months.
“But, I just had to forget about it because I lost that client anyway.”
Mr Fahey added it was “insulting” that the council wants to delay a decision on the zoning of his land for another year after it was changed “without warning” more than 30 years ago.
“I’ve been waiting for 31 years for my land to revert back to industrial,” he said.
“People driving by just naturally think we’ve got industrial privileges, but we don’t.”
Gawler mayor Karen Redman said the NTC land was considered for re-zoning as part of council’s Rural Areas Development Plan Amendment, but was advised by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure that “due to time constraints, the DPA should only be progressed associated with the spot rezoning tool for the Peter Kittle development”.
“Issues surrounding the lack of opportunity for industrial land uses under the current non-complying provisions of the Development Plan are acknowledged by council administration,” she said.
“The Planning and Design Code will be implemented on July 1, 2020 as part of the state-wide planning reforms.
“The Code will replace all development plans across the state and may address this matter.
“Public consultation on phase three of the Planning and Design Code, in which the Town of Gawler is included, is expected to commence on October 1, 2019 and we recommend that all landowners acquaint themselves with this document and make comment during the consultation period.”