By Councillor Scott
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
Explorer
Street currently includes 46 town house formation social housing residences;
(ii)
the
Explorer Street area is mixed between social housing and public open space
maintained by the City of Sydney but partly owned by the Land and Housing
Corporation;
(iii)
the
former Liberal NSW Government began exploring the rezoning and redevelopment of
the Explorer Street social housing estate;
(iv)
the
area proposed for rezoning includes social housing dwellings on Explorer Street
and Aurora Place, but not nearby properties in Rowley Street managed by Bridge
Housing;
(v)
feedback
provided by the community in 2020 will inform the rezoning proposal;
(vi)
the
community will also have the opportunity to provide further input on the future
of the precinct before rezoning can occur;
(vii)
onsite
engagement was limited during the 2020 consultation due to Covid-19
restrictions, hence limiting the quality and quantity of residential feedback;
(viii)
the
current proposed target sent to residents is to develop the site to 420
dwellings, with 30 per cent of those being social housing;
(ix)
the
Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) is continuing under the advice and vision
of the previous Liberal NSW Government that sought to sell off social housing;
and
(x)
the
current Labor NSW Government has committed to not
sell off any more social housing residences;
(B)
Council
support the preservation of the Explorer Street Public housing site as wholly
public and affordable housing; and
(C)
the
Lord Mayor be requested to write to Minister Rose Jackson to confirm the City’s
view on the Explorer Street Public Housing site.
Note – at
the meeting of Council, the content of the original Notice of Motion was varied
by Councillor Scott. Subsequently it was –
Moved by
Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Ellsmore –
It is resolved that:
(A) Council note:
(i)
Explorer
Street currently includes 46 town house formation social housing residences;
(ii)
the
Explorer Street area is mixed between social housing and public open space
owned by the Land and Housing Corporation, some of which is maintained by the
City of Sydney;
(iii)
the
former Liberal NSW Government began exploring the rezoning and redevelopment of
the Explorer Street social housing estate;
(iv)
the
area proposed for rezoning includes social housing dwellings on Explorer Street
and Aurora Place, but not nearby properties in Rowley Street managed by Bridge
Housing;
(v)
feedback
provided by the community in 2020 will inform the rezoning proposal;
(vi)
the
community will also have the opportunity to provide further input on the future
of the precinct before rezoning can occur;
(vii)
onsite engagement
was limited during the 2020 consultation due to Covid-19 restrictions, hence
limiting the quality and quantity of residential feedback;
(viii)
the
current proposed target sent to residents is to develop the site to 420
dwellings, with 30 per cent of those being social housing;
(ix)
the
Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) is continuing under the advice and vision
of the previous Liberal NSW Government that sought to sell off social housing;
(x)
the
current Labor NSW Government has committed to not
sell off any more social housing residences; and
(xi)
in
March 2023, following a Lord Mayoral Minute, the Lord Mayor wrote to the former
Leader of the Opposition and now NSW Premier, Chris Minns,
about the City of Sydney’s 2023 NSW State Election Priorities including a request
to reinstate planning powers to the City for the Explorer Street site and for
all other social and affordable housing sites in our Local Government Area into
the future;
(B) Council also note in NSW Parliament on
Thursday 11 May 2023, the NSW Premier Chris Minns
said in response to questions, that the redevelopment of Australia’s largest
public housing estate, Waterloo, will go ahead with a minimum of 34 per cent
social and affordable housing, and “the Government is exploring opportunities
to increase the proportion of social, affordable and key worker rental
accommodation”;
(C) Council acknowledge the stress and anxiety
that many public housing tenants feel about their future, given the uncertainty
of the NSW Government’s plans and the lack of clarity over the status of
redevelopment projects, including Explorer Street and the Waterloo South
estate;
(D) Council support the preservation of the
Explorer Street Public housing site as wholly public and affordable housing;
(E) noting that the zoning of the Waterloo South
Estate would allow for 100 per cent public housing on the site, Council
reaffirm that the Waterloo Estate should prioritise delivering maximum public,
social and affordable housing on the site; and
(F)
the
Lord Mayor be requested to write to the NSW Premier and Minister Rose Jackson:
(i)
to
confirm the City’s view on the Explorer Street Public Housing site; and
(ii)
to
confirm the City’s view on Waterloo Estate.
Carried
unanimously.
X086655
Adjournment
At
this stage of the meeting, at 8.14pm, it was moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded by
Councillor Kok –
That
the meeting be adjourned for approximately 10 minutes.
Carried unanimously.
All
Councillors were present at the resumption of the meeting of Council at 8.27pm.