Moved by Councillor Maxwell, seconded by
Councillor Ellsmore -
It is resolved
that:
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
the
2025 Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly will be
held from 24 to 27 June 2025 in Canberra under the theme "National
Priorities Need Local Solutions", highlighting the unique role of
Australia’s 537 councils in delivering place-based solutions to address
community needs and national priorities;
(ii)
the
City of Sydney has been collecting Affordable Housing contributions since 1995,
initially in Ultimo and Pyrmont, followed by Green Square. The scheme was
eventually extended across our entire area in 2021;
(iii)
the
City’s Affordable Housing Program requires developers to contribute 3% of
residential and 1% of non-residential or commercial floor area for affordable
housing for most Development Applications;
(iv)
the
City of Sydney is the first council to have a Local Government Area-wide
scheme, unlike most other councils, and the only council to charge a levy
across all residential and commercial development;
(v)
the
City also uses planning agreements to secure affordable housing outcomes when
changes are being made to planning controls and to capture residential uplift;
(vi)
affordable
housing contributions can be made either directly through the provision of
constructed housing or as a monetary contribution;
(vii)
the
City’s existing contribution scheme has resulted in 1,447 built and 1,941
planned or in the pipeline affordable and diverse housing dwellings, with an
additional 1,950 affordable and diverse housing dwellings expected to be
delivered by the scheme in the future;
(viii)
in
December 2024, Council approved for public exhibition draft changes to its
Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme, including:
(a)
a
standard 20% contribution for newly created residential floor space on rezoned
sites, replacing the previous variable rate of 12% to 21%;
(b)
a new
2% contribution for newly created non-residential floor space on rezoned sites
in the city centre;
(c)
retention
of the existing 3% contribution for residential developments and 1% for
non-residential developments across the local government area; and
(d)
gradual
increases in monetary contribution rates over four years to reflect the true
costs of building affordable housing, tailored to specific precincts; and
(ix)
the
Lord Mayor has urged the NSW Government to adopt the City’s definition of
affordable housing, emphasising affordability in perpetuity, management by
registered not-for-profit Community Housing Providers, and rent capped at 30%
of gross household income; and
(B)
Council
endorse the following motion for submission to the 2025 Australian Local
Government Association National General Assembly:
This
National General Assembly calls on the Australian Government to encourage and
fund Australian councils to implement Affordable Housing Contribution Schemes
to ensure councils can better contribute to tackling the national housing
crisis.
Carried unanimously.
X113762