Sky's Vic Park Newsletter #7: the Rutland Avenue PSP, the meeting of electors, and housing
Kaya!
I hope that you’re all well as the season shifts through to cooler weather. This has been a big month on council, with our public meetings attracting significant community attention and lots of workshops for elected members.
This newsletter covers:
The Annual Meeting of Electors;
A tiny step towards no longer investing in banks that fund fossil fuels;
A decision on the Principal Shared Path on Rutland Ave;
Some updates on the old Croquet Club site;
Further steps in public consultation on the Oats Street Station Precinct; and
Inspiration from elsewhere.
Behind the scenes
Through this month we’ve been continuing to have more discussions about the budget for next year. As part of that, proposed rates for next year will be advertised for public comment (more details in item 14.3 on the agenda). We’ve also had other workshops to discuss policies up for review, and policies in development (like the policy to protect trees on private land, with an update given as item 12.6 on the agenda).
Get involved
The Annual Meeting of Electors is coming up on Monday 27 May 2024, 6pm at the Administration Centre, 99 Shepperton Road, Victoria Park. There will also be snacks and an opportunity for discussion with elected members from 5pm to 6pm.
This meeting gives people the opportunity to ask questions, make statements and move motions to be voted on by the electors of the Town. You don't have to be an elector to attend, but you do need to be an elector if you want to move, second, speak to or vote on motions.
If you have a great idea that you'd like to share, this meeting is one way to share it with the Town and with the community. Motions that are passed won't necessarily actually happen - but they will be considered. And if you bring up a motion and it doesn't get supported by other people attending, we can still consider it!
If you’re thinking about coming to the meeting and have questions about it, please do let me know.
May Council Meeting
The full agenda for the meeting is here and the video recording is here. I won’t try to summarise everything - as you can tell from the fact that the livestream recording is over four hours long, there was a lot. I’ll give an overview of a few items that might be of special interest:
Item 11.3: April Policy Review, Investment policy
I moved an amendment to request a review of our investment policy, so that elected members can consider our options to divest from banks that fund fossil fuel projects. The current wording of the policy (on page 67 here) would allow us to choose banks without fossil fuel investments only if these banks are rated AAA, AA, or A with Standard & Poors and we will receive the maximum rate of return.
This amendment doesn’t actually divest us from fossil fuels, it only asks that the CEO provides more information on the idea.
This policy was passed with the votes of Mayor Vernon, Deputy Mayor Ife, Cr Anderson, Cr Melrosa, Cr Minson, Cr Miles, Cr Devereux and me. Cr Jesse Hamer voted against it.
Item 12.5: Preferred Growth Scenario for Oats Street Station Precinct
This item presented the preferred growth scenario to Council for approval, drawing on previous planning work and consultation.
Cr Minson put forward an amendment to reduce the maximum height near the train station from ten stories to six stories in the preferred growth scenario. You can view the debate on this at on the livestream, at 3hrs 57min.
Initially the vote on this was split, with Mayor Vernon, Cr Claire Anderson, Cr Daniel Minson, and Cr Jesse Hamer voting in favour of the amendment and Deputy Mayor Ife, Cr Peter Melrosa, Cr Peter Devereux, and I voting against. (Cr Lindsay Miles was not able to attend the meeting, as it had run on to Wednesday night after having to adjourn at 11pm on Tuesday night.) Given the casting vote, Mayor Vernon cited the original officer’s recommendation as her motivation for a deciding vote against the amendment.
The original motion to endorse the Oats Street Precinct Preferred Growth Scenario was then passed unanimously without debate.
The outcome of this is that Town staff will now prepare the draft Oats Street Station Precinct Structure Plan and Scheme Amendment, presenting them to council to be approved for public comment.
Item 13.1: the Rutland Avenue Principal Shared Path
Those of you who have been reading my newsletter may be familiar with the background to this (covered in issues #1, #5, and #6), which was also discussed at length in the last Agenda Briefing Forum (on the livestream at 2hrs 2min, or you can read the minutes here).
Staff presented council with a recommendation to “Approve the one-way option as the preferred construction treatment between Gallipoli Street and Midgeley Street”, which would remove one lane of Rutland Ave for 900m in order to build the PSP. Staff also provided several recommendations for improving pedestrian safety and managing potential shifts in the flow of cars through other sections of Lathlain should we approve the one-way treatment, along with a rough budget for implementing these measures.
Ahead of the meeting, Cr Devereux suggested a possible amendment that would have committed a specific budget to implementing these safety measures, and evaluating their effectiveness within a year of the completion of the PSP.
During public statement time and the deputations (from 1hr 10 minutes on) we heard from residents with varying views on this recommendation.
Mayor Vernon successfully moved an alternative motion (at 2hrs 46min) supporting the retention of the two-way road treatment, with advocacy to the State to fully fund the project to a current estimated cost of $8.8 million. We will receive a report in October 2024 about whether there is progress on gaining State funding for the completion of the Principal Shared Path.
The success of this alternative motion meant that Cr Devereux was not able to move his amendment for implementing safety measures within Lathlain.
Crs Melrosa, Minson, Hamer, and Anderson voted in favour of the motion put forward by Mayor Vernon.
Deputy Mayor Ife, Cr Miles, Cr Devereux, and I voted against the motion.
Item 13.5: outcome of Expressions of Interest for 31 Rushton St (the old Croquet Club site)
This site has been vacant for some time, with various uses suggested in the past including a community garden. When this site was advertised for a community use by a not-for-profit group there were expressions of interest. The recommendation was therefore made for Town staff to prepare a business case exploring possible uses for the site, and this was passed unanimously without debate.
One community member suggested during public question time that we consider this as a site for affordable housing, which I’m interested in exploring as an option.
Inspiration from elsewhere
Here’s a lovely story about how a local council is working with the community to build a pedestrian and cycle track. The impact on the community has been massive: “The path, with its smooth surface and artwork, ducks under a busy road that was previously terrifying for walkers and cyclists to have to cross. Now a large housing area is safely connected to schools, shops, parks and local businesses. Within a year, digital counters detected 104,000 trips – in a town of fewer than 10,000 people.”
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London who recently won a third term, has a book out about his work. Breathe: Tackling the Climate Emergency “draws on a decade in the corridors (and cycle lanes) of power to explain how, in practice, to win the climate argument.” I haven’t read it yet, but it’s definitely going on the to-read pile!
When I was researching fossil fuel divestment, I learned that the Inner West Council in New South Wales reported being 100% divested from fossil fuels in 2022!
There are some amazing projects in the WRI Ross Centre for Cities finalists: including Oslo’s Climate Budget, inclusive and climate-resilient housing in Buenos Aires, and a plan to improve recycling rates through e-tricycle pickup in Fortaleza.
We are all connected
While my attention has been closely focused on our local area, I am aware that there are many ways in which we’re globally connected. If you have some spare money, you might donate to help address famine in Sudan (which is happening, in part, because of the failure of governments throughout the world - including our own - to address climate change). You could also help Palestinians trapped in Gaza stay connected. If you have time to spare, you might help advocate for a just peace in Palestine.
That's all folks!
Thanks for reading! As always, I encourage you to get in touch if there's anything you want to ask about or discuss.
best wishes,
sky.
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