In this week:
Big lift-out program – see centre pages
The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 33 #23 • Wednesday, November 14, 2018 • www.echo.net.au
Town about to get tuneful
Raising the roof Councillors push to raise height limits in Byron’s CBD Hans Lovejoy Has a longheld desire by residents to maintain a three-storey CBD height limit in Byron Bay been ignored by councillors? At the September 20 meeting, a bloc of Greens and Labor councillors overturned a previous 2010 Greens policy of limiting development in the southern area of Jonson Street to 9m. A motion by Cr Paul Spooner was supported to standardise the town’s height limit at 11.5m, which The Echo understands can accommodate four storeys. Other parts of Byron’s CBD had 9m limits. Crs Richardson, Spooner, Hunter, Martin, Ndiaye and Hackett voted in favour of the motion, while Cr Cameron voted against. Crs Lyon and Coorey were not present for the vote. Council’s request to the state government is yet to be determined, say staff, with exhibition of the planning proposal to follow if approved. Yet Greens mayor Simon Richardson and Cr Paul Spooner (Labor) have defended their vote on raising height limits in Byron’s CBD, which could see 11.5m high developments down to the end of Jonson Street. Cr Richardson told The Echo, ‘11.5m is the current [height restriction] for the overwhelming amount of the CBD [other areas are 9m], and hasn’t allowed for four storeys, thus it is not the height limit that has done so, but the unique lay of the land in this instance.’ And the mayor dismissed claims by the Byron Residents Group
Byron Shire Council Notices ▶ p8
as ‘simply scaremongering and untrue,’ that a massive proposal on the corner of Jonson and Browning Streets will set a precedent of ‘allowing an increase to four storeys all along Jonson Street.’ A contentious mixed residential/ commercial proposal, headed by Graham Dunn, was determined Wednesday (today) by the JRPP and came with requests to exceed height limits and floorspace ratios.
Mayor plays down massive development The mayor said of the development, ‘This is unique for the CBD and won’t lead to any rush on four storeys.’ ‘If four storeys were possible or easy, they would have occurred over the last 20 or more years of 11.5m height limits.’ But remarkably he agreed that his support to increase the height limit ‘may well result in an increased yield and profit’ for the developer. The mayor and Cr Spooner deny meeting Dunn or his associates prior to the motion being voted upon. Yet the mayor defended the large-scale development, saying that ‘The building is also not 12.5m [as claimed by the residents group], but rather the overwhelming majority is on or under 11.5m, with only two lift shafts being higher – to a highest point of 12.2m.’ The mayor added, ‘I will be speaking at the JRPP against the proposal and its height exceedance.’ ▶ Continued on page 2
The buzz is building for the eleventh Mullum Music Festival, to be held this coming weekend. Held throughout the town’s venues and streets, the festival has grown to include two new venues – The Byron School of Art and the Council Chambers – for comedy! So how are rehearsals going for Sunday’s big street parade? ‘Brilliantly!’ says festival director Glenn Wright. ‘There are more people involved than ever – who knew that the town had so many horn players?’ Pictured are performers Sara Tindley and Ash Bell. Photo Jeff Dawson
Jonson St development would ‘tower’ over guesthouse Chris Dobney By the time you read this, the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) will have decided, or deferred, approval of a $21m, four-storey residential and commercial development at the southern end of Jonson Street. Yet adjoining residents say it would ‘tower’ over their properties with balconies that would ‘peer’ into their backyards. Council has endorsed the development application, even though a council planning proposal to raise the height limits has yet to be
Race on down to the Bangalow Show this weekend ▶ p16
approved by the state government (see adjacent story). The Echo understands any JRPP approval of the DA would effectively pre-empt it – the current height limit for that end of Jonson Street is nine metres. But Peter O’Connor, proprietor of The Palms Guesthouse, told The Echo that even the developers admit that because of the slope of the land, the building will be 12.2m high at the point where it would abut Ruskin Lane. Mr O’Connor says his property and another at 1 Ruskin Lane are
Recycle like the planet depends on it! ▶ p18
in a ‘development squeeze’ that ‘threatens our residential amenity, our recurrent financial position and the capital values of our properties’.
mş ǖ şşſƆżëĈĕ ſëƐĶş ōĶŔĶƐ ‘This has occurred basically because Council’s new height controls for Jonson Street to replace the LEP clears the way for a very intense DA, up to 13.5m high and with no floorspace ratio limit, to be considered and approved by its officers alone and seemingly allowing the conversion of Ruskin Lane into a commercial thoroughfare.’
Discover the Byron Arts & Industry Estate ▶ p19
What are our artistic folk up to? ▶ p22
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