Dalmeny land development update

Continuing with the many questions around the controversial Dalmeny land sale by Eurobodalla Council, under the Innes term of Council, newly elected councillor, Alison Worthington has formally requested responses to the following: Question 1. Council has previously advised that they will be updating residents on the progress of the preparation of the Dalmeny DCP as it progresses (meeting minutes of ESC meeting 24.08.21). Could we please know at what interval such updates will be given and what engagement will be involved to allow the community input into the details of the DCP?

Council response: Community updates Information and updates related to the Dalmeny Land Release Area (LRA) are available on Council’s website. Stakeholders who have signed up to updates via the link on the web page receive updates about the project, including upcoming engagement opportunities, when available. A Dalmeny LRA update was emailed on 29 April 2022. The update advised that collated feedback received in December 2021 and January 2022 was available on Council’s website, and that we are using the feedback to prepare a masterplan and DCP. The email stated that ‘we will email you to let you know when there is a draft masterplan for your input’. There was no further update since April 2022 because Council staff are still working on a draft masterplan. The project has progressed slower than anticipated due to unforeseen changes in resource availability, including the impacts of COVID-19. On 9 August 2022 the website was updated to reflect the slower progress, including: • sharing masterplan concepts with the community in late 2022 (rather than mid-2022) • public exhibition of a draft DCP in early 2023 (rather than late 2022). Council staff will share a draft masterplan concept with the community when it is available. Staff added "The feedback we receive from the community will be used to inform the Development Control Plan (DCP) for the Dalmeny LRA. The draft DCP will go on public exhibition, and once again the community will be invited to have input.

Question 2. Has Council made preparations to prepare a ‘whole of Dalmeny’ Development Control Plan (DCP)? Question 3. If no preparations for a ‘whole of Dalmeny’ DCP are in place, could Council advise how the DCP of such a large land release area can be incorporated into a village that is undergoing significant urban expansion, and is already facing challenges in supply of services including ECEC (children’s services). Council response: Development Control Plan (DCP) scope : The preparation of a DCP for the Dalmeny Land Release Area is a requirement of clause 6.2 of the Eurobodalla LEP. This DCP will be prepared as part of the masterplan process. A Residential Zones DCP already applies to the existing residential development in Dalmeny. However, a DCP is not the appropriate planning document to consider and plan for the services raised in the Question on Notice. A DCP is a development guideline that is used to assess Development Applications (DAs) for dwellings when they are lodged with Council. The Dalmeny LRA DCP will also provide guidance on the subdivision of the subject land. In particular, the Dalmeny LRA DCP will instruct landowners on how the land can be developed with respect to environmental factors and infrastructure requirements such as water and sewer, roads, and parks. A Development Application is required to demonstrate how it complies with the relevant DCP. The Dalmeny LRA DCP may include guidance for a mix of densities, a staging plan, public facilities and services, stormwater infrastructure, bushfire and flood mitigation, recreation areas, transport, and pedestrian networks, commercial and retail, landscaping, and assessment of conservation significance. The future planning of services to support the growth area is being undertaken as part of the development of the masterplan. Council’s Community Services Team are also undertaking a specific strategic study into the provision and likely future need for children’s services. The social infrastructure planning is a key part of determining the allocation of land for future development. Question 4. Could Council address concerns from residents that the sewage system appears not to have been able to manage current demands and the impacts of a higher rainfall season and extreme weather events as evidenced in the number of sewer spills in 2022 alone? How will the Mummaga Lake catchment be protected from the impacts of the increase in population that will come with the Dalmeny Land Release on the sewage system?

Council response:

4. Sewer services The Narooma Sewerage Scheme provides sewage collection, transport, and treatment facilities for the localities of Dalmeny, Kianga, North Narooma, and Narooma. The scheme includes collection of transfer systems which comprise 92.9 km of gravity mains, 21 sewage pumping stations and associated rising mains. Sewage is transferred to the Narooma Sewage Treatment Plant located at Kianga for treatment, reuse, and disposal. Sewage collected in the Dalmeny sewer reticulation system is transferred to the Kianga STP via eight sewage pumping stations and associated rising mains. Development of the Dalmeny LRA would not contribute to the risk of future sewer spills. Modelling to plan for future sewer system needs considers all future growth, including the Dalmeny Land Release Area. Council has engaged the NSW Public Works Advisory to update the sewer hydraulic model for year 2052. Additional sewage load due to the proposed developments in the Dalmeny Land Release Area will be considered in the update of the sewage hydraulic model. If the study identifies upgrades to the emergency storage, sewer pipes or sewage pumps are required, Council will ensure that the Narooma sewerage system will be upgraded and continue to provide a high-quality service to the customers. Dalmeny does not experience more sewer spills than elsewhere in the Eurobodalla. All sewer systems are designed to meet a standard rainfall event that when exceeded, may cause a spill. The flows in the sewage reticulation system increase during storm events due to infiltration and inflow. There have been four sewage spills in Dalmeny in 2022. The sewage spills on 6 and 8 March 2022 were due to heavy rainfall, with Dalmeny experiencing 177.6 mm of rain from 6 March 2022 to 9 March 2022. On 7 April 2022, 68.6 mm of heavy rain caused a spill and on 8 July 2022 the spill was caused by tree roots impacting infrastructure. Council continues to carry out condition assessment of sewer mains using CCTV, root cutting and sewer relining to minimise the tree root intrusion and to fix the other defects in the sewer mains. When sewage gets mixed with the massive amount of flow generated by the heavy rains, it is heavily diluted and carries virtually no risk to public health. Council does not conduct bacteriological assessment following large-scale wet-weather events, however sampling from multiple Mummaga Lake sites on 11 July 2022 showed no observable impact from recent spills. Water quality monitoring undertaken by the NSW Government is reported on the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s website water quality since 2014 when monitoring started. OP0026S002 . It shows Lake Mummaga has had good Council’s draft Coastal Estuaries Management Plan for Moruya River, Mummaga Lake and Wagonga Inlet includes an action to complete a nature of any impacts to Mummaga Lake. Adoption of the Dalmeny LR water quality study to better understand the A Masterplan and DCP The draft DCP and masterplan can only be adopted by Councillors will consider all submiss c ouncillors at a Council meeting. ions received during a 28day public exhibition period, before deciding whether to adopt the DCP as exhibited, adopt it with changes, or not adopt it. The subject Questions on Notice follows on from a previous Questions on Notice raised at the Council meeting of 24 August 2021, where the question was asked about keeping informed of the Dalmeny LRA master planning process and how decisions will be made.

"Gosh, one day, in the far off future, this will all be houses. Won't that be terrific" said Nobody, ever.