Ourimbah Region Residents’ Association (ORRA) will be speaking up again tonight, Tuesday, March 22, at the Central Coast Council meeting, to oppose the latest iteration of the Ourimbah Masterplan.
Council only released the masterplan on Wednesday, March 16.
ORRA representatives will be requesting that this March 2022 version be placed on exhibition for residents to view and comment on, and to allow proper consultation to take place with Ourimbah residents.
The matter came before Administrator Rik Hart in December 2021 with significant changes from the previous version exhibited in 2019.
Mr Hart voted to defer the plan for further work as a result of speeches by ORRA members.
But ORRA says those members could deliver almost the same speeches tonight as they did last December.
“Most of our points were not addressed at all – all the reasons that convinced Mr Hart to defer still remain,” spokesman Brian Davies said.
Two main points of contention are building heights and density.
“A new Director of Environment and Planning has just been appointed,” Davies said.
“We would like to meet with Dr Howe and invite her and Mr Hart to visit Ourimbah to see for themselves the challenges that make this plan unworkable.”
Member for The Entrance David Mehan shares ORRO’s concerns.
“The Administrator should not adopt the staff recommendation without referencing the April 2020 resolution of the former elected Council and confirming its continuing application,” he said.
The councillors unanimously passed a motion to limit building heights in Ourimbah to one and two storey.
The masterplan now has no building heights limits or heritage controls but would rely on the Council’s Development Control Plan and the Council Heritage Strategy.
“Ourimbah residents are rightly concerned that failure to include these key elements in the Masterplan undermines its purpose and creates further uncertainty in the community,” Mehan said.
The meeting starts at 5.45pm at Wyong chambers.
Merilyn Vale