In 2018, Cook Cove Inlet Pty Ltd came back with a new proposal. It was very much in the concept stage and not ready for a detailed comparison with the 2016 proposal. One thing that didn't changed was that, again, we stood to lose almost all of Cooks Cove South.
This concept design was the basis on which Cook Cove Inlet was invoking the rezoning process (which would have lead to a Local Environment Plan amendment) depicted in the flowchart.
The Bayside Planning Panel met on August 14 to consider supporting this amendment. I was one of the speakers against. I took the flowchart from the Agenda of that meeting.
The panel made it's decision which is recorded in the minutes for the August 14 meeting in the agenda for the August 28 meeting. In summary, the panel recommended against the proposal for the following reasons:
Let me honour here the other four speakers who, apart from myself, also spoke against the proposal at the August 14 meeting:
The video of the Planning Panel was live-streamed to Facebook.
There was a theoretical possibility that Bayside Council might support the proposal even though the Planning Panel recommended against it. So Save Barton Park decided not to rest on our laurels and speak again.
Let me honour here the other two Save Barton Park speaker who, apart from myself, also spoke at the September 12 Council Meeting:
The proponent did not have any speakers. After we spoke, Councillors Ibrahim and Councillor Tsounis also spoke against the Cooks Cove Proposal. They spoke not just on legalities and technicalities but made it clear that the Cooks Cove Proposal was a bad deal for the community. Then Council unanimously passed a resolution against the proposal which said, amongst other things: "That Council as trustee cannot advance the current Planning Proposal to reclassify the Trust Lands without a conflict of duty arising".
The decision is recorded in the draft minutes of the September 12 Council Meeting
The video of the Council Meeting was live-streamed to Facebook.
The Attorney General is expected to provide additional legal opinion. Potentially, this could provide some legal avenue for the Cooks Cove Proposal to proceed. Of course it does not follow that Council will support the proposal even if it legally could as there are so many reasons why this proposal is a bad deal for the community.
The proponent has the option to invoke the rezoning review. Obviously the legal issues need to be overcome. I also imagine that requesting a rezoning of land one does not own without the backing of the owners poses some difficulties.
But we will have to be vigilant.