Wonga Road, Picton - Reclassification from Community to Operational

Wollondilly Council, on 21 March, 2011, resolved to reclassify Council owned sites (part of Lot 67 and part of Lot 68 DP 3007, Wonga Road, Picton) from "community" to "operational". Council's report and Planning Proposal are attached at Tag X.The reclassification is to:1. allow for potential relocation of Council's work depot from its current site in Margaret Street, Picton to Wonga Road;2. resolve an anomaly of the use of land classified as "community" being used for Council's animal shelter and nursery;3. allow for a range of other potential future operational uses on the subject land if required. The subject land is shown on the location map at Tag A. Land zoningThe Planning Proposal does not involve rezoning. Lot 68 is zoned RE1 Public Recreation and Lot 67 is zoned IN2 Light Industrial under Wollondilly LEP 2011. The current zoning of the land is shown on the zoning extract at Tag B. Current usesThe proposal is to resolve the anomaly of the use of land on part Lot 67 classified as "community" being used for Council's animal shelter and nursery and allow for a range of other potential future operational uses of the subject land if required. The current uses on the site are shown on the map at Tag C. The southern part of the land at Lot 67 is currently leased by Council's waste collection contracter (Thiess) as a waste transfer station.Council intends to relocate its Margaret Street Works Depot to the subject site (part of Lot 67 and 68), however, Council has advised that the timing of locating a new Council depot on this site will depend on future favourable property market conditions for the sale/redevelopment of the existing Margaret Street Depot site for residential use. land classification/vegetationCouncil's Wonga Road land is in two main parcels in DP 3007, Lot 67 with a total area of 6.78 ha, and Lot 68 with a total area of 8.5 ha. The map at Tag D1 shows the current classification of the land. Aerial photo is at Tag E. The eastern parts of lot 67 are unsuitable for development due to vegetation constraints so its developable land is generally on the western half. The southwestern portion of this lot is classified as "operational" land and is leased by Council's waste collection contractor Thiess for use as a waste transfer station. The land immediately to the north of the Thiess operation accommodates Council's plant nursery and animal shelter. Further to the north is an undeveloped portion of Lot 67 (approximately 1.5 ha) with potential to accommodate Council's future works depot.The plant nursery and animal shelter are Council "operational" uses occurring on "community" classified land. The proposed reclassification would rectify this historical anomaly. The northernmost parcel, Lot 68 and the northern parts of Lot 67 were previously used as a refuse tip until approximately 30 years ago and have not yet been rehabilitated. Although lot 68 is classified as "community", the land is overgrown and not maintained as a useable public open space area.The land subject to the Planning Proposal for reclassification is shown on the map at Tag D2. As shown on Tag D2, it is proposed to reclassify a portion of Lot 68 only (extending northwards only as far as the northern boundary of the adjacent Picton High School site and extending eastwards to the approximate vegetation line). The remainder of Lot 68 would remain classified as "community" land to ensure its long term future use for public recreation. While it is proposed to have a split classification on Lot 68, Council has proposed to reclassify all of Lot 67 to "operational", even though the eastern parts of that lot are clearly not developable due to vegetation constraints. The reason for this is to enable the option of potential sale of this land should Council in the future not require this asset. If the Lot had a split classification only that part classified as operational would be available for sale and therefore the land would need to be subdivided prior to any sale. Other constraintsThe subject land is bushfire prone and is within a proclaimed mine subsidence district. Council has advised that the land was used as a landfill site until approximately 30 years ago and subsequent to that parts of the site are understood to have been used for the disposal of fill by Sydney Water during the implementation of the Picton Sewerage Scheme. Council asdvised that expert reports on contamination and remediation strategies will be prepared as part of the planning process.