Up against what seems like a ‘done deal’ to sell the land at 2 Bangaroo Street, local residents provide Council with options to sell and conserve this land.
The Sell and Conserve options
My family and another have submitted an EOI to Council in response to the sale process. Our offer is in the millions of dollars and contains 4 different options. It is a fairly unique situation because we have access to the back block of 2 Bangaroo Street (via 1 and 3 Worrobil Street) other than through the front block. This removes the need for Council to sell both blocks in one line, and allows a lot more conservation options.
Option 1
Sell both parcels of land to residents whose homes adjoin them.
Neither plot will be developed.
We will return the front parcel next to the road to the Community as a conserved open green space. This will be handled through a community group, a not for profit, a trust or similar.
The back parcel with the house on will be accessed through our properties and conserved as private bush land.
Option 2
Sell only the back parcel of land, and remove the easement to it which is currently over the front block. This will allow the front block to be separated from the ‘sale in one line’ that is created by the easement.
Council could then rezone the front block C2, and achieve a sale of the back block which would be protected from development due to being ‘stranded’ from road access.
The back parcel with the house on will be accessed through our properties and conserved as private bush land.
Option 3
Subdivide the back parcel of land as it was originally subdivided (the East was purchased from 1 Worrobil Street and the West was purchased from 3 Worrobil Street) and restore the Worrobil Street plots to their original form by selling this subdivided back plot to 1 and 3 Worrobil Street respectively.
The land will be protected from development by the new LEP once it is enacted.
Option 4
There is a small tip of the back plot that is above the Riparian Buffer zone.
Sell only this small portion (about 230m2), and zone all of the Riparian Buffer zone on the remaining plots as C2.
How does this stack up against a sale to developers?
Council adopted a Property Management Framework in April 2022.
The Property Management Framework that Northern Beaches Council is supposed to now follow contains 8 guiding principles that they say will support decision making on all of the property they own and manage.
Using the Council’s own principles, we view that each of our options compares more favourably than selling Riparian Buffer zone to a Developer, as below.
We believe that the next best step is for Council to begin community consultation on this important decision. Our preference is that this leads to C2 zoning of both blocks, but we are prepared to put our money where our mouths are, and privately conserve this land if necessary.