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Are there any other suggestions or comments you would like to make?
Council welcomes your input, suggestions, ideas and comments on any aspect of this Strategy.
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Comment 1 18 Mar 2009, 10:13 AM
This Housing Strategy is a 10-year plan...
Where is the plan to increase local employment?
Comment 1.1 26 Mar 2009, 8:46 AM
Council has mentioned that they want to get office development happening along George St. They said that this is crucial to attracting spending in the retail area.
I think they should also be looking at the range of shops that Hornsby CBD currently provides. They should be trying to attract more people from the upper north shore ie Wahroonga down because these areas are quite wealthy. for many reasons, one of them being a limited choice in better quality apparel many of them prefer going to Chatswood or even Castle Hill where there is more on offer.
Comment 2 20 Mar 2009, 2:51 PM
If the rezoning goes through, the council has said that all the properties affected will now have higher land values because they are able to be redeveloped for more housing so they will also be subjected to higher rates (and much higher rates since the majority of properties are going to be rezoned to 5 storey developments). Owners can apply to not pay if they cannot afford the higher rates but, if they sell their house, the value of the postponed rates is payable to the council as part of the property transacation.
This is a very sneaky way of more…
Comment 2.1 28 Mar 2009, 5:05 PM
The land is worth more becuase developers will now compete for it. So if you decide to move you will get a neat profit!
If you decide to stay a few years, you won't have to pay a cent more in rates. Just defer the lot. Then when you sell in a few years you will still make a profit, and just pay off the deferred rates out of the profit.
The rates will be higher on these properties, becuase there will be alot more people lving on them. Which will keep the rates relatively lower for the rest of us!
Hey, every cloud is black if you wear black tinted glasses.
Comment 2.1.1 3 Apr 2009, 4:54 PM
Richard, you say "that rates will be higher, because there will be more people living there". That is patently not true *until* after the property is developed. Any increase in rates should not affect the current owners, but be paid once a property is sold. Current owners should not carry the burden of excess rates when their property (in affect) hasn't changed at all.
Comment 2.1.2 1 May 2009, 12:01 AM
What if, in this depression, no developer is interested in buying your land. You'll then be stuck with the higher rates.
Comment 2.1.2.1 1 May 2009, 9:48 AM
And not being able to sell if you wanted to. And if you did you would get nothing for your house.
Remember that some people may want to sell because they are moving to another area, are getting divorced, are bankrupt, it is a deceased estate. The usual things that make up life and have nothing to do with rezoning.
Comment 3 26 Mar 2009, 9:38 PM
It is not only as ratepayers that people need to stand up but also as voters in State and Federal seats. NSW needs to spend serious money in Sydney on infrastructure such as rail and metro but the government always pulls out of committing itself to anything. This is why they have dumped the issue of providing extra housing onto local government. local government often compounds the problem by being b-grade and mediocre in their decision making. Hence we get Strategies like this one. Local government then tries to get out of being responsible for any of it by saying more…
Comment 3.1 28 Mar 2009, 5:01 PM
The State government has just invested a fortune in putting the new rail line through Macquarie and Ryde. Giving us additional services from Hornsby. Or hadn't you noticed!
Why object to freight trains going 24 hours a day. At present thety are all restricted to going through in the night. Isn't it better to spread the traffic over the 24 hours.
Comment 3.1.1 28 Mar 2009, 9:11 PM
The train service to the city is actually going to be slower to all stations apart from Wynyard which will be one minute faster. If you compare these times with the timetable we had before the current one ie the go slow so as to be on time one, then the service is abysmally worse.
As for freight trains you obviously live nowhere near where they travel. They are unhealthily and stress inducingly noisy and also polluting, all this over a wide area, not just metres from the track. If the track gets quadrupled then it wil become even more invasive in its effects. also the quadruplication of the track mentions only increases in freight movements and central coast/Newcastle services. Nothing about improving the metropolitan services. We need a new freight line that circles the city elsewhere where the grade is gentler.
As for your knowledge of when freight trains run, they are not just restricted to going through at night. They go trhough during the day and evening too. The only times they restrict them is during the morning and afternoon peak periods.
Comment 3.1.1.1 29 Mar 2009, 9:40 PM
Life is about choosing between the leasser of two evils.
Give me a few more freight trains a day, rather than a few thousand extra trucks a day. Give me more freight trains during the day, when noise doesn't travel anywhere nearly as much as it does in the evening and night. (Maybe I didn't realise that some freight trains go through duing the day, just because I don't hear them, whereas I do hear the night ones)
As to asking them to build a whole new freight line. Sorry, Don Quixote isn't around to help you with that one.
I looked at the draft timetable a few months ago. Services to St Leonards, North Sydney, Wynyard were all quite a bit quicker. Not to mention the new stations of the Macquarie Uni / Ryde area. New rolling stock. And a lot more services. Not to mention all th eimproved stations. Guess we might need to compare timetables. but, please don't say they don't spend on infrastructure. That just isn't true.
Comment 3.1.1.1.1 30 Mar 2009, 10:53 AM
They certainly don't spend nowhere near enough on infrastructure. And it is a bit depressing to reduce life to just being the choice between the lesser of two evils.
As for the timetable. I said getting to the city, NOT St Leonards or North Sydney. If you look at the timetable you will see that it will be 1 (one) minute faster to get to Wynyard, slower to Town Hall, Central and Redfern. Hence for the majority of stations IT WILL BE SLOWER. Not to mention how much longer it is going to take to get to any station between Epping more…
Comment 3.1.2 3 Apr 2009, 5:01 PM
The problem with this upgrade is that it doesn't go far enough. They are attempting to hugely increase the population north of Hornsby without any attempt to increase train services. In any case, adding an extra platform at Hornsby isn't going to speed up trains on the north shore line, which during peak are running at capacity.
Comment 4 28 Mar 2009, 5:12 PM
In the past I've lived in an ordinary house overlooked by a 5 storey apartment block, on the north side. And overall, it was never a problem. People just rarely came out of the block to the rear
But ask me to live across the road from a unit block ENTRANCE and I'd have a very different opinion. All the extra coming and going, people and cars, would be very intrusive.
So my view is that one serious error in the plan is to put units onto one side of Lords Ave. It would be better to take over both sides of Lords Ave, and the space of Lords Ave itself. And just ensure enough buffer space between the rear of any development and the properties on Wall St/Bouvardia Ave. Perhaops make that "rear" section lower rise.
Comment 5 28 Mar 2009, 5:16 PM
IT IS IMPERATIVE ASQUTIH SHOPS ARE THE FIRST AREA TO BE REDEVELOPED.
Asquith shops are a disgrace anyway. This is a great opportunity to get them redeveloped with some quality development. Mixed shopping/commercial and high rise, with very tight controls on the quality of teh development.
If other units go up before the shops are redeveloped, the chances of getting any quality development and attracting a better standard of newcomer will be severely impacted. Asquith will stand a great chance of becoming a high rise slum area in very quick time.
ASQUITH SHOPS must be redeveloped first, not later.
Comment 5.1 30 Mar 2009, 9:09 PM
Yes, the Asquith shopping centre is an absolute disgrace.
Does Coles know something that we commoners don't? Massive expansion to their store PLUS undeground parking? They are obviously expecting a large increase in business - why?
Comment 5.2 5 Apr 2009, 7:03 PM
congrats the 1st decent comment from you I have read
Comment 5.3 22 Apr 2009, 9:16 PM
Again, having the shops redeveloped is of little consolation if your house will look over a five storey development.
Of course, the shopping strip could do with renovating but extensively redeveloped shops will only be used to justify further development.
Comment 6 28 Mar 2009, 5:19 PM
WHERE ARE THE EXTRA PARKS IN THE PLAN FOR ASQUITH ?
2,00o odd people coming in, and not a single plan for any extra park space ?
Par for the course for a council that has not added a single bit of useable park or community space throughout the development of Waitara!
Comment 6.1 30 Mar 2009, 9:14 PM
The whole housing plan is just money-making. Wasn't medium-density housing originally put forward as "affordable housing"? Affordable to who? Now we will have more and more units and townhouses with no extra facilities to support this expansion For instance, parking. Parking at Asquith Railway Station has always been at a premium, but no with the townhouses in Haldane and Heath Streets, all street-parking is taken by residents who don't want to use their undeground parking facilities. IMO the whole thing is short-sighted and a money-making grab.
Comment 6.2 16 Apr 2009, 4:23 PM
Open Space is just the start of the issues though. Where are the upgrade plans for roads, rail, power, water, sewerage? It seems to me this is a barely thought out plan to dump more houses, without any increase in the infrastructure required.
Comment 6.2.1 16 Apr 2009, 7:39 PM
So true david, train sevices onthe local timetable is 1/2 hr.roads carrying commuters to work the mum taking kids to skool trucks from the north delivering to Hornsby shopping precint,so on & so on. All the various sevices & inferstructures NEED to be addressed first before housing!!
Comment 7 28 Mar 2009, 7:21 PM
AT COMMUNITY MEETINGS, will we be given a chance of making any sort of presentation ?
How often do we go to a meeting where some "official" makes a big presentation with the aid of Powerpoint on Digital Projector, but anyone else is lucky to even get a chance to use a microphone.
What facilities are going to be available to people to be able to show alternative plans, visual information ?
Comment 7.1 28 Mar 2009, 9:14 PM
From experience council doesn't want us to speak.
Comment 7.1.1 29 Mar 2009, 9:48 PM
Now that is something we perhaps should work on togther.
An invite for bellinid alone. Drop me an email at rb_be##inid@*hebou#*s.ne* - replace the * signs with the 6th letter in Asquith. Replace the # signs with the letter that should be obvious to you.
Comment 8 29 Mar 2009, 9:50 PM
This foum is diffenrt from most online forums.
It has no provision for people to get in touch privately.
Now, if I wasa cynical type, I'd guess that might actually be a choice of a council that wants to keep control of the debate.
So perhaps we should set up another forum too for us to get in touch. Any ideas.
Comment 9 22 Apr 2009, 9:11 PM
I think the council should do the following
a) Start acting in the interests of the residents of Hornsby Shire (remeber those taxes and rates come from somewhere)
Failing that
b) All councillors and mayor should resign forcing a new round of elections.
and/or
c) A suburb by suburb referendum to gauge the true feelings of the residents regarding the proposed redevelopment.
Comment 10 26 Apr 2009, 4:38 PM
Council should say to the state government that they will consider rezoning once they put the required infrastructure in place. It is not the council's problem to upgrade the train line, water, sewerage, electricity etc., but it is certainly a very good reason to put any rezoning on hold.
Comment 11 11 May 2009, 8:12 AM
Page 2 of today's (11/05/09) SMH - PLANNING COUP FOR DEVELOPERS. Dept of Planning has been overhauled so that senior staff who were not sympathetic enough to developers have been given the boot, thus paving the way for developers to maraud Sydney like visigoths.
Check it out!
Comment 12 15 May 2009, 2:59 PM
Every level of government is looking after itself on the Tax/Rate payer's expense. Sydney is growing out of control an will continue to grow. Too many levels of government in Australia to satisfy.
In the end progress will prevail.
Comment 12.1 15 May 2009, 5:47 PM
I agree that there are many levels of gov't BUT smaller may result in people deciding the best for OUR lifestyle & NOT lived or seen the areas involved is a worry. But IF & ONLY IF WE (you,me & every animal) stands up fights as ONE we can slow un-welcome progress & have unifide & benificial solution to this housing issue. If we put them there we can put them out!!! John Farnam "TURN THE PRESSURE UP"
Comment 12.1.1 18 May 2009, 3:41 PM
HAHA
Comment 13 16 May 2009, 6:42 PM
Our former N.S.W Regional Director Planning Northern Metropolitan Sydney Area -our area- (now retired & living in multi story high-rise in Sydney), commented this week about the proposed 5-story high-rise in Asquith - Mt.Colah - Mt. Kurung-gai - Berowra.
"AN OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL"
"TOTALLY ALIEN TO THE AREA"
"ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS"
"LACKS COMMON SENSE"
"TOTALLY STUPID JOKE"
"THIS IS NOT BARCELONA, MADRID OR LONDON"
"IF IT HAPPENED IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THERE WOULD BE RIOTS"
"Hornsby Council, (unlike Kuring-gai Council, which refused to listen) has previously undertaken good sensible planning for its shire. This new scatter-gun approach, 'one size fits all', is ridiculous"
When a top town planner with 25 years experience in the N.S.W planning department said this - as well as the vast majority of residents- it is time for Hornsby Council to STOP TRYING TO FORCE 5-STORY HIGH-RISE DOWN OUR THROATS & come up with a revised plan that develops our village communities instead of trying to reduce them to the lowest common denominator.
Comment 13.1 18 May 2009, 9:31 AM
We need him/her to come out of retirement and knock some sense into the State Government!
A sad site indeed whenever I drive past those ugly medium rise units at the end of Burns Rd St. Ives
Comment 14 27 May 2009, 4:51 PM
NO LEGITIMACY—NO CONSTITUTION—NO HEAD OF POWER
The following are based not on assumptions but “officially” admitted FACTS.
The Australian Constitution DOES NOT recognise ‘local government’
Attempts by the “government” to alter the constitution to recognize ‘local government’ have failed TWICE. The last Referendum was held on the 3rd of September 1988. 67% of the population REJECTED the proposal for recognition of a third tier of “government”, namely, local “councils”.
The result of any Referendum is LAW. Despite that clear unmistakable affirmation of the Constitution by the people of Australia IN ALL STATES, the “government” (Hawke) introduced the ‘Local Government Act 1989” more…
Comment 14.1 27 May 2009, 8:19 PM
And this is relevant how exactly?
Comment 14.1.1 28 May 2009, 1:52 AM
Well, its relevant to Dennis, obviously.
But for the rest of us perhaps it would be more constructive if we stuck with trying to seek solutions based on the existing realities, not Dennis' pipe dreams.
Comment 15 28 May 2009, 1:53 AM
I have put a number of submissions to the council.
I share these with people for discussion, on a Wiki website www.hornsby.wetpaint.com. On this wiki website, if you join up, you can add your own pages and discussion too.
You don’t need to join up to view.
Look forward to your comments and contributions.
Richard Boult
RB1 - Asquith Shopping Centre – Council can and must be Pro-Active
RB2 - Suggested traffic control for junction of Amor St, Pacific Hwy, bridge ramp north
RB3 - Amelioration of increased Valuation and Rates problem.
http://hornsby.wetpaint.com/page/RB3+-+Amelioration+of+increased+Valuation+and+Rates+problem.
RB4 - Draft 5 Storey Guidelines - Comments & Suggestions
http://hornsby.wetpaint.com/page/RB4+-+Draft+5+Storey+Guidelines+-+Comments+%26+Suggestions
RB5 - Amelioration of Impact for some Asquith precincts
http://hornsby.wetpaint.com/page/RB5+-+Amelioration+of+Impact+for+some+Asquith+precincts
RB6 - Additional Areas for Development, and some removals
http://hornsby.wetpaint.com/page/RB6+-+Additional+Areas+for+Development%2C+and+some+removals
Comment 16 5 Jul 2009, 12:28 AM
Some fundamental questions for the planning geniuses -
The growing population - truth or wishful thinking ?
Who are these people ?
Where will they work ?
How will they get there ?
Are they singles or families ?
Will they be happy to live like battery hens in high rise cages or will they envy the lifestyle we have now and are about to lose ?