The carpark(s) are located behind the shops on the northern side of Lawrence Street in Freshwater Village.

The carpark(s) are accessed from Oliver Street and Lawrence Street. An Ausgrid substation separates the carparks.

The land making up the carparks is predominantly owned by Northern Beaches Council.

A number of parcels of land are owned by the Department of Lands.

Ausgrid also own the substation located on the site.

The carpark is used by Freshwater Village customers, shop owners and employees.

Some shopkeepers and Ausgrid use the carparks to gain vehicle access to their properties.

Council proposes to reclassify the land from Community Land to Operational Land and to rezone the land from RE1 Public Recreation to SP2 Infrastructure (Carpark). SP2 prohibits development of the land for any other use than carparking.

The application of a 3 metre height of building controls will restrict development potential, of the site.

The changes will secure the function of the carpark remains in the community’s benefit. The continued use of the land as a public carpark is critical to the operation of the local centre.

All public land must be classified under the Local Government Act 1993, as either ‘Community’ or ‘Operational’.

Community Land can only be used for public purposes and is usually associated with open space e.g. public parks.

Council cannot sell Community Land or grant a lease, license or other estate for private purposes over Community Land. This means that shop owners on Lawrence Street are not authorised to use the carparks to gain access to their properties e.g. for loading and unloading or for on-site parking.

Operational Land does not have any special restrictions and can be used by Council for a broad range of purposes. It is land which facilitates the carrying out of its functions such as carparks, or land which may not be open to the general public, such as work depots.

The change in classification of the carparks from Community Land to Operational Land would:

• permit owners of shops fronting Lawrence Street to obtain legal access to their land from Council’s carparks for unloading and parking etc.
• enable the gradual removal of driveway crossings on Lawrence Street as the shops are redeveloped with vehicular access from the carparks, thereby improving pedestrian safety and amenity on Lawrence Street.

Yes, a Public Hearing will be held as required under Section 29 of the Local Government Act 1993 as the planning proposal seeks to reclassify land from Community Land to Operational Land.

Public notice of the Public Hearing will be given at least 21 days after the completion of the statutory public exhibition period.

Reclassification of Crown Land to Operational is a separate process to reclassifying Council owned land.

As Council is the appointed Crown Land manager of Lot 7315 DP 1151796, Lawrence Street Freshwater the process to reclassify Crown Land involves Council applying to the Minister to reclassify the land to Operational.

Council is currently applying to the Minister of Crown Lands to reclassify this lot from Community to Operational.

Where the Minister has given written consent to classify land as if it were operational land, the council manager of the land has all the functions that a local council has under the LG Act in relation to operational land. However, council managers cannot sell the land without further ministerial consent.

A Public Hearing is not required for the reclassification of Crown land to Operational Land. Refer to the NSW Department of Industry – Lands and Water, “Guideline – classification of Crown Land managed by Council Crown Land Managers”.

The carparks are currently zoned for RE1 - Public Recreation. This is an anomaly arising when Warringah Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2000 was replaced by Warringah LEP 2011.

The carparks have no recreational or open space value. Re-zoning to SP2 – Infrastructure (Carpark) will accurately reflect the current use and purpose for which the space is used.

New shop top housing developments proposed at 21 Lawrence Street and approved for 9-15 Lawrence Street, and other future developments, will be forced to gain vehicle access from Lawrence Street, increasing potential conflict between pedestrians and vehicles in the area.

Council has no plans to develop or sell the site.

While the rezoning would permit additional uses of the site, this is unlikely to occur because:

• the carparking area is needed by the community,
• the size and shape of the land would restrict development options,
• the carparks are made up of a number of parcels of land not owned by Council e.g. one lot within Oliver Street carpark is owned by the Department of Lands, and one lot within the Lawrence Street carpark is owned by Ausgrid,
• the Ausgrid substation and associated underground cabling in the carpark will constrain development options.