The sun sets on the scenic buffer zone for Milton.
On Tuesday night I went to Council prepared to challenge the loss of the scenic preservation of Milton Meadows. If Milton is to loose this scenic buffer that helps identify the village, then at the very least there should be some social benefit in the form of a Retirement Village.
A Retirement Village is what the developer has said he wants.
High Care facilities is what the region needs.
The State Government have given the extra bonus to the developer by demanding a residential zoning for rural lots.
The Liberal faction of Council ( Clrs Ward, Guile, Bennett, Soames and Brumerskyi) are determined to see that the developer gets a choice of subdivision or the retirement village plan.
The developer will then have a seriously enhanced asset that could be sold for sub-division at any time.
The votes were cast on Tuesday night with one councillor away a tied vote of 6/6 meant the Mayor had to use his casting vote. He voted with the group of Councillors who wanted to insure that the land was not frittered away into subdivision but allow the developer his dream of building a retirement village.
Milton residents could only enjoy this reasonable decision for about 20 mins as Liberal Councillors, Ward, Guile and Brumerskji lodged a recision motion knowing that in two weeks time when the absent Councillor Josi Young returns they will have the numbers to give the developer a gift and rob Milton of its character.
To add insult to the situation Clrs Young and Proudfoot are supposed to represent Milton and support the change in zoning to allow subdivision.
Councillor Guile suggested that we could control subdivision through adding control plans. He seems to have forgotten that once the zoning is issued the Land and Environment Court would see this as the overriding land use and approve an application for subdivision regardless of the intent to build a retirement village.
This issue has outed the hypocrites, the hollow promises to work together, to consider consensus decision making and support our communities through representation.
I'm sure if the villages represented by the Liberal faction where in the same situation it would be entirely different.
So whats left to do- All Milton/Ulladulla residents need to lobby the Councillors particularly the ones who represent this area and ask them to see sense in the compromise of not changing the land from rural to residential- but still allow the opportunity for retirement living focusing on the needs of the community and delivering a high care facility.
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