Last night City of Casey Councillors voted unanimously in favour of a full review of the Casey Community Local Law 2023, and to suspend permit and application fees for Private Land Use Permits.
City of Casey Mayor Cr Stefan Koomen said they had seen and heard the community concerns and frustrations expressed around the current local law, in particular how it relates to use of private land.
"I want our community to know that as your new Councillors, we are listening to the feedback and we are taking action," said Cr Koomen.
"We believe a comprehensive review of the local law is the best way to ensure that our local laws are truly meeting the needs of our community," said Cr Koomen.
"Genuine community consultation will be a key focus of this review, and we want our community to know that their voices will be heard throughout this process. We will also be comparing our local laws to those of other Council areas to ensure they are fair and in line with the sector," said Cr Koomen.
"We don't want any residents to be financially disadvantaged while we are conducting the review, so we will be temporarily suspending the fees related to the Private Land Use permit for the time being," said Cr Koomen.
The proposed Waste Transfer Station in Hampton Park is another long-standing community concern that was addressed by the new Council group at the meeting.
River Gum Ward Cr Lynette Pereira talked to a Notice of Motion requesting stronger advocacy to the State Government and Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to share the local community's concerns.
Councillors agreed to write to the Minister for Planning and Local MPs to consider finding a new location, and to the Minister for Environment to share community concerns about the ability of Veolia to safely operate the Waste Transfer Station.
More details around the review of the local law will be available to our community over coming months.
"On behalf of the new Councillors, please be reassured that we are listening to our community, taking action and we will keep you updated as the review progresses."
"I want to thank our community for your patience over recent months, the new Councillors want to return back into the chamber, with our community there in the gallery. We're looking forward to returning back to our normal in-person format as soon as we can," Cr Koomen.
