1) Five of the 38 proposed lots are within the 400 metre buffer zone of the North Grafton Sewage Treatment Works. The council's town planner recommended that the council not allow those lots as they would be unsuitable for human habitation. Other recent developments have been forced to comply. Council voted NOT to require the applicant to comply with the 400m buffer. Council's Solicitor advised of concerns with this resolution and its future application.

2) It's next door to an orchard where fruit trees are sprayed. Council finally forced the developer to prepare a Land Use Conflict Risk Assessment (LUCRA) which found that a 4m buffer zone is required. The developer doesn't want to use his own land for the buffer and prefers to use ratepayers' public land - Crown St road reserve. According to the Department of Agriculture, the onus is on the new development to provide the buffer. If Council accepts the buffer on public land, it creates a precedent for future cases. Council's decision? Allow utilisation of part of the Crown Street road reserve for provision of a buffer ... and also utilise private land if possible. The final design is still being prepared.

The stormwater issue reported in our last newsletter, has been resolved by the developer agreeing to contribute towards future stormwater works on neighbouring developments.

Read the full story in the April and June reports and meeting minutes of the Planning and Environment Committee and Council's meeting minutes in the Business Papers section of Grafton Council's website.

-Mark