Some key decisions from last night's (Tuesday 15 September) council meeting.
Next step for proposed re-zoning
Orange City Council has deferred a proposed re-zoning near the new Bloomfield Medical Centre in Forest Road, which could eventually allow a neighbourhood shopping centre to be built.
A total of 8 submissions were received during the community consultation period, with many raising concerns for the potential impact on the trading performance of the main Orange CBD.
Last night's meeting decided to liaise with the proponent about a possible reduction in the scale of the development.
More consultation, information
Last night's meeting has supported a proposal which would see more community consultation about major projects.
The meeting debated a motion put forward by Cr Tony Mileto which called for public information sessions to be held at the half-way point of "all significant projects and initiatives".
Donation to food charities
The lack of catering at recent Council meetings will lead to a donation to local food charities, following a motion proposed by Cr Jason Hamling.
Because some recent meetings have been held via the Zoom platform, the meals usually provided after the meetings have not happened.
Last night's meeting decided to donate the money that would have been spent on providing meals at Council meetings to (Food Bank, Vinnie Van and Café, Anglicare Emergency Food Relief, Orange Senior Citizens and Let's Make Better).
Support for wine month
Last night's meeting decided to donate $10,000 in sponsorship for Orange Wine Month activities.
While the annual festival's signature events have been cancelled, the intention is support many smaller events over the month of October, rebranding the festival for 2020 as Orange Wine Month.
Support for COVID initiatives
Last night's meeting decided to increase its funding of Orange 360 by $100,000 to pay for COVID rebound initiatives and extra marketing. The 21 July meeting decided to put the proposal on display for community comment. There were no submissions.
Decisions in brief:
- The meeting adopted a new Local Strategic Planning Statement, a new strategic document required by the NSW Government. The draft had been on display for community comment and a number of amendments were suggested.
- Plans to construct an equine precinct near the Towac Park racecourse are making progress. The meeting decided to support a contributions plan to cover the cost of a horse and rider underpass
- Last night's meeting gave the go ahead to plans to build the next stage of the Southern feeder road project. A Review of Environment Factors has found that there are no environmental obstacles to building the road from Anson St to Pinnacle Road.
