Supply Not the Issue, says New Sydney Planning Boss

Planning in Australia’s biggest city needs reforming, but not at the expense of development, says the city’s new planning committee boss, Jess Miller. Urban strategist Miller is the chair of the transport, heritage and planning committee under Lord Mayor Clover Moore, a role Miller stepped into after she was re-elected at last month’s council elections. As well as again being deputy lord mayor, a position she first assumed in 2017, Miller is also a member of the central city planning committee that determines the future of developments with a value greater than $50 million. There can be no denying the important of the city to the nation. The land alone in the local government area is worth $132 billion, according to the NSW Valuer General. And the good news is there’s 13ha of developable land in the city. Miller says it is not so much the supply of land that is the issue for the city, rather what is done with it, and how. The includes the loss of private green space in Sydney as the age of the backyard ends. Miller says laneways will play a bigger part in the city’s amenity, as extensions to homes. ▲ Cat Alley at Surry Hills is the shape of things to come for the city, says Miller. “There’s some beautiful examples already ... like Hayden Lane and Cat Alley at Surry Hills, where the community has gone and done it anyway,” Miller tells The Urban Developer . She says many homeowners would rather a deck or granny flat in their backyard to maximise the value of their property. “Backyards are really hard to come by and I think that’s where we are seeing the greatest loss of urban greening, in people’s gardens.” The greening public spaces, new transport options including the light rail and Metro, and its economic power put Sydney in a good position. But as is the case with any metropolis, nothing is perfect. Empty spaces are, to put it mildy, a bugbear for Miller and it is not just underutilised back alleys that are a concern. “It strikes me as pretty offensive when there is so much demand for space, particularly to live in, that there are buildings empty or underutilised,” she says. “From a residential point of view, I’m pretty interested in is how short-term accommodation is affecting how communities are emerging. “We’ve got a vibrant and progressed accommodation sector with no shortage of hotels, so it strikes me as quite odd and silly that we have so many empty hotel rooms and [so many] Airbnbs that are utilised for short periods of time.” The councillor says this has a huge knock-on effect in the community, particularly in Millers Point, Potts Point, Woolloomooloo and Waterloo. ▲ Private short-stay accommodation is affecting communities in areas such as Woolloomooloo and Potts Point, Miller says. “[Those locations] don’t have the regular population to support schools, businesses, childcare centres and sports teams,” Miller says. “From a vibrancy point of view, not just night time but daytime, making sure houses are homes is really important. “Residents are frustrated by the level of transience because it is so high— they don’t feel like there’s investment into the community.” And, says Miller, there’s no point to having rules if there’s no enforcement. “I’m not a finance or taxation expert, but if there’s more incentive to lease a property short-term or not at all, then that is really concerning,” Miller says. “Unfortunately we don’t, under the short-term rental accommodation policy at a state level, have the authority to enforce the caps, like the 180-day cap, on leasing.” But, Miller says, while there are aspects that are out of the council’s control, it still has plenty of power. “Our biggest lever as the City of Sydney is the planning system—it’s something we can directly influence and have custodianship over,” she says. ▲ Jess Miller: Planning reform is not something done lightly. “Planning reform takes a while and is very expensive because there are so many co-dependencies. “If you start tweaking one part of it, it can have a ripple effect, it’s not something that is done lightly. “For example, when there’s increased developer contributions for affordable housing and things like that, it sounds good in theory. “We’d all love to have more money to spend on affordable housing, but if that means the entire property sector is brought to its knees, then that is not the best thing to do.” Miller says a balance must be struck between reforming the planning system so it is more efficient, and ensuring its stability and reliability. “It’s about making sure the council is able to maintain a level of certainty for the property sector,” Miller said. “And we need to continue to invest well [to be] in a really good financial position to do major infrastructure projects. “It’s about making sure the city maintains its position as the powerhouse of the Australian economy. “We must continue to attract investment and ensure that those who are developing and doing wonderful things here have a level of certainty.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. 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Supply Not the Issue, says New Sydney Planning Boss

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