Residents of Jamberoo will have to wait until the March meeting of Council for a decision on the controversial Golden Valley Rd planning proposal.

The Director of Environment Services, Linda Davis, has advised extra time is needed to give due consideration to submissions received in the latest public exhibition period and motions passed at a recent public meeting organised by the Jamberoo Valley Residents & Ratepayers Association (JVRRA).

The motions requested Council and the State Government to reject the proposal to rezone rural land to residential, supported Council’s submission on proposed changes to agricultural planning rules, and called for the NSW Government to immediately impose a moratorium on all proposed greenfields’ rezonings at Jamberoo, in the Jamberoo Valley and in the Kiama Municipality until all the recommendations of the Southern Joint Regional Planning Panel in its Golden Valley decision have been implemented.

In a press release the JVRRA claims that 89 per cent of the 146 attendees voted for all the motions. The Bugle queries this figure given the lack of best practice in the counting, the number of people not voting and confusion over the moratorium motion.

After the meeting Gareth Ward MP said, “While the final decision on the Planning Proposal rests with the Department of Planning, Council has a vital role in this process. Council can resolve to make the plan or not proceed.”

Councillors previously rejected the proposal 8:1.