Kiama Council’s much-debated Housing Strategy will be presented at Tuesday night’s meeting with a recommendation to be adopted so that the local government area has a clear direction for the future.

Council’s director of strategies and communities Ed Paterson will urge Councillors to give the Strategy the green light after a lengthy process which started in March last year.

The Councillors will likely debate whether the Strategy is now ready to be implemented before a vote will be held.

The second version of the Strategy was placed on public exhibition between February and April and received 280 submissions from the public.

In his report to Council, Paterson said the feedback had been considered but there are “only minor changes proposed to the exhibited Draft v2 in the final Strategy”.

The changes include:

• Update the population projection sections to refer to the housing targets and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Plan as these are the only statutory requirements.

• Greenfield Opportunities have been restructured to provide one consolidated table of greenfield sites and updated information for each site.

• Minor mapping changes – update the boundary for Riversdale Road Precinct, Dido Street Precinct, Kiama West (Springside Hill) and 86 Campbell Street Gerringong.

• Updated wording of the “Non-negotiable principles for greenfield development”.

Paterson endorsed the Housing Strategy as one that identifies the housing needs of the Kiama LGA, along with four key objectives for housing and growth in Kiama:

1. Sufficient and well located housing supply

2. Diversity of housing options

3. Infrastructure is provided to support population growth and vice versa

4. Our centres and villages thrive.

“The Strategy also includes a vision, information about the Kiama LGA and our community, a housing supply and demand analysis, land use opportunities and constraints, as well as place-based opportunities and actions,” he wrote.

“In terms of supply, the Strategy proposes a mix of both infill and greenfield development.

“The majority of infill development is expected to occur in and around the Kiama and Gerringong Town Centres, with some also occurring throughout surrounding suburbs.”

The Kiama Urban Expansion Area - which includes the Bombo Quarry, Riversdale Road and Dido Street precincts, along with Kiama West (Springside Hill) - has “the potential to deliver approximately 4200 residential lots”.

Paterson wrote the area could also be the home to new educational facilities and regionally significant recreational spaces.

“The area’s proximity to the Princes Highway and Bombo Train Station presents unique opportunities to ensure future development is integrated with these regional transport spines.”

He also listed a raft of “non-negotiables”, which included appropriate road, pedestrian and public transport networks and connections, State Government infrastructure, a Sydney Water system with capacity to provide sewer and water services and that any financial liability to Council is minimised.

Heritage places and areas of high environmental significance must be identified and preserved while the provision of social and affordable housing must also be adequately considered.

“The Local Housing Strategy will be an important strategic planning document that will guide future development in the Kiama LGA,” he concluded.

Tuesday’s meeting will also revisit the issue of Council’s controversial decision to not allocate funding for the New Year’s Eve fireworks display, which could be cancelled unless sufficient sponsorship is found.

Council has appealed to the business community to help bail out the budget for the iconic event.

Councillor Yasmin Tatrai will ask whether Council can confirm whether funds allocated to Tourism Kiama in 2017 are available to save this year’s fireworks display.

CEO Jane Stroud has indicated that the issue will be resolved at the August meeting following an investigation into the financial resources available.

Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald will also update Council about a recent review into Section 7.11 and 7.12 developer contributions after Councillor Erica Warren called for an urgent engagement of specialist staff in May to look into whether correct governance procedures were being followed.

The review found: “It is be noted that the review determined that there was no wrongdoing by staff and no incorrect information given to Councillors.”