Well, they actually did it.

In a vote of 7-1, Kiama Councillors voted to finalise the Kiama Local Housing Strategy and ultimately set in place the growth and development trajectory for our communities, over the next 20 to 30 years.

The viewing public was treated to more than one hour and 40 minutes of discussion, multiple points of order, foreshadowed motions and amendments to finally get to a resolution.

Somewhat contradictory to the “strategic” nature of the plan and discussion, multiple other land parcels were floated for inclusion and exclusion into the Strategy, seemingly as a result of private discussions with Councillors.

The end result of the nearly two hours of discussion? Some minor tinkering of words and actions, and the inclusion of two plots of land to the west of the Springside Hill development.

Depending on who you ask, this growth is a conversation that started when the “Kiama Local Strategic Planning Statement” was finalised in 2020.

Or it could have been in 2022, when the NSW Department of Planning and Environment finalised the controversial South Kiama rezoning on behalf of the then NSW Minister for Planning and Homes, Anthony Roberts.

Or maybe it was when Version 1 of the Draft Strategy formally kicked off discussions in March 2024, to get to where we are.

Version 1 could be most appropriately described as a false start as Council itself instituted a review to understand what was right, and what was wrong.

But perhaps this false start could be more appropriately attributed to what continues to be an inflexion point where the leadership and direction of our community took a completely different turn: the September 2024 NSW local government elections.

When you really think about it, in the space of six short months, we have gone from a conceptual conversation to a fully fledged and mapped out plan for growth.

Yes, a lot of the groundwork had been done in terms of the structure of the document.

But when it comes to the cut and thrust of hard conversations within Council, or engaging with the State Government, this group has managed to achieve in six months what the previous Council failed to do over a period of almost four years.

The growth conversation has undergone a complete 180-degree turn from “lock the gate” to let’s have a genuine and mature conversation.

Evidence of this is the inclusion of the two additional lots in Jerrara that are now earmarked for housing, as well as a reference to exploring “innovative methods to achieve infill development within our existing towns”.

Ed Patterson, director of strategies and communities, is on the record as saying our historically high land values render redevelopment of sites within town as not commercially viable (with current planning controls).

Presumably, this means the “innovative methods to achieve infill development” will make development more attractive.

By our estimation, that can only mean one thing: height.

Now that Council has acknowledged that greenfield development will be a large part of the growth conversation, it seems like the next battleground might be towers in our town centres.

But all that is for another day.

The Bugle’s View is that this Council has made another tough decision, and it ought to be congratulated.