Council Business Paper 10 September 2002
Total Page:16
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Page 1 MINUTE BY MAYOR Ordinary Meeting, 10/9/02 ITEM NO: 1 SUBJECT: OBITUARY - KEITH LAURENCE KING FILE NO: C00227 Recommendation: That the Minute by Mayor be received. Minute by Mayor: The purpose of this Minute is to report on the passing of a former Alderman of the City, Keith Laurence King. Dr. King served on Council for a period of four years and two months, being elected in an Extraordinary Election on 22nd July, 1967 until 18th September, 1971, representing what was then known as Central Ward, now Second Ward. Dr. King played an instrumental role in much of Lawson’s development in his almost 50 years in the Mid Mountains township. As well as being the local doctor for 35 years, Dr. King helped get Lawson its Olympic pool and many of its parks, was a Founding Member of its Bushfire Brigade and a member of the Blue Mountains National Parks and Wildlife Service Advisory Committee for 20 years. Following the war, Dr. King continued the medical studies he had begun before its outbreak. He met his future wife Betty at university, where her brother John was also studying medicine. Keith and Betty were married in 1947. They moved to Lawson in 1953, settling in Honour Avenue where Dr. King ran his practice before later moving the practice to a medical centre in Lawson. A gifted surgeon, as well as a G.P., Dr. King saved many lives and delivered many babies before retiring in 1988. He had a great memory and was likely to be able to tell someone what day of the week they were born and how the delivery was if he recognised them in the street as an adult. Dr. King was the Chairman of a four member committee charged with looking after parks in the Bullaburra/Lawson area. Capital works planned and carried out by the committee during this time included building the Lawson sportsground and Honour Gardens incorporating the refurbished cenotaph. The Foundation Chairman of the Lawson Bushfire Brigade, Dr. King surveyed many local fire trails and helped start the brigade in a tin shed on the Council depot. Page 2 MINUTE BY MAYOR Item 1 - Ordinary Meeting, 10/9/02 Dr. King played a pivotal role in getting the Lawson pool built, leading a community fund- raising drive for the pool which was then matched by the State Government. Dr. King loved the history of the Blue Mountains and had an extensive collection of documents relating to this. We appreciate the many contributions made by Keith to the Blue Mountains Community, he will be missed and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time. He is survived by his wife Betty, children Margaret, Max and Catherine and grandchildren Carl, Alex, Annabelle and Isabelle. Page 3 PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Ordinary Meeting, 10/9/02 ITEM NO: 2 SUBJECT: BLUE MOUNTAINS - OUR FUTURE - THE NEXT 25 YEARS - THE DRAFT VISION FOR THE CITY FILE NO: C04689 Recommendations: 1. That Council endorses the document ‘Blue Mountains – Our Future – the Next 25 years – Draft Vision’ (enclosed separately) for inclusion in the Public Exhibition for Stage 2 of the City Strategy. 2. That Council commits to building a strong partnership with Blue Mountains people in working towards a more sustainable Blue Mountains by developing and adopting decision-making processes that support the vision for the Blue Mountains. Report by Group Manager, City Sustainability: Introduction Stage 2 of the City Strategy, creating the vision for the City, is nearing completion and will culminate in the Draft Vision for the Blue Mountains being placed on Public Exhibition scheduled late September 2002. Throughout recent months Councillors have been informed in briefing sessions, workshops and bulletins about the progress of Stage 2. The Stakeholder Forum held at Lawson on 29 June 2002 brought together 145 representatives from the Blue Mountains community to provide input into the draft direction for the Blue Mountains – ‘Towards a More Sustainable Future’. A summary of the results of the Forum was presented to Councillors at a Strategic Workshop held 6 August 2002. 1. Towards a More Sustainable Future - Why this direction for the next 25 years? 1.1 It’s important to the Blue Mountains community Consultation at the Stakeholder Forum conducted on 29 June indicated that many Blue Mountains people accept the need to consider sustainability in thinking about and planning for the future. Awareness of and commitment to sustainability, evident in the international and national context, is emerging locally. Extensive community consultation through Council’s Community Survey and, more recently, through workshops, community events and exhibitions, has revealed that protection of the natural environment continues to be most important for Blue Mountains people. Page 4 PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Item 2 - Ordinary Meeting, 10/9/02 Strong connected communities, distinctive towns and villages and local employment are also very important. These community values cover environmental, social and economic concerns. Together these values provide a platform for looking at the future in terms of living more sustainably to enhance the quality of life for Blue Mountains people now and for Blue Mountains people of 2025. 1.2 Blue Mountains City Council supports sustainability The Council has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability. In 1975 Council adopted the Blue Mountains Strategic Plan. This 25 year strategy for the City responded to community values at that time in establishing the absolute necessity of protecting the Blue Mountains environment, particularly in view of the impacts of human development over many years. This initiative from community and Council demonstrated significant foresight in recognising the fundamental importance of the environment in sustaining the quality of life for current and future generations. In Council’s 2000-2004 Management Plan, the Council committed to the current City Strategy project - ‘the development of a long term strategy in consultation with community and other levels of government to set future directions for the City that accord with ESD principles’. The Future Directions process now identifies “Working Towards Sustainability” as the Council’s organisational mission and provides a supportive organisational structure to achieve it, including the formation of a City Sustainability Group. The Council has given significant support for the Blue Mountains World Heritage nomination and initiatives to support its achievement. The Council recently supported the “Sustaining Our Communities” Declaration and Final Conference Resolution “Priority Principles and Action” endorsed at the Sustaining Our Communities International Local Agenda 21 Conference held in Adelaide in March 2002. (Council meeting 28 May 2002) 1.3 It’s important to the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area A key driver for endorsing a 25 year direction that steers the Blue Mountains towards a more sustainable future is the recent Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area listing. The listing is both a challenge and an opportunity for Blue Mountains people and for Council. 2. The Draft Vision The document ‘Blue Mountains – Our Future – the Next 25 Years - Draft Vision’ (enclosed separately) outlines the 25 year direction for the Blue Mountains. Page 5 PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Item 2 - Ordinary Meeting, 10/9/02 The draft directional statements and long term outcomes contained in the document express the intent to improve the quality of life for current and future Blue Mountains people without compromising the World Heritage natural environment that supports them. It is proposed that the information contained in the Draft Vision will be reproduced and or promoted in a variety of formats, mediums and contexts. 3. Towards a More Sustainable Future – The Challenge The document ‘Blue Mountains – Our Future – The Next 25 Years – The Challenge’ details background information on research and community consultation that supports the Draft Vision. ‘Blue Mountains – Our Future – The Next 25 Years – The Challenge’ (enclosed separately for the information of Councillors) will be available to the community on request during the Public Exhibition. 4. Next Step – the Course of Action Given community and Council endorsement of the Draft Vision for the Blue Mountains, the Course of Action, Stage 3 of the City Strategy, will begin. The course of action for a more sustainable Blue Mountains will focus on action at several levels – action by individuals, action by community and action by Council and other levels of government. 4.1 Governments Taking Action to Support a More Sustainable Future The World Summit on Sustainable Development, currently taking place in Johannesburg, is strongly advocating that the vision for a more sustainable world must be translated into action - socially, economically and environmentally. The outcome of a series of international, national and state agreements and legislative change relating to Ecologically Sustainable Development is the emergence of a broad international, national and local decision-making framework that addresses Ecologically Sustainable Development. These initiatives have placed sustainability firmly on the policy and decision-making agenda for Australian governments at all levels. 4.2 Action by Blue Mountains City Council – Making Decisions to Support a More Sustainable Blue Mountains It is very important that decision making by the Council supports community action and commitment to living more sustainably. There is opportunity for Blue Mountains City Council to further lead the community in working towards a more sustainable future by reviewing and realigning Council’s decision-making processes in support of the 25 year direction for the Blue Mountains. If we are to achieve a more sustainable Blue Mountains, it is important that recommendations accompanying Reports to Council by staff and decisions made by the Council address the three components of sustainability ie environmental, social and economic considerations. A number of Councils pursuing sustainability are using tools to make decisions that contribute to sustainability.