Council votes for moratorium on boarding houses

There are two views on Campbelltown Council over  boarding houses.

The majority view is that the current law on boarding houses gives some developers a licence to print money. But while the landlords rake in the rents, the amenity of the area around a boarding house can suffer.

The minority view, expressed by Councillor Clinton Mead, showed a little more sympathy for the positive side of boarding houses in that they provided cheap and affordable accommodation for people who needed it.

“Opposing boarding houses is the equivalent of breaking up a homeless person’s bed that was made out of milk crates and other bits and pieces,’’ Cr Mead told Campbelltown Council last week during debate on a notice of motion calling on both a moratorium on boarding houses in Campbelltown as well as a review of the legislation by the minister.

The notice of motion was put up by the five Labor councillors, Meg Oates, Rudi Kolkman, Anoulack Chantivong, Wal Glynn and George Brticevic.

It got majority support when put to the vote in the 15 member chamber, but not before Cr Mead lambasted Labor for no longer “standing for the poor’’.

“Boarding houses is about helping people put a roof over their heads, it gives them a place to live,’’ Cr Mead said.

At the other extreme, veteran councillor Fred Borg expressed a strong personal dislike to boarding houses.

“I am against boarding houses,’’ Cr Borg said.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“I have never liked them and never will because they are in my experience terrible places.[/social_quote]

“There is no privacy; you can hear other people snoring – it’s terrible,’’ Cr Borg said.

Cr George Brticevic expressed a more moderate view, telling council there was no doubt boarding houses made an impact on the amenity of the neighbourhood where they were built.

“And it doesn’t matter if there is a Labor or Liberal Government in office, our job as councilors is to protect the interests of the people of Campbelltown,’’ he said.

Councillors expressed concern with lack of parking provided in development applications for boarding houses.

There were also cases where developers applied to build boarding houses with 19 rooms – the law says you need to hire an on site manager if there are 20 or more rooms.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“Even a one month moratorium would be helpful but we need to have a moratorium on this issue,’’ Cr Kolkman said.[/social_quote]

Council eventually voted to call for a moratorium on the development of boarding houses in the Campbelltown Local Government Area.

They also voted for council to ask the Minister for Planning to urgently review the NSW Boarding House SEPP (Affordable Housing Policy) with particular regard to the impact on the amenity of neighbouring residents and the proximity to railway stations.

Council will also ask the minister to consider lowering the threshold for requirements for an on-site manager.

It also wants the minister to review the adequacy of car parking provisions and the adequacy of amenities provided in each room.

Council will also write to the State Members for Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown requesting that they raise this matter with the government.

Councillor Mead stuck to his guns and asked for his name to be recorded in opposition to the resolution.