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User pays
04Mar08
Residents of Camden's new suburbs will be charged for infrastructure under a proposed "user pays" rates scheme.
NEW Camden residents will be slugged for community infrastructure under a proposed "user pays" rates system.
Camden Council will investigate introducing a differential rate for rezoned South West Growth Centre properties, hoping to free existing residents of the financial burden for facilities they are unlikely to use.
Mayor Chris Patterson and councillors Peter Johnson and David Funnell proposed investigating the system at last week's council meeting.
Cr Patterson said the money for community facilities in the new growth centre estates, such as Turner Rd at Smeaton Grange and Oran Park, had to come from somewhere.
"Why should existing residents who never wanted these suburbs foot the bill?" he asked.
"We want (facilities in) the new suburbs to be the same as the existing ones."
Cr Johnson said developers might struggle attracting residents with climbing mortgage interest rates and higher-than-average council rates to pay for infrastructure.
He hoped this would pressure the State Government into easing its developer contribution (Section 94) stranglehold on growth centre suburbs.
"Camden is going to increase its population by 500 per cent," he said.
"For a city of 280,000 people we're only going to have that very small civic centre; compare that to a city like Wollongong, which has a lower population and a huge huge civic centre.
"The new (Camden) residents won't even have a new hospital."
Cr Johnson believed it would be unfair for current residents to pay extra rates for community infrastructure in the new estates.
"After already paying for their facilities ... through $45,000 in Section 94 levies for each lot ... why should those people then have to pay another levy?"
Camden State Labor MP Geoff Corrigan said increasing rates on rezoned properties was "Camden Council showing its true colours".
"If this Camden Council had settled for a Holden Calais Section 94 plan instead of a Rolls-Royce they would still be in control," he said.
