Agenda of Policy Review Committee Meeting

2009 MEETING CALENDAR

February 2009 - December 2009

(adopted by Council 8/09/08 and amended by Council 6/4/09)

TIME

FEB

MAR

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

Mon

Ordinary Council Meetings

7.30 pm

7ü

29*

28^

Policy Review Committee

7.30 pm

14@

16#+

30@

18#

17#+

16#

Councillor Briefing / Working Party / Presentation

7.30 pm

16<

20<

# Meetings at which the Management Plan 1/4ly reviews are presented	^ Election of Mayor/Deputy Mayor
#+ General Manager’s presentation – half year and end of year review	@ Strategic Program progress reports [only business]
< Briefing to consider Draft Management Plan for 2009/2010	ü Meeting at which the 2008/2009 Annual Statements are presented
v Meeting at which the Draft Management Plan is adopted for exhibition	Y Management Plan Councillor Briefings/Public Forum (June)
* Meeting at which the Management Plan for 2009/2010 is adopted.

- Council’s Ordinary Meetings are held on a three-week cycle where practicable.

- Extraordinary Meetings are held as required.

- Policy Review Meetings are held on a three-week cycle where practicable.

- Members of the public are invited to observe meetings of the Council (Ordinary and Policy Review Committee). Should you wish to address Council, please contact the Public Officer, Glenn McCarthy on 4732 7649.

UNCONFIRMED MINUTES

OF THE POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING OF PENRITH CITY COUNCIL HELD IN THE PASSADENA ROOM, PENRITH

ON MONDAY 30 MARCH 2009 AT 7:32PM

PRESENT

Deputy Mayor Councillor Ross Fowler OAM, Councillors Kaylene Allison, Robert Ardill, Kevin Crameri OAM, Greg Davies, Mark Davies, Jackie Greenow, Prue Guillaume, Marko Malkoc, Karen McKeown, Kath Presdee, and John Thain.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Leave of Absence was previously granted to His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Jim Aitken OAM for the period 30 March 2009 to 2 April 2009 inclusive.

APOLOGIES

PRC 16 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Greg Davies seconded Councillor Jackie Greenow that apologies be accepted for Councillors Tanya Davies and Ben Goldfinch.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES - Policy Review Committee Meeting - 9 March 2009

PRC 17 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Greg Davies seconded Councillor Marko Malkoc that the minutes of the Policy Review Committee Meeting of 9 March 2009 be confirmed.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Kath Presdee declared a Non-Pecuniary Conflict of Interest – Less than significant in Item 2 Penrith White-water Stadium – Annual Report and Board of Directors as she is a Director on the board of Penrith White-water Stadium Ltd.

Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM declared a Non-Pecuniary Conflict of Interest – Less than significant in Item 2 Penrith White-water Stadium – Annual Report and Board of Directors as he is a Director on the board of Penrith White-water Stadium Ltd.

Councillor Ross Fowler OAM declared a Non-Pecuniary Conflict of Interest – Less than significant in Item 2 Penrith White-water Stadium – Annual Report and Board of Directors as he is a Director on the board of Penrith White-water Stadium Ltd.

MASTER PROGRAM REPORTS

Leadership and Organisation

2 Penrith White-water Stadium - Annual Report and Board of Directors

PRC 18 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Greg Davies seconded Councillor Mark Davies

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Penrith White-water Stadium - Annual Report and Board of Directors be received

2. Council agree to underwrite the operation of the Penrith White-water Stadium Limited until the presentation to Council of the Penrith White-water Stadium Limited Annual Report for 2008-09.

3. Council note and endorse the Board’s nominations of Helen Brownlee OAM and Andrew Parse as continuing Directors of Penrith White-water Stadium.

4. Council congratulate the management and staff for their achievements over the last year.

The City as a Social Place

1 Future Directions in Library Services

PRC 19 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Jackie Greenow seconded Councillor Marko Malkoc

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Future Directions in Library Services be received

2. A Working Party be established and made up of Councillors Kaylene Allison, Kevin Crameri OAM, Ross Fowler OAM, Jackie Greenow, Prue Guillaume, Karen McKeown, John Thain and all other available Councillors.

3. The Terms of Reference for the Working Party be as set out in the report on Future Directions in Library Services.

Leadership and Organisation

3 Conflict of Interest in Tenders

PRC 20 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Greg Davies seconded Councillor Mark Davies

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Conflict of Interest in Tenders be received

2. The improvements to Council’s tender processes as set out in the report to the Policy Review Committee are adopted.

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS

The meeting closed to consider Confidential Business, the time being 8:18pm.

Councillor John Thain advised the meeting that he had an item to be considered in Confidential Business, being a personnel matter concerning particular individuals and discussion of the matter in an open meeting would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.

1 Presence of the Public

PRC 21 RESOLVED on the motion of Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM seconded Councillor Karen McKeown that the press and public be excluded from the meeting to deal with the following matters:

Leadership and Organisation

2 Commercial Matter - Council Property - Cranebrook Village Shopping Centre

This item has been referred to Confidential Business as the report refers to commercial information of a confidential nature that would, if disclosed (I) prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it; or (ii) confer a commercial advantage on a competitor of the Council; or (iii) reveal a trade secret and discussion of the matter in open meeting would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.

3 Personnel Matter - Executive Staffing Position

The item has been referred to Confidential Business as it refers to personnel matters concerning particular individuals and discussion of the matter in open meeting would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.

RESUMPTION OF BUSINESS IN OPEN COMMITTEE

The meeting moved out of confidential session at 9:18pm and the General Manager reported that after excluding the press and public from the meeting, the Policy Review Committee met in confidential session from 8:18pm to 9:19pm to consider a commercial and personnel matter.

The General Manager reported that while in confidential session, the Committee resolved the confidential business as follows:

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS

2 Commercial Matter - Council Property - Cranebrook Village Shopping Centre

PRC 22 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Mark Davies seconded Councillor Robert Ardill

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Commercial Matter - Council Property - Cranebrook Village Shopping Centre is received.

2. Council publicly communicate its intentions in relation to the Centre.

3. A further report is presented to Council following responses to the Expression of Interest, leading to a Tender process.

3 Personnel Matter - Executive Staffing Position

PRC 23 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Greg Davies seconded Councillor Marko Malkoc

That the information on Executive Staffing Position be received.

There being no further business the Chairperson declared the meeting closed the time being 9:21pm.

*Policy Review Committee Meeting*	*27 April 2009*
*The City in its Broader Context*

The City in its Broader Context

City Centres Strategy Implementation

Compiled by: Craig Ross, Major Projects Manager

Authorised by: Craig Ross, Major Projects Manager

Strategic Program Term Achievement: Penrith City Centre provides a comprehensive range of economic and human and lifestyle services to Outer Western Sydney and Central Western New South Wales.

Critical Action: Facilitate the implementation of the adopted Penrith City Centre Strategy.

Purpose:

To provide Councillors with a status report on the implementation of the infrastructure for the Penrith City Centre and St Marys Town Centre. The report recommends that the information be received and that a Working Party be formed to overview the implementation program.

Background

Council was in the process of conducting a City Centres Review to give direction to the future development of the Penrith City Centre and St Mary Town Centre, when the Metropolitan Strategy, released in December 2005, identified Penrith as a Regional City. Council subsequently adopted the Penrith City Centre Strategy and the St Marys Town Centre Strategy.

The Department of Planning’s Regional Cities Taskforce developed plans for the Penrith City Centre (Penrith City Centre Vision, LEP 2008 and DCP 2007). These plans were informed by Council’s adopted Penrith City Centre Strategy and resulted in development standards for building height and form, landuses and parking. The plans also had a Civic Improvement Plan (CIP) for the infrastructure provision, which was adopted by Council on 1 December 2008, and came into force on 5 December 2008.

The draft CIP had broad costings for infrastructure items, which were reviewed under direction by the Minister prior to its adoption. The CIP acknowledged that Council was in the process of conducting a study to review the traffic impacts of the projected growth and if this resulted in a change, the plan would be reviewed.

Current Situation

Council’s Urban Design consultant has been developing concept plans for the precincts within the City Centre. The plans respond to the DCP controls and provide a potential floor space projection for the growth in the Centre. The floor space projection will be used to determine the parking requirements for the individual developments, which, in turn, will provide input to a traffic model to determine the road network upgrades to accommodate the growth.

The parking demand will also inform the public parking (provision and location) for the Centre.

Notwithstanding that the future growth will deliver funding for the infrastructure provision for the Centre, it has been acknowledged that for Penrith to fulfil its Regional City status, the infrastructure provision needs to be managed to achieve an ordered delivery and act as a catalyst for growth. This may need to be ahead of the demand and funding stream.

Council’s Major Projects Manager has been seconded to this task and to provide an effective reporting and approval model, it is proposed to establish a City Centres Working Party to develop and recommend to Council a strategy which supports the redevelopment of the Penrith City Centre and the St Marys Town Centre, including the necessary infrastructure, and civic improvements.

It is proposed that Councillors be nominated for membership of the Working Party.

A report is being prepared for the first Working Party meeting that will give an overview of the carparking strategy for the Penrith CBD. This will enable priorities to be set for the more detailed studies and investigation work to advance.

The Working Party will address both Penrith CBD and St Marys Town Centre and develop timelines for their strategy development.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on City Centres Strategy Implementation be received.

2. A City Centres Working Party be established as detailed in this report.

3. Council nominate members of the Working Party.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

There are no attachments for this report.

*Policy Review Committee Meeting*	*27 April 2009*
*The City as an Economy*

The City as an Economy

North West and West Central Sydney Employment Strategies

Compiled by: Bijai Kumar, Local Economic Development Program Manager

Authorised by: Bijai Kumar, Local Economic Development Program Manager

Strategic Program Term Achievement: Access to employment is being extended by Council’s participation in Western Sydney economic initiatives.

Critical Action: Participate in, coordinate and initiate relevant regional programs that will help to deliver access to a full of range of employment opportunities to the City's residents.

Presenters: Professor Phillip O'Neill - UWS Urban Research Centre - North West and West Central Sydney Employment Strategies

Purpose:

To inform Councillors of the outcomes and proposed actions of the North West and West Central Sydney Employment Strategies report. The report recommends that the report be received and Council write to WSROC seeking regional dialogue on an implementation program for the report's key outcomes.

Background

The report North-West and West-Central Sydney Employment Strategies was commissioned by the Western Sydney Regional Organisations of Councils (WSROC) and its project partners, Councils from the North-West and West-Central sub-regions. The project was undertaken by a consortium headed by Professor Phillip O’Neill from the Urban Research Centre at the University of Western Sydney with funding provided by the NSW Department of Planning. The commentary provided in this report has been extracted from the body of the study Report.

Objective of the Study

The report responds to the need to devise strategies to achieve the employment targets for Western Sydney set by the NSW government’s Metropolitan Strategy City of Cities: a Plan for Sydney’s Future. The aggregate target for Western Sydney is 280,000 net additional jobs by 2031. The target is based on maintaining the ratio of jobs self-sufficiency for Western Sydney in a context of ongoing population growth. The target translates into a net additional 130,000 jobs for North-West sub-region and 61,000 net additional jobs for the West-Central sub-region.

The report undertakes a detailed analysis of the nature and location of employment in the sub-regions, sets out the key trends in employment for the sub-regions over the last decade, and investigates opportunities for and impediments to employment growth in the sub-regions’ key employment districts.

The report then proposes a comprehensive set of strategies directed at achieving the employment targets. These targets are grouped into four complementary domains: territorial competence, urban structure, infrastructure and governance. The strategies respond to the report’s main finding that the regional economy of Western Sydney requires substantial re-engineering in order to achieve the desired jobs outcomes in a context of quality lifestyles, social fairness, environmental sustainability and a prosperous local business community.

Key findings

The report contains the following key findings:

· Over the past decade, one of record prosperity in the Australian economy, the Western Sydney labour market did not diversify significantly nor has there been a strengthening of Western Sydney worker participation in the higher-skilled occupational categories.

· The local availability of jobs in Western Sydney has not improved since the mid 1990s. In 1981, 50% of Western Sydney's residential labour force was employed within the region. By 2001, the proportion rose to 64.3%; but this ratio fell to 63.7% by 2006. In terms of aggregate regional job availability, Western Sydney hosted 67 jobs for every 100 workers resident in the region in 1971, 78 jobs per 100 workers in 1991, but only 76 jobs per 100 resident workers in 2006.

· During the decade or more of economic prosperity that preceded the current global economic downturn, the employment base in western Sydney, in overall terms, failed to diversify, re-new, and adjust sufficiently to evolving global circumstances.

· Because of its over-concentration in the material production and handling sectors – sectors which have low rates of full time jobs creation world wide – western Sydney’s economic base is not composed in a way that enables the employment targets to be achieved. Recession will further diminish the region’s chances of successful jobs outcomes.

· Likewise, climate change mitigation measures will impact negatively on the materials producing and handling sectors in Western Sydney and impede employment growth in the sectors.

· Population growth seems certain to outstrip employment growth in Western Sydney over coming years, meaning either increased unemployment and social disadvantage in the region, or the need for residents to travel further to find work.

Opportunities and impediments

The report identifies sources of economic and employment growth for the sub-regions as well as the impediments to growth:

· Western Sydney receives large number of migrants. It is also a place with high rates of family formation and childbirth. Economic growth and jobs creation will come from the presence of population growth.

· Nearly 100,000 Western Sydney workers were employed in manufacturing industries in 2006. These manufacturers have endured at least two decades of restructuring through improved competitiveness and innovation rates. Specialized manufacturing ventures will continue to be a major driver of the sub-regional economy. At the same time, though, the manufacturing sector cannot be looked to as the region’s significant job generator. Rather, faced with recession and national measures addressing climate change, the sector faces significant challenges in maintaining its current employment base.

· Rates of new business formation and employment creation in high value adding services sectors in Western Sydney have not kept pace with equivalent rates in eastern parts of the Sydney basin economy.

· Investment yielding jobs growth in Western Sydney has been associated invariably with geographic areas that have received strong state and local government support. These areas are characterized by high levels of amenity for employers, quality infrastructure and good access to reasonably efficient transport systems. Stand out examples are Norwest Business Park, Parramatta CBD and Sydney Olympic Park. Unfortunately, Western Sydney’s next high amenity locations for employment land and business parks have not been prepared. As well, other than Parramatta CBD, Western Sydney’s regional centres are sorely neglected in terms of business facilities, user amenity and transport links.

Strategies to achieve the targets

There is significant evidence in the report to show that the target – 280,000 net additional jobs in Western Sydney by 2031 – cannot be met without significant new public investments in Western Sydney alongside determined efforts to reconfigure the Western Sydney regional economy to meet 21^st century economic and urban challenges. A reliance on market forces and spread effects from growth in Sydney’s so-called global economic corridor will not be sufficient.

Western Sydney’s employment needs coincide with Sydney’s need to evolve into a sustainable city with high quality lifestyles for its residents. The supply of quality local jobs to Western Sydney households is arguably the single most important step in producing a sustainable, liveable city. These jobs will not appear by market forces alone. They will come with attention to three things:

· the territorial competencies that make an area attractive to investors;

· the quality infrastructure that builds an area’s links and networks; and

· the urban structures that build efficiencies into business and everyday life.

The proposals in the report are designed to be a set of new and existing ideas forming a portfolio of complementary actions for achieving the employment targets. Importantly, this portfolio should be continuously assessed, upgraded and renewed, in order to maximise employment generation in the large dynamic Western Sydney regional economy.

The strategies are grouped into four categories: territorial competence measures, infrastructure measures, urban structure measures, and governance measures. A total of 31 separate strategies have been proposed with ten under territorial competence; nine under urban infrastructure; eight under infrastructure; and a further four under governance.

These categories are chosen because they highlight the essential ingredients of successful, dynamic regional economies across the globe.

Implementing the strategies

The launch of the report in March 2009 coincides with remarkably different circumstances to those surrounding much of the period when investigations and analysis for the report were conducted. Two major changes require mention.

The first is the global financial crisis and the subsequent global economic downturn. These will continue to have major impacts on the Western Sydney regional economy and on the nature and rate of employment generation in the sub-regions. While the precise nature of these impacts are not known at this stage, some of them can be identified to a certain degree.

Already, Western Sydney labour markets are experiencing growing unemployment. ABS regional labour market data show the most significant changes are appearing in the Western Central local labour markets. These are identified in the report as Sydney’s most vulnerable labour market areas. One can expect significant slowing in the once booming North West labour market districts as well in coming months.

Unemployment will come from stagnant or falling levels of expenditure in the services sector, which is probably recoverable when economic conditions improve. Falling employment will also occur in key sectors like manufacturing. Here the prospects of net increases in employment following the downturn will be diminished, though, as firms seek permanent ways to shift to lower cost sourcing and operational arrangements.

The present difficult economic circumstances, then, further highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to employment creation, as is advocated in the report.

The other major change in circumstances that has occurred since the project commenced is the NSW government’s approach to infrastructure provision. An important brief for the project was the request to identify those infrastructure items listed for expenditure in the NSW State Plan which might be prioritised because of their significant contribution to employment generation in Western Sydney. Yet large parts of the State Plan were deferred or abandoned in late 2008. The infrastructure proposals in the report were then adjusted as far as was possible to take account of the shifts in government plans. One key change was the elevation of the proposal for the development of an integrated Western Sydney transport plan. This proposal should now proceed with high priority. Data in the report show that Western Sydney is arguably the most car dependent journey-to-work region in the world. Infrastructure project cancellations can only lead to further deterioration in transport services to Western Sydney residents and businesses. Labour market access within and outside the region is reduced. The attractiveness of Western Sydney for new business investment deteriorates.

As the report demonstrates, infrastructure is crucial to the development of efficient, desirable urban structures and to the development of employment spaces that have the territorial competencies for successful business operation. A rejuvenated, committed approach to infrastructure provision in Western Sydney is paramount. Its absence will have severe social, economic and environmental consequences.

In conclusion, Sydney in general, and Western Sydney in particular, have become places where innovation, entrepreneurship and good old fashion hard work are frustrated by roads that are choked, public transport that is inadequate or unavailable; freight that cannot be moved efficiently or on time; and employment lands that are poorly drained, lack IT infrastructure, and cannot be accessed by either public transport or trucks needing to make deliveries and pickups. There is an alarming lack of suitably configured large scale employment sites.

At the same time, there is a lack of imagination in the ways we encourage small enterprises and home-based enterprises in the region. We are not yet serious enough in addressing the unique needs of small and home-based enterprises when it comes to accommodation, training, finance, and access to services and networks.

We hear much about Sydney as a global city. Yet in Western Sydney, conditions are far from globally competitive. The region has suffered from a severe deficit in infrastructure provision for too long. This report shows that the region’s employment base is now suffering from this neglect. A major turnaround in approach must now be embraced.

The leader of the consortium that has prepared this detailed and comprehensive report, Professor Phillip O’Neill, from the Urban Research Centre at UWS has agreed to highlight the key issues and challenges we face collectively as a region at the meeting. A full copy of the report on CD has been separately provided to all Councillors as part of the business papers.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on North West and West Central Sydney Employment Strategies be received

2. Council write to WSROC seeking regional dialogue on an implementation program for the report’s key outcomes

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

There are no attachments for this report.

*Policy Review Committee*	*27 April 2009*
*Leadership and Organisation*

1 Presence of the Public

Everyone is entitled to attend a meeting of the Council and those of its Committees of which all members are Councillors, except as provided by Section 10 of the Local Government Act, 1993.

A Council, or a Committee of the Council of which all the members are Councillors, may close to the public so much of its meeting as comprises:

(a) the discussion of any of the matters listed below; or

(b) the receipt or discussion of any of the information so listed.

The matters and information are the following:

(a) personnel matters concerning particular individuals;

(b) the personal hardship of any resident or ratepayers;

(c) information that would, if disclosed, confer a commercial advantage on a person with whom the council is conducting (or proposes to conduct) business;

(d) commercial information of a confidential nature that would, if disclosed:

· prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it; or

· confer a commercial advantage on a competitor of the Council; or

· reveal a trade secret.

(e) information that would, if disclosed, prejudice the maintenance of the law;

(f) matters affecting the security of the Council, Councillors, Council staff or Council property;

(g) advice concerning litigation, or advice that would otherwise be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional privilege.

The grounds on which part of a meeting is closed must be stated in the decision to close that part of the meeting and must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

The grounds must specify the following:

(a) the relevant provision of section 10A(2);

(b) the matter that is to be discussed during the closed part of the meeting;

(c) the reasons why the part of the meeting is being closed, including (if the matter concerned is a matter other than a personnel matter concerning particular individuals, the personal hardship of a resident or ratepayer or a trade secret) an explanation of the way in which discussion of the matter in open meeting would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.

Members of the public may make representations at a Council or Committee Meeting as to whether a part of a meeting should be closed to the public

The process which should be followed is:

· a motion, based on the recommendation below, is moved and seconded

· the Chairperson then asks if any member/s of the public would like to make representations as to whether a part of the meeting is closed to the public

· if a member/s of the public wish to make representations, the Chairperson invites them to speak before the Committee makes its decision on whether to close the part of the meeting or not to the public.

· if no member/s of the public wish to make representations the Chairperson can then put the motion to close the meeting to the public.

The first action is for a motion to be moved and seconded based on the recommendation below.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

Leadership and Organisation

2 Legal Matter - 8 Donohoes Avenue, Mulgoa

This item has been referred to Committee of the Whole as the report refers to advice concerning litigation, or advice that would otherwise be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional privilege and discussion of the matter in open meeting would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.

(Report to be distributed separately to Councillors under separate cover)