Sydney media takes up community struggle for urban breathing space

UPDATE
Our campaign has appeared four times in the media this week -

Sydney Morning Herald article by Tony Stephens, Mon 15th May
here's a link if you missed it
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/locals-lodged-in-position-to-defend-their-last-forest-remnant/2006/05/14/1147545210701.html#

ABC radio 2BL interview on Tues 16th May -
Virginia Trioli spoke with long-time resident of Forest Lodge Mick Tapsell and Deputy Lord Mayor Verity Firth about our campaign. Here's the link if you missed it
http://www.abc.net.au/sydney/stories/s1640000.htm?sydney


Letter to the editor in SMH Wed 17th May - Margaret Sheppard
Living city needs trees
That little green patch in Forest Lodge ('Locals lodged in position to defend their last forest remnant', May 15) is a significant contributor to Sydney's lungs. Apart from its beauty and haven for bird life, we need trees to breathe in carbon dioxide and other poisons, and breathe out oxygen. With our increasing population, little groups of mature trees are not a luxury, they are a necessity. May the Minister for Lands place a permanent order to protect this little forest.

Report on Council meeting in SMH Wed 17th May - Sherrill Nixon
The City of Sydney Council has urged the NSW Government to retain a patch of green space in Forest Lodge, in the inner west, in government ownership, or sell it to the council at a reduced rate. The Department of Lands intended to put the reserve up for sale, but on Thursday the Lands Minister, Tony Kelly, suspended the sale and called for a report on the block.

OH WHAT A NIGHT! COUNCIL VOTE UNANIMOUS!

It was a roller coaster ride for those forestlodgetrees campaigners able to attend the City of Sydney Council meeting last night.

First the acting CEO Monica Barone tabled her report, advising against both purchase of the land and the vesting of it to Council under section 76 of the Crown Lands Act.

Following strong counter arguments from the Deputy Lord Mayor Verity Firth and Councillor Robyn Kemmis, and their tabling of a joint resolution, Council voted unanimously to work to save this land as public open space.

Section of Council's resolution
(D) Council note the announcement by the Minister for Lands, the Hon Tony Kelly on Thursday 11 May 2006 that he was suspending the sale of the Crown Land at 9 Alfred Road, Forest Lodge pending an urgent report from the Department of Lands outlining options for the site.
(E) calls on the Minister for Lands to:
(i) reverse his Department’s decision to sell the site for development and retain it in state ownership; or
(ii) sell the site to Council at a peppercorn rate for use as publicly accessible open space; and
(F) offers to fund the care and maintenance of the site for public access and enjoyment, if required by the State Government to retain it in public ownership.
(G) immediately enter negotiations with the State Government regarding the options for this site.

So now it's over to the Minister!

Today's developments - Monday May 15th

1 Article by Tony Stephens in today's SMH
Locals lodged in position to defend their last forest remnant

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/locals-lodged-in-position-to-defend-their-last-forest-remnant/2006/05/14/1147545210701.html#

2 Council will discuss the issue at tonight's meeting.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN

Tony Kelly's reply to the question asked in the Legislative Council last week appears below. Our concerns follow.

The Hon. TONY KELLY
I am reliably informed that it was not a green ban. I would rather take the word of my source than yours. As Minister for Lands I am responsible for ensuring that Crown land is managed for the benefit of people of New South Wales. The Department of Lands proposes to sell Crown land in Forest Lodge, which is zoned residential by Sydney city council. The department first offered the land to adjoining residents to either purchse or lease, and that offer was rejected. I am aware that residents approached Sydney city council with a view to council purchasing the land, and that was rejected. Notwithstanding that, I received a number of represenetations on the proposed sale, and I have asked for a comprehensive report. I will report to the House later.

Concerns
1 Does this mean the Minister is simply waiting for a report and for the Legislative Council to resume sitting in a week's time? Is this a stop on sale??

2 We understand that this 675.3 sq m of unbuilt-on land exists as an historical anomaly following the abandonment of a freeway through Glebe and Forest Lodge in the 1970s. The green ban movement and the activity of Labor politicians were instrumental in the abandonment of the freeway.

3 Our aim is to preserve the land as public open space. We see this as the only long term solution to ever-increasing pressures experienced by the local community due to the dramatic increase in residential density in the Forest Lodge area in the past 5 years.

4 We are not aware that Council has rejected an offer to purchase the land. What we do know is that the Lord Mayor wrote to the Minister asking for a meeting to discuss strategies for Sydney City Council taking over care of the land (see earlier blog). Unfortunately, this meeting did not eventuate. We are not aware of any other correspondence from Council to the Minister.

We urge the Minister to keep an open mind on this issue.

We urge Council to act on its policy to keep Sydney green.

TONY KELLY PUTS SALE ON HOLD - FOR NOW...

Today was a red letter day.

Sylvia Hale, Greens MP, asked the Minister a question about the land in the Legislative Council. Representations by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Verity Firth, and Sandra Nori, MP for Port Jackson, continued. MORE letters from the community reached the Minister's office, some hand-delivered to Parliament House.

The message Tony Kelly was getting was that the fight to save this land as public open space has wide public support. IT WILL NOT GO AWAY. By early afternoon, he had decided to put a hold on sale.

This development is most welcome. There is now a possibility that we may be able to put our case directly to the Minister.

Sylvia Hale's Question to the Minister for Lands was:
Minister, why is your department selling publicly owned land at the rear of 77 Hereford Street, Forest Lodge?

Given that the site was saved from development by union green bans in the 1970s and has been leased, maintained and used by local residents since then, why isn’t it being retained as open public space?

Did your department attempt to increase the rent from $3000 to $25000 per annum, well beyond what the local community could afford to pay, and is now selling the site to developers for over $1 million as a direct consequence of the government’s direction to start making crown lands generate increased revenue?

RED ALERT! LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THIS LAND

Should these trees be sacrificed for development?
The Minister for Lands, Tony Kelly, has refused to meet with Council to save these trees. The Department of Lands will start marketing this land on 15th May, even though -
- the government has allocated $80 million to urban sustainability projects
- a principle of Crown Land management is that the land and its resources are sustained in perpetuity
- this land represents the ONE LAST POCKET OF GREEN SPACE in Forest Lodge saved by the Green bans and the Labor government in the 1970s.

Why should the Dept of Lands NOT SELL this land?
- The trees on this land contribute to the environmental health of the neighbourhood and attract many native birds.
- Selling this land to developers will increase the urban density of an already over-crowded area, producing more pollution, parking and traffic problems.
- The local community has cared for this land for over 30 years and it should now belong to the Forest Lodge community!

TO SAVE THIS LAND SEND EMAILS AND LETTERS AGAIN.
Scroll for sample emails and letters to
1. Tony Kelly, Minister for Lands,
Level 34, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney 2000
Send 2 emails: tony.kelly@lands.nsw.gov.au
sharon.armstrong@lands.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9230 2528 fax: 9230 2530
Ask him to vest this land in Sydney City Council as public open space.

2. Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney,
Sydney Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney 2000.
email: cmoore@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9265 9229 fax: 9265 9328
Ask her to acquire this land for public open space.

3. Sandra Nori MP, 225 Parramatta Road Broadway 2007
email:Sandra.nori@parliament.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9660 7586 fax: 9660 6112
Ask her to act on the community’s need for public open space.

4. Lee Rhiannon Greens MP, Parliament House,
Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
email: lee.rhiannon@parliament.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9230 3551 fax: 9230 3550
Ask her to raise this issue in Parliament.

5. Write to all parliamentarians in the Legislative Council
email addresses at
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/Parlment/Members.nsf/
V3ListCurrentLCMembers

SHORT SAMPLE EMAILS
To Labor members of the Legislative Council
Could you please explain how it is that your government can on the one hand congratulate itself on providing $80m for the environment in its City and Country and Environment Restoration Program and on the other sell off 675 square metres of tree-covered Crown Land in densely populated Forest Lodge to developers?

To non-Labor members of the Legislative Council
Could you please ask the Labor Government to explain how it is that they can on the one hand congratulate themselves on providing $80m for the environment in the City and Country and Environment Restoration Program and on the other sell off 675 square metres of tree-covered Crown Land in densely populated Forest Lodge to developers?

LONGER SAMPLE LETTER
Dear

The Department of Lands has recently informed the Forest Lodge Trees campaigners that it intends to proceed with sale of the tiny triangle of land at the rear of 77 Hereford Street Forest Lodge.

I, the undersigned, am alarmed at the prospect of the loss of even more green space in Forest Lodge. This sale would appear to be a contradiction of Section 11 of the Crown Lands Management act which states that 'the natural resources of Crown land (including water, soil, flora, fauna and scenic quality) be conserved wherever possible' and that 'Crown land should be used and managed in such a way that both the land and its resources are sustained in perpetuity'.

The sale of this land would also appear to contradict the urban sustainability goals of the NSW government’s City and Country Environment Restoration Program. The trees on this land help reduce air, noise and odour pollution in the neighbourhood - an aspect of urban improvement that the Revitalising our Urban Environments program promotes.

This land should become public open space because the protection of this land and its environmental value is a logical step in the government’s urban sustainability goals. It will not cost one cent of the $80 million the government has earmarked for urban sustainability, unlike other sites across the metropolitan area, many of which require large sums to redevelop and maintain. Conversely, the environmental cost of losing this green open space forever is incalculable.

If the sale were to go ahead and the land were to be developed, this would result in an unmanageable increase in urban density in an already over-crowded area. The Forest Lodge area has seen 23 additional dwellings erected in the immediate vicinity of this land in the past five years, as well as many hundreds of new dwellings erected on the old Children’s Hospital site. Consequently, there has been a marked increase in traffic, noise and air pollution. Yet the Greening Sydney map shows no newly-opened green space to compensate for this dramatic increase in urban density.

The residents at 77 Hereford Street have looked after the land and the 12 mature native trees on it for 30 years. This land is a haven to native birds, the trees are visible from many vantage points in Forest Lodge and Glebe, and provide the community with much needed breathing space. If the land is sold, the only winner will be a property developer who buys the land, destroys the trees, crams maximum density housing onto the small irregular site of only 675 square meters and leaves without any regard to the social and environmental consequences.

I urge you to remember that both the community and governments at all levels have a responsibility towards sustaining our environment for future generations. I urge you to support the vesting of this land in Sydney City Council so that it can remain in public ownership for perpetuity.


Yours faithfully

Proposed land sale contradicts environmental protection statute

In her letter to the Minister for Lands in support of the Forest Lodge Trees campaign, Clover Moore cited the CROWN LANDS ACT 1989 - Section 11. The principles of land management stated there raise one crucial question:

HOW CAN THE SALE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAND AT 77 HEREFORD STREET BE CONSISTENT WITH LEGISLATED PRINCIPLES OF CROWN LAND MANAGEMENT?

These are the principles. Judge for yourselves.

For the purposes of this Act, the principles of Crown land management are:
(a) that environmental protection principles be observed in relation to the management and administration of Crown land,

(b) that the natural resources of Crown land (including water, soil, flora, fauna and scenic quality) be conserved wherever possible,

(c) that public use and enjoyment of appropriate Crown land be encouraged,

(d) that, where appropriate, multiple use of Crown land be encouraged,

(e) that, where appropriate, Crown land should be used and managed in such a way that both the land and its resources are sustained in perpetuity, and

(f) that Crown land be occupied, used, sold, leased, licensed or otherwise dealt with in the best interests of the State consistent with the above principles.

Environment group supports open space at Hereford Street

As talks with Council and the Minister for Lands grow closer, it is important to keep in mind just how precious the 675.3 square metres of open space in Hereford Street is (the triangle of trees at the top right hand corner of the building in this Google Earth image).

The environment group FRROGS (Friends Residents / Ratepayers of Orphan School Creek Gully) wrote to the then CEO Of Council (Mr. Peter Seamer, Att. Councillor Robyn Kemmis) in February in support of the save the trees in Forest Lodge campaign. Their letter presents powerful arguments for the preservation of this open space.

re: Trees on Crown Land at rear of 77 Hereford St

We are writing to indicate our interest in a grove of trees contained on crown land found at the rear of 77 Hereford St, Forest Lodge, which we believe will be threatened when the land is sold, as planned to occur in April 2006.

These trees, a mix of mature Tallowoods, Brush Box and Spotted Gum, while excluded from Council’s recent register of significant trees, are extremely significant at a local level, particularly in regard to their biodiversity values. The 11-12 trees are approximately 30 years old, 12 – 15 mts height with considerable canopy and as such provide many of the functions recognized by Council in its Urban Tree Management Policy and advocacy for an urban forest approach. This policy advocates the “. . . preservation and protection of trees on private land and development sites.” (5 May 2005 City of Sydney adopts Urban Urban Tree Blueprint. Media release.)

Mayor Clover Moore is also quoted in this release as stating “this is an important first step in introducing a sustainable urban forest approach to the management of street trees such as that of some cities overseas which recognize the value of street trees beyond the ornamental”.

FRROGs commends this approach to urban tree management but maintains that dwindling stocks of native trees in the Glebe area place more pressure on existing native birds and other fauna. The few native trees left play an important role in holding the fragile balance of local native bird species. Until the Orphan School Creek Gully project has reached its potential as habitat and resource value for local native bird species, all other local native trees become more significant.

FRROGs is aware that the land containing the trees in question, zoned residential, is currently owned by Department of Lands who wish to sell the site. The Owners Corporation of No. 77 who has had permissive occupancy of the land is seeking support to protect the land and the trees from development.The trees are spread over the Crown Land site in such positions that the demolition of the trees would be unavoidable in order to build on the site.

The situation in Forest Lodge in regard to trees – on public and private land - is dire. There is planned demolition of the nearby Wood St site and adjacent Orphan School Creek Gully, which is densely covered with exotic trees and weeds. There has been major in-fill development in the suburb in the last 10 years with cumulative loss of other mature trees and shrub layer. Thus the trees at 77 Hereford St have assumed a greater role. (Please see attached photos).

The Owners Corporation at 77 Hereford St have indicated their willingness to turn over the Crown Lands as open space and intention to plant the understorey of the grove of trees with a middle canopy, necessary for small native birds, if the trees can be saved through Council’s action.

As stated at the Urban Forest Forum, hosted by Mayor Clover Moore in 2005, Sydney’s canopy of trees is approximately 10% when a 30% tree canopy is needed for environmental sustainability. Similarly to preserve the existing fragile population of Glebe’s Superb Fairy Wrens, at risk of extinction in the urban environment, every opportunity to maximize appropriate green space must be taken.

FRROGS has initiated a revegetation strategy for the nearby Orphan School Creek Gully to maintain and increase small native birds. However this is being undermined by ongoing bureaucratic delay affecting planting schedules. Thus our concern for any existing habitat areas in the local area.

We hope that Council will find a solution to the vexing problem of protecting existing biodiversity and tree canopy on residential land. Where tree and shrub stock do not meet the current criteria for placement on the significant tree register, Council’s instruments and guidelines may not be sufficient to protect pockets of bio diverse value. Council’s power to exercise its discretion to purchase the land may be the only other available option.

We ask Council to seriously consider all the available options to ensure the conservation of the trees at the rear of 77 Hereford Street.

Yours sincerely,

Judy Christie
Roberta Johnston

cc. Councillor Robyn Kemmis
cc. Owners Corporation No: 77 Hereford St Forest Lodge