In the lead-up to the poll, we'll be asking a member of each of the six teams running questions related to their policies and the municipality overall.  

This week's question is: In recent times there has been considerable community concern regarding “ad hoc” development and the approval of many “boxy buildings”. What is your team's vision for sustainable development within the municipality?

See below for their responses. 

Andrew Sloan, Greens ticket. 

While we need to cater for a growing population, we must try to protect the things that matter most.

This includes our valuable agricultural lands, our heritage streetscapes and the ability of residents to enjoy reasonable sunlight and privacy when development occurs next door to them.

Kathy (Rice, fellow councillor) and I have fought to protect Gerringong and Jamberoo from urban sprawl, encourage more dual occupancies and refused poorly designed “boxy” unit blocks. A planning loophole has been closed, and “sideways facing” apartments built to the boundary are no longer permitted in our area.

We will see better designs from now on for medium density development.

Mark Way, Kiama Independents. 

My team will continue to follow and build on the initiatives that were put in place by the current councillors, with support for the updated LEP and “a line drawn in the sand” so to speak, on these box units that had sprung up throughout Kiama and in particular Manning Street.

These boxes that were increasingly designed to face one another and could be described as just plain ugly and not conclusive to functional living and privacy were refused in recent times, despite meeting most planning requirements.

I'm sure that developers have now got the message and in future will look to much better designs that also fit with the area they are proposed to be built.

Warren Steel and Gavin McClure, Experience Counts.

Our Experience Counts Team understand that sensible and suitable development is necessary in our local LGA.

We will do everything in our power to encourage a more aesthetic tourist style of development rather than the permanent 'huge box' type influx we have been forced to endure of late.

The recently convened LEP committee’s aim will be to working with local residents and developers to ensure that future DA approvals are in sync with goals and that our seaside ambience remains relevant to our community's wishes.

Matt Brown, Community and Labor.

Community and Labor want better design and better quality for new buildings.

We want them to reflect the heritage of our small coastal towns.

We want our built environment to complement our natural environment.

We want to continue to look distinctly different from the big cities surrounding us.

At present, there are poor quality buildings being approved that are bad for owners, neighbours and the townscape.

Community and Labor are committed to changing the current policies of council; policies that have led to this problem.

Neil Reilly, Community Voices.

Community Voices believe that development controls only measure… set backs, floor space ratios, height, distance from boundaries and so on. The pressing need is to measure ‘character’.

I would propose a ‘Kiama Urban Landscape Character Study: A Visual Assessment of Kiama’s Built Character’, similar to what has been done in Bunbury, Western Australia. 

Their study was implemented into planning procedures and vastly improved the quality of urban design of buildings, streetscapes and other public spaces.

The cost would be cheap…we would seek to use local service clubs to collect the data and internal staff to transform that into information reports that would inform planning decisions.

Mark Honey, Honey/Westhoff.

We strongly support the formalisation of a Design Panel - including independent architects - to review Development Applications in the initial stages of planning.

This Design Panel will deal with: a) the external design, and how it affects the neighbourhood character and amenity; and b) the internal design focusing on liveability.

We will lead the community debate on the need to ensure only acceptable standards of development are carried out in our municipality.

We will ensure that council, together with the Department of Planning and Environment, determines a reasonable demand load for residences in the municipality so that the character and amenity of our unique area is not placed under pressure.

If you want to ask a question of the candidates, submit your question to kinews@fairfaxmedia.com.au and it may be answered in a future edition.