The following residents of the ACT draw to the attention of the Assembly to the actions of private schools in the ACT, who are developing car parks on protected public Urban Open Space (PRZ1). In particular the Brindabella Christian College in Lyneham has developed a school carpark on part of the adjacent public oval without approval, and the Canberra Grammar School in Griffith is seeking approval to formalise a car park on a public park over the road from the school.
These sites are protected and are intended to provide green open space for the enjoyment and recreation of everyone in the community, as well as flora and fauna habitats, and environmental corridors. Carparks for private institutions are prohibited developments on these sites under the current planning legislation (s315 and s51-56).
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call upon the government to:
1. Stop allowing private schools and private institutions to develop car parks on protected public green open spaces that border thier block, and withdraw government support for the current (and any future) applications for private car parks on PRZ1 zoned or protected public land, and take action against private schools who have built car parks without permission.
2. Uphold the ACT Legislation to protect public urban open spaces that are reserved under s315 of the Planning and Development Act (2007) OR that are zoned as sites where private car parks are listed as prohibited, and to manage the sites accordingly.
3. Ensure that protected public urban open space that has been degraded by unauthorised car park developments is regenerated.
4. Require private schools to conduct a Transport Impact Assessment (TIA) when expanding or developing to ensure that the development does not impede the functioning of active travel or public transport operations for the wider community, and to implement sustainable transport strategies to meet any excess traffic demands that they can’t meet by onsite car parks (e.g operating buses for their students, or acquiring a suitably zoned block for offsite parking, and facilitating active travel to school).
We request the Assembly to:
5. Provide oversight (e.g via officers of the assembly) to ensure that the ACT Government makes decisions and manages public land protected by the planning legislation with integrity and good administrative conduct.
6. Strengthen the legislation to ensure that a Transport Impact Assessment (TIA) that considers all road users is completed as part of school expansion developments, including developments otherwise exempt from a DA.