Council at its meeting of 26 October 2010 resolved to exhibit the amended draft West Dapto Release Area - Section 94 Development Contributions Plan for community input.

The purpose of this plan is to enable Council to require contributions to be made towards the provision, extension or augmentation of public amenities and public services that will, or are likely to be required as a consequence of development in the West Dapto Release Area.  The plan also details the timing and cost of the provision of the works and facilities.

The Horsley Section 94 Development Contributions Plan is proposed to be repealed upon the commencement of the draft Plan with the current account balance to be transferred to the draft Plan.

The West Dapto Release Area covers an area of approximately 4,700 hectares and is proposed to provide an additional 17,010 dwellings and 183 hectares of employment land when fully developed.
This Plan considers the total infrastructure requirements for the West Dapto Release Area, as well as the specific requirements for Stages 1 and 2 as many infrastructure projects are required to service the first release of lands, as well as the later stages.

The rate of development governs Section 94 income, and therefore the funds available to expend. The development yield will require monitoring and regular review. The completion of the release area is estimated to be 55 years.

The future community of West Dapto will require additional services, facilities and infrastructure, such as:

• Roads
• Community facilities
• Open space and recreation
• Drainage management
• Public transport
• Administration

A total expenditure of $580 million is proposed for the West Dapto Release Area, of which $559 million has been attributed to the future population. The costs are based on current values, and will need to be indexed over the life of the Plan.
Section 94 contributions cannot be used to fund the ongoing maintenance of infrastructure.

An overall development contribution rate for low density residential of $30,000 per dwelling/lot is proposed.  This proposed rate is inline with the State Contributions Cap of $30,000.

For industrial or employment land, the contribution rate has been set on a per hectare basis at approx. 10% of the residential rate excluding Community Facilities & Open Space contributions, i.e. $38,742 per developable hectare. A per hectare rate is preferable where the development type and employment generation rates are unknown and could vary significantly.

The current contribution rate for residential development in Horsley is in the order of $10,500 per dwelling. Any new dwellings or subdivisions in the Horsley area will be subject to the new contribution rates under the West Dapto Contributions Plan. The collected monies will be allocated in accordance with the West Dapto Section 94 Contributions Plan.

There is an account balance in the Horsley Section 94 Plan of approx. $4 million, it would be appropriate to reallocate this balance into the planned roadwork projects that will improve access for the existing residents of Horsley. Accordingly, the balance will be transferred to the draft West Dapto Section 94 Plan, upon the repealing of the Horsley Section 94 Plan.

In addition to the Section 94 Plan, the Department of Planning may impose a State Infrastructure Contribution Plan to assist with the funding of regional infrastructure, such as upgrades to the F6 Freeway and acquire land for schools. The Department is undertaking further research and also wishes to review the feedback from the exhibition of Council’s Section 94 Plan prior to determining a regional levy.

Council has endorsed an initial access strategy to address legacy issues and to improve access to the West Dapto release area. A $26.05 million interest free loan from the State Government under the Local Infrastructure Program will enable the early implementation of this strategy. The loan is required to be paid back over a ten (10) year period.

Copies of the Plan can be downloaded by clicking the attached link or viewed at: