Property owners and developers who invest in Sustainable Sydney 2030
initiatives can apply for exemptions from the development contribution levy. Initiatives include energy and water-saving measures, green roofs and affordable housing.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP spoke of the importance of sustainable living for the future. Ms Moore said: “Sydney needs more buildings like the award-winning 1 Bligh Street, which has the highest Green Star rating score for a high-rise building in NSW.
“Developers need to be innovative when designing for the future and it’s essential for them to consider sustainable initiatives such as green energy, water harvesting and active transport.”
Greens Councillor and Mayoral candidate, Irene Doutney said sustainable living is the only way forward. “While we won’t know until
2030 how effective the initiatives are, it’s a step in the right direction. The aims are good … and on the whole it is well
grounded.
“Sustainable living is incredibly important. If we don’t learn to become sustainable we will end up with nothing. We live in a world of finite resources so we cannot keep on consuming and eating away at the planet. We need to work on the way we live our lives, build our homes and commute.
“I am highly supportive of this policy as an incentive for developers to build greener buildings. It is essential that ideas like green roofs and walls, solar cells and the like become embedded in our urban
development. If we don’t start building green, sustainable buildings now we will simply be creating ghettos of the future.”
Currently a draft of Central Sydney Contributions Plan 2012 is available for public viewing from July 4 until August 2. This increases the developments which may be exempt from the current levy,
consequently promoting developments which help achieve the aims of
Sustainable Sydney 2030.
A spokesperson for the City of Sydney explained the levy in more detail. They said: “Since the introduction of the development contribution levy in 1997, the City has received about $90 million in
contributions within central Sydney.
“This money is spent on infrastructure for the local community including public domain works and improvements to parks and open space. Each year, funds are allocated to either partially or fully
recoup the cost of these improvement works.
“A recent example of this work is the multi-million dollar refurbishment of Pitt Street Mall.”
But there appeared to be no clarity on exactly what needs to be done
to be exempt from the current levy.
“The decision regarding whether the exemption is supported, and to what
extent it is applied, lies with the City of Sydney Council,” the spokesperson said.
