A decision on whether to seek community feedback on any potential future sale of the High and Rowe Sts car park in Shepparton for affordable housing split councillors at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The site at 84-90 High St, Shepparton, was one of three identified as potentially suitable to help address the region’s housing crisis.
Some omissions had been made once the final agenda came before the councillors, with the original recommendation also including the Edward and Fryers Sts car park and part of the Welsford St car park.
Cr Seema Abdullah attempted to have the omissions put back into the motion but Mayor Shane Sali said he couldn’t accept the amendment due to “significant change”.
“There are three most appropriate sites in the CBD that the council could consider for sale, lease or gift for affordable housing,” Cr Abdullah said.
“Can I ask why the community is being denied the right to have a say on all three sites?”
Cr Sam Spinks agreed and said it was a matter of transparency to put all three sites to the public.
“We do not make decisions on behalf of the community when they have the capacity to use their own voice,” she said.
The recommendation also included for council to confirm support for the Greater Shepparton Affordable Housing Strategy and to note the findings of an assessment of 16 sites in Kialla, Mooroopna and Shepparton for affordable housing purposes.
The final agenda also omitted a sub-section supporting the idea clustering of affordable housing dwellings may be appropriate in some circumstances.
Cr Anthony Brophy, who moved the motion, said this was removed procedurally, given it was already contained within the strategy.
He said the community was being given the opportunity to focus on one parcel of land and that other sites could flow on if the process was successful.
Crs Abdullah, Spinks and Dinny Adem voted against the motion with Crs Brophy, Greg James and Sali voting for the motion.
Cr Sali cast the deciding vote in favour and the motion was passed.
“It’s an evolving situation, it’s not going to go away but the priority is to get a project underway and get land in front of the community,” Cr Sali said.
“This parcel in my opinion is limited from a commercial perspective, it’s surrounded by significant car park... effectively if it is supported and successful down the track, it doesn’t jeopardise that whole parcel of land.”
It came after an audit report found there was no vacant, council-owned land capable of accommodating affordable housing within a short-term timeframe in Shepparton, Mooroopna or Kialla.
Two sites – part of 45 Parkside Dve, Shepparton and part of 294 McLennan St, Mooroopna – were found to be potentially suitable in the medium-term.
The report recommended council investigate the airspace above three car parks in Shepparton for affordable housing.
These three sites were identified in a report prepared by SEMZ on potential sites for the Beyond Housing and Wintringham affordable housing proposal, which council declined at its June meeting.