Opponents of a south Kiama residential development are taking their concerns to parliament house.
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Kiama Central Precinct chair Mark Greaves said as many as 35 residents will head to the NSW Parliament on Tuesday morning in the hope of getting a meeting with Planning Minister Rob Stokes.
"We hand delivered a letter to him last Thursday which clearly shows how we feel about the planning proposal at South Kiama and to let him know that we are coming up," Mr Greaves said.
"If he has time to see us that would be good.
"We know that Minister Stokes will be in parliament [on Tuesday] because he's submitting budget estimates for his Transport portfolio, which is the other very large hat that he wears."
The residents are objecting to a rezoning of land on the western side of the Princes Highway, which could lead to more than 400 homes being built on the site.
The proposal was opposed by residents and Kiama Council recommended that it be rejected.
However the Department of Planning Industry and Environment (DPIE) approved the rezoning, a decision Mr Greaves did not understand.
"This decision by the state government has gone totally counter to the democratic process - we don't even have a right of appeal to this," he said.
"We would like to understand why has the state government overturned those thoughts about that planning proposal at the local level."
A DPIE spokeswoman said the rezoning decision did not automatically enable homes to be built on the South Kiama site.
"It means an application to construct them can be considered - with a development application required to be submitted and assessed, involving community consultation," the spokeswoman said.
"At that time, site specific issues raised by the community would need to be addressed."
Kiama MP Gareth Ward is also opposed to the rezoning, using a parliamentary speech to call on Mr Stokes to reject the proposal.
"Whilst the department of planning gave the community a hearing, it appears the department has only directly heard from the applicant behind closed doors," Mr Ward told parliament.
"I ask that the minister inform our community why the department was so easily convinced in light of a tsunami of evidence that would lead any reasonable person to oppose this proposal."
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
