Councillors will discuss the proposal at their next meeting. Photo: Bega Valley Shire Council.
A Bega Council proposal to shake up the cost of using public land has been labelled “unfair” ahead of a decision on its adoption.
Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC) voted to put the draft Use of Public Land (Local Approvals) Policy on public exhibition earlier this year, proposing to change the fees paid by event organisers and community groups to access and use public land.
It received 261 submissions and a separate petition (with 371 signatures) was made to the council during the public consultation stage.
“The majority of the submissions raised concerns about the viability of not-for-profit events under the proposed new fee structure,” the document stated.
It’s a concern echoed by Bega Valley Business Forum president Nigel Ayling, who’s strengthened his call for people to voice their concerns over the proposal.
Mr Ayling said many groups in the region weren’t charities, meaning they risked being caught with an unexpected step to manage.
“We think it’s unjust for not-for-profit organisations,” he said.
“[They’re] trying to run community events … they don’t have the resources to put in complex DAs.”
The forum previously campaigned against a similar policy two years ago, which didn’t go ahead.
“We think it’s unfair that a not-for-profit organisation should be paying for the use of community land,” Mr Ayling said.
“Community events bring people and benefits to business across the shire. By charging not-for-profit organisations, they will run the risk of these events not being held, which is detrimental to the community and the business community.”
Currently there are several different costs in a tiered fee structure, where each commercial stall or operator pays $60 per day.
According to the upcoming council meeting agenda, the policy’s adoption would see not-for-profit organisations face an application fee of $130.
A base rate fee of $140 a day and a commercial stall or operator fee of $29 are also proposed.
“It would then be at the not-for-profit event holder’s discretion to absorb the fees fully or partially, or pass on the full fees to the commercial operator(s),” the document stated.
The policy originally proposed a $124 application fee, but that has since been increased to $130 to reflect changes in indexing for the new financial year.
There are proposed exemptions, such as for registered charities and activities organised by not-for-profit organisations for “free community benefit, charitable fundraising, and where there is no element of commercial gain”.
Markets that already have an approved development application (DA) won’t be affected.
Councillors will vote on the policy at their meeting on Monday 23 June.
The meeting starts at 2 pm, with the agenda available on the BVSC website.
