It’s hoped the draft policies will manage council-owned properties considered surplus to requirements. Photo: NSW Planning Portal.
A proposal to sell multiple public land sites has been labelled “the opposite of a fire sale”.
Meeting papers state the plan came off the back of a report submitted to Yass Valley Council (YVC) between 2020 and 2024 that identified several properties without an operational purpose.
During their recent extraordinary meeting, councillors agreed to put the policies out for public feedback.
Councillor Alvaro Charry called for his fellow councillors to support the proposals.
He said the council needed to consider the future of properties that were “genuinely surplus to operational needs” and their “financial value”.
“This is ultimately about long-term asset management, but most importantly, it’s about intergenerational equity,” he said.
According to one of the documents, the draft Property Strategy 2026/27, the shift will be implemented in four stages.
By the fourth stage, YVC should be debt-free in relation to the Crago Mill precinct and have updated its property portfolio.
It will be implemented through property sales, land rezoning and purchase of targeted sites.
It’s proposed 23 sites around Yass Valley will be affected.
CEO Gayleen Burley pushed back on concerns the policies, if adopted, would mean lower service delivery.
“This is not council just divesting of its properties – this is a council taking a strategic look at its property portfolio, now and into the future. … It also looks at the acquisition of future assets, as well.”
The draft Property Strategy document proposes subdivision, reclassification and sale of various sites, such as part of Walker Park in Yass.
Other properties – such as sites at 13 and 17 Dutton Street – are flagged for an open market sale.
Other sites would be sold to adjoining owners.
Mayor Jasmin Jones said the proposed approach would reduce the council’s reliance on “rates, fees and grants”.
She said it would also help it manage loans linked to the Crago Mill project.
“This strategy is the opposite of a fire sale that might briefly wipe out operational deficits, but fail to deliver long-term benefits,” the mayor said.
The draft document also calls for the preparation of business plans for Hawthorn and the Yass Saleyards, as part of planning for their future.
Cr Charry pointed to the former site as an example of the sites that should be considered under these policies.
“That land must be handled carefully, strategically and always with the best interest of our community in mind,” he said of the property.
But councillor Adrian Cameron said the community should have been involved long before a draft was presented to councillors.
He said some people he spoke with at the recent Crago Mill opening were unfamiliar with what the council was planning.
“In a project like this, the involvement in the development should really begin because it’s a significant shift in the direction for council and I think most people would recognise that.”
He also warned that while the draft documents would now be released for public feedback, that didn’t guarantee community engagement.
“We do know that when that happens, we often don’t get a lot of feedback from the community, particularly when it is a hard read and not as much detail as should be there.”
According to meeting papers, YVC can only dispose of property if it has been classified as ‘operational land’.
A staff member told the meeting the NSW Government had guidelines to avoid any conflicts of interest.
He said YVC was currently developing its own policy.
“We are definitely not the first local government organisation to be investigating such an option, and there’s a really rigorous set of standards that can be applied and will be applied through such a policy,” he said.
Ultimately, councillor Cameron was the only one to vote against the motion.
The three documents have been placed on public exhibition for 28 days.
If no submissions calling for material changes are received, YVC will progress with the proposed changes.
The policies will be available for comment via the council’s Your Voice Counts platform until 4 pm on 12 June.
