North Arm Cove Rate Payers Association begin unifying to change zonings Myall Coast Myall Coast - popup ad Myall Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - September 20, 2023September 20, 2023 North Arm Cove ratepayers gathered to begin presenting their united front. CROWDS gathered at North Arm Cove Community Hall on Saturday, 16 September, to unite under one voice in their plight for rezoning of long-held lands. More than 200 people came from all over NSW and even interstate, for their first physical gathering, organised by the North Arm Cove Rate Payers Association (NACRPA), with the singular goal of getting their ‘non-urban’ land zoning reclassified so that they can build on what they already own. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au North Arm Cove’s complex history involves a ‘paper subdivision’ that still misleads people via GPS maps that indicate many ‘streets’ that are barely dirt tracks, based on a plan over a century old. “We bought our land back in the early 1980s, told it would only take two to five years to be rezoned,” said many at the congregation. “Many ‘rural’ owners feel that they were duped by real estate agents or developers’ promises,” Jen Farias, NACRPA President told NOTA. However, they are yet to clarify to whom their grievances should be directed, as land has been sold in North Arm Cove at various points over the years. The ‘foreshore village’ area is already zoned for building, but further back remains ‘non-urban’. “We have been paying rates to Council for decades, and we get nothing for it,” was another widely held view. “We can get more usage out of a National Parks Pass and campgrounds,” said Sylvia Lee, referring to an understanding that ‘rural’ owners can only use their own lands for 60 days maximum per year, and only for two nights in a row on any one occasion. With a large number of people holding similar feelings on the key issues, the gathering allowed the NACRPA to compile the contact list and start building a unified front to achieve their goals. It would seem, however, that after many decades already passed with no action like that for which the NACRPA are calling, there would be opposition to any new changes from many directions. By Thomas O’KEEFE A panorama showing the large gathering outside NAC Community Hall. Even Google Maps shows the non-existent ‘streets’ from the original plan, although many exist as privately-owned dirt tracks.
