Emails sent to
[email protected] (CEO) and cc'd to Mayor and the ward councillors.
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]Dear Mr Hunt,
I would like to express my strong dissapointment at the way the City of Joondalup has conducted itself in regard to its proposed Beach Management Plan.
I have reviewed the agenda for the September Council meeting and note that the recommendation for management of Kite Surfing activities is Option 2 'Only exclusion zones are established which apply over the entire length of Mullaloo and North Mullaloo Beaches and Sorrento Beach from the Marina'.
Putting aside the proposed exclusion zone adjacent to the Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club, which has remained consistent, the exclusion of kitesurfing to the entire length of Mullaloo and North Mullaloo beaches is contrary to information that has previously been provided to the public during the consultation process for the proposed Beach Management Plan. Members of the public were asked to comment on a proposed exclusion zone 475m north and south of Mullaloo Surf Lifesaving Club only, and have had no opportunity to comment on the significantly increased exclusion zone now recommended by the City.
The decision making process that the City of Joondalup intends to employ in relation to this matter is of serious concern. The Council will be making a decision on the management of kite surfing activities, which includes being guided on a recommending report prepared by the City of Joondalup that purports to take into account responses to the public consultation process. However, the recommended 'Option 2' has not previously been made available for public comment. Accordingly, the City of Joondalup has erred in its administrative processes, and a complaint to the State Ombudsmen is forthcoming.
Further highlighting the innaproriate administrative procress that has been conducted to date, the Frequently Asked Questions document about the proposed Beach Management Plan that is currently available on the City of Joondalup website refers only to the originally proposed exclusion zones, and in combination with the information made available during the public consultation process, is significantly misleading.
The only way I, as a member of the public and Joondalup resident, was able to clarify the extent of the exclusion zone within 'Option 2' was to phone the City of Joondalup and speak to an employee. This employee advised that the recommendation and increased exclusion zone is the result of a "stakeholder meeting that occured after the public consultation was finalised". I would therefore like to know who the stakeholders were that attended this meeting and why the City of Joondalup has deemed it uneccessary for the public to be able to comment on the revised exclusion zone when it is this zone that is the subject of a recommendation to Council?
I will further add that the increase to the exclusion zone proposed by 'Option 2' is grossly innapropriate and the recommending report prepared by the City of Joondalup does not appropriately consider the extreme popularity of kite surfing as a sport, or the rate at which this popularity is currently increasing, in order to 'future proof' the Beach Management Plan to any degree.
I acknowledge the sport of kite surfing requires management in terms of appropriate interaction with other beach users. However, confining kite surfing to small, already congested areas, by increasing the exclusion zone as per 'Option 2' has serious safety implications for kite surfers, and is not reflective of a holistic approach that the City needs to adopt, which gives adequate consideration to all beach users.
I await your response.
