CouncilNotice of Northern Beaches Council Meeting

Memo Northern Beaches Council Meeting

Corporate Services 17 February 2026

To:	Councillors
From:	Chief Operating Officer
Date:	17 December 2025
Subject:	Memo - Notice of Motion to Rescind Council's Resolution made on 16 December 2025 in respect of Item 9.2 Outcome of Public Exhibition - Draft Code of Meeting Practice
Record Number:	2025/820992
Attachments:	1 Notice of Rescission

Please be advised that the Chief Executive Officer has received a Notice of Motion to rescind Council’s resolution in respect of Outcome of Public Exhibition - Draft Code of Meeting Practice, made at the 16 December 2025 Council meeting.

The motion proposed to be rescinded is:

That Council:

1. Adopt the Northern Beaches Council Code of Meeting Practice 2025 (Code) at Attachment 1, with the Code to come into effect on 1 January 2026, subject to the following amendments:

a. Delete the following clauses:

i. 11.5, 11.6, 11.7 and 11.8

b. Add the following clause:

i. 11.5 All voting at council meetings, (including meetings that are closed to the public), must be recorded in the minutes of meetings with the names of councillors who voted for and against each motion or amendment (including the use of the casting vote) being recorded.

2. Establish a monthly community engagement forum, separate from the public forum referred to in clause 4 of the Code of Meeting Practice, to be held on the same evening as that public forum, for Councillors to hear from the members of the public on items not on the Council meeting agenda, on a trial basis for 6 months.

3. Note its opinion that the amendments to the draft Code are not substantial and it may adopt the amended draft Code without public exhibition as its code of meeting practice.

In the event the rescission motion is carried, the proposed alternate motion is:

That Council:

1. Adopt the Northern Beaches Council Code of Meeting Practice 2025 (Code) at Attachment 1, with the Code to come into effect on 1 January 2026 with the exception of:

a. A1.2 The public forum will be held in Council Chambers from 6.00pm 7 days prior to an ordinary meeting of the Council change so it now reads:

The Public Forum for items on the agenda will be held in the Council Chambers, prior to an Ordinary Meeting of Council from 6.00pm and close strictly at 6.45pm.

b. Delete the non-mandatory clause that provides an option for the chairperson to be granted authorisation to expel any person, including any Councillor from a Council or committee meeting.

c. Replace 14 days with 8 days, being:

3.10 A Councillor may give notice of any business they wish to be considered by the Council at its next ordinary meeting by way of notice of motion. To be included on the agenda of the meeting, the notice of motion must be in writing and must be submitted by 12 noon 8 days before the meeting is to be held.

d. All voting at Council meetings (including meetings that are closed to the public) must be recorded in the minutes of meetings noting the names of Councillors who voted for and against each motion or amendment (including the use of the casting vote).

2. Note its opinion that the amendments to the draft Code are not substantial and it may adopt the amended draft Code without public exhibition as its code of meeting practice.

3. Staff prepare options for open public forums to be held separately to Council meetings to be presented to the first scheduled Council meeting in 2026; these should include possibilities for up to 5 forums per year, where residents can advocate to Councillors on topics of interest or concern.

The matter will be listed for consideration at the 17 February 2026 Ordinary Council meeting agenda.

Please contact me should you wish to discuss this matter.

Kelly Loveridge

Chief Operating Officer

Memo Northern Beaches Council Meeting

Corporate Services 17 February 2026

To:	Councillors
From:	Chief Operating Officer
Date:	16 February 2026
Subject:	Memo – Additional information in relation to agenda items
Record Number:	2026/085558
Attachments:	NIL

In accordance with clause 3.32 of the Model Code of Meeting Practice the following additional information was provided in advance of the 17 February 2026 Council meeting.

Additional information in respect of Item 8.2 Audit Risk and Improvement Committee Confirmed Minutes - September 2025:

1. Staff acknowledged and supported feedback from the ARIC on a draft of the Financial Statements 2024/25 on providing additional notes to explain particular staff changes and cost impacts in the financial statements on employee benefits and on-costs. Staff subsequently expanded the “Financial Commentary” section, adding more detail on employee costs. The updated content is on page 8 of the 2024/25 Financial Statements, as shown in the extract below.

2. In the Benchmarking Program 2023/24 report to ARIC, there were 5 items noted to be below industry benchmark (against comparable coastal councils being Central Coast, Randwick, Sutherland and Waverley). The 5 measures which were lower than the Coastal median (negative variance of greater than 10%) were:

· unrestricted current ratio,

· debt service cover ratio,

· cash expense cover ratio,

· infrastructure backlog ratio, and

· other services expenditure per capita.

The benchmarking program was separately reported to Council on 18 November (Item 9.2)

Additional information in respect of Item 8.3 Quarterly Review:

1. The budget rephasing which provides for a $3.2 million additional allocation to road resheeting is estimated to result in just under 1.5km of roads being resurfaced. In addition to that, heavy patching of various sizes will occur on a number of streets to repair localised defects. Some works will likely commence in March however the majority of these works will be completed in the final quarter of this Financial Year (April to June).

2. Parking fines income totalled $4.42 million as at 31 December 2025, exceeding the year‑to‑date forecast of $3.80 million. Given the volatility of parking fines revenue, Council adopts a conservative approach when forecasting this income stream.

Additional information in respect of Item 8.5 Monthly Investment Report – December 2025:

1. Council expects to earn $5.2 million in unrestricted interest income in 2025/26, which is already allocated in the budget. This is considered general revenue along with ‘ordinary rates’, the financial assistance grant and other untied income sources. Together they form the funding source for most of Council’s services, loan repayments and the majority of the capital renewal program.

Additional information in respect of Item 9.1 Financial Assistance – Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter:

1. Provision has been made in the draft 2026/27 budget to continue funding at current levels plus CPI should Council determine to continue the program that funds the Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter.

Memo Northern Beaches Council Meeting

Planning & Place 17 February 2026

To:	Councillors
From:	Director Planning & Place
Date:	16 February 2026
Subject:	Memo – Item No 11.1 – Ingleside Planning Proposal - Request for Deferral from Applicant
Record Number:	2026/087384
Attachments:	1 CEO - Mirvac Homes - Request Deferral - PEX2025 0001 - 1 Wilson Avenue Ingleside - Council Meeting - 17th February 2026

Dear Mayor Heins & Councillors,

A letter (copy attached) has been received from the proponent requesting Council defer consideration of the above planning proposal on the agenda for consideration at the Council meeting tonight. The letter suggest deferral would provide an opportunity to respond to issues raised in the Council officers’ report.

The Minister for Planning’s 2024 Statement of Expectations Order requires councils to decide whether they support a proponent‑led planning proposal within the benchmark timeframes set out in the LEP Making Guideline. These timeframes aim to ensure planning proposals progress efficiently and provide certainty for both the proponent and the community. In this case, the benchmark timeframe expired shortly before Christmas 2025.

Council officers have been in regular contact with the proponent as detailed in the Council report. In October 2025, Council wrote to the proponent outlining key issues and offered a partial refund of fees should the Proposal be withdrawn. The proponent chose to proceed and later submitted additional technical reports.

For the reasons outlined in the officers’ report, it is recommended Council not progress the planning proposal. Should Council support the officer’s recommendation, the proponent may:

· Request a review by the Sydney North District Planning Panel, or

· Lodge a new planning proposal with Council in the future seeking to address the matters raised.

Should you require any further information about this matter, please contact my office on 8495 6415.

James Farrington
Director, Planning & Place Planning

Attachment: Letter from Mirvac to Council dated 16 February 2025