Sanja Hendrick

2022 candidate for City of Playford.
Heritage survey responses.

1. Do you think that Councils and community members need to have a greater voice in planning and development decisions affecting their local area?
   Community consultation is slim in most councils - especially when it comes to development decisions. Decisions that would affect the liveability of an area often aren’t being run by those who live and work in those zones. If community consultation is available, it’s not well communicated to rate payers. A true community is built by its citizens and rate payers - they deserve to voice their perspectives

2. What role should Councils play in protecting local heritage places from demolition or inappropriate development?
   Councils should echo the voices of its rate payers and protect our best interest when dealing with developers, state and federal government. Acting in the best interest of community should be the primary objective rather than profit

3. How would you seek to improve protections for heritage places in your area?
   Heritage areas in suburban councils often aren’t well signed or labeled so residents aren’t away of it. I’d advocate for community awareness of heritage places, stronger communication of its value and consultation prior to any developments

4. We rarely see new places added to local heritage listings. Why do you think this is?
   If residents aren’t aware of the benefits for heritage listing, then this is also not being communicated adequately. Adding to local listings boosts visibility and tourism (to those open to public). It also preserves a certain element of beauty and charm that is often lost when developments take hold. It passes on a strong story to future generations

5. How has the Planning and Design Code impacted on the heritage, amenity, and environment of your area? What changes would you seek to the Code?
   Our environment has been impacted with the destruction of tree canopies and reduction of green spaces. I’d seek to reassess planning and design codes relating to trees and park areas providing homes for wildlife, a reduction in the ambient temperatures (urban heat) and preservation of green space for future generations

6. What are the impacts of infill development in your area? What changes would you seek in the rules around infill development?
   There’s a lot of under-utilised land in suburban areas. I’m not opposed to development and urban sprawl but would advocate for the consideration of significant tree canopies, heritage protection and community consultation prior to any major development

7. Construction of new housing typically uses 30% labour and 70% materials. Renovation of existing housing stock typically uses 70% labour and 30% materials. What policy changes would you like to see made to encourage people to renovate, rather than demolish and build anew?
   Review of zoning rules and approval processes is necessary. Some major roads in our council still remain partially residentially zoned and partially commercial. This leads to inconsistent development along one stretch of road. Also, councils need to assess how tough they are being on development approvals for renovations - rate payers are more likely to develop their existing homes if council made the process easier

8. How should the community be informed and involved in decisions about new developments?
   Remote consultation is key - expecting rate payers to come into the council office for events and meetings results in low turnout. We’re living in a day and age where distributing an electronic survey is much more doable than it used to be. It’s not being used well enough to gather real data from citizens

9. Do you think there is adequate tree canopy across your local government area?
   There has been a lot of change in this area, lots of tree canopy areas removed for development. It’s creating an urban heat island.

10. How would you like to see significant and regulated trees in your area protected from removal?
    Signage is a good start, this highlights the importance and educates rate payers on the value of tree canopies. Seeking approval prior to removal of significant trees is vital - and should considered an offence with fines should it be ignored

11. What involvement should Councils have in decisions about protecting or removing significant and regulated trees?
    Councils should manage the removal of significant trees with similar approvals to exisiting development applications.

12. What actions would you advocate to slow or mitigate the impacts of climate change in your local government area?
    I’d support stronger processes for reduction, reuse and recycling - including community education. Recycle bins should be collected more frequently. Residents and business owners striving for a carbon neutral site should be rewarded and incentivised

13. What issues are there with traffic and parking in your area?
    Main intersections become a car park during rush hours and school pick up hours. One that comes to mind is the intersection between Adams Rd and Yorktown Road. Traffic flow needs to be addressed prior to any more development and growth in the area or it will become a bigger problem and affect the area’s liveability

14. How could transport options be improved in your area?
    Most bus stops aren’t well lit which makes it challenging and unsafe at night.

15. What would your top three priorities be for improving planning policy and outcomes in your local government area?
    Climate action - protection of tree canopies and incentivise those striving to minimise impact on the environment (carbon neutral)
    Traffic action - addressing bottle neck traffic issues before population increases exacerbate the problem
    Development action - stronger community consultation prior to major developments in local council areas