The City of Onkaparinga Council met on Tuesday 17 March – here are some of the key outcomes.
Comments attributed to Mayor Moira Were
Several of tonight’s outcomes were focused on valuing our natural world, including adopting new greening and tree canopy targets – both for council land and the region more broadly.
The new targets align with the state government’s, while ensuring our approach is measurable achievable and affordable. We’ve also increased our goal of planting 100,000 trees by 2037 to 150,000.
We’ll install permanent bollards at the southern end of Sellicks Beach to stop vehicles driving into the prohibited vehicle area, after the proposal received strong support during community engagement – for both safety and environmental reasons.
We also approved the feedback we’ll send the state government on its draft Hills and Fleurieu Regional Landscape Plan for 2026–2031, sharing our thoughts on things like collaboration, tackling weeds and pests, funding, First Nations-led programs, volunteer capacity, shellfish reefs, native seeds, and data.
Sport and recreation clubs play vital roles in our community, which is why we looked at ways we could better support Onkaparinga’s community-owned sport and recreation facilities, some of whom addressed the meeting. This includes actioning short-term things like irrigation subsidies and toilet maintenance, while we consider longer-term strategic options.
We progressed discussions around ways Onkaparinga’s sporting clubs and other not-for-profits community organisations could share services to help reduce costs and build capacity.
We’ll also progress investigations into improving facilities for the proud and growing Coromandel Valley Ramblers Cricket Club.
We want your feedback on 2 major plans, which councils are required to have by law.
Our draft Annual Business Plan and Budget for 2026–27 – which outlines all the work we’ll do for the financial year and how we propose to spend public funds – will be open for community engagement in mid-April.
Our draft Inclusive Communities Action Plan 2026–30 – which guides how we respond to the access and inclusion requirements of our community – will open for community engagement next week.
Councillors raised several notices of motion for discussion and voting. Tonight’s NoMs will see us advocate for councils to have clearer and more effective powers to manage long-term vehicle storage on public roads, ensure we consider our climate and sustainability commitments when looking at new advertising or sponsorship arrangements, and commit to an additional report to Council before any final decision on a proposed community food hub in Seaford.
As always, you can delve further into the meeting outcomes – including on topics such as green waste disposal, land revocations, and funding for a generator to support war commemorations in Cherry Gardens – via the agenda, full meeting recording and the minutes at onkaparingacity.com on Thursday.
Onkaparinga Now’s Council meeting updates are published following ordinary – and some special – Council meetings, providing a broad overview of some of the key outcomes. Not all Council decisions will be mentioned each month due to the size and scope of the meeting agendas.
More information about all the Council meeting outcomes can be found in the agendas, minutes and full meeting video recordings at onkaparingacity.com, where you can also find information on registering your interest to attend meetings, and how to raise concerns about issues in your area via petitions and deputations.
Pictured
Sellicks Beach. Image courtesy Tourism Australia.