THE FUTURE of the old Pasminco smelter site remains up in the air, as Lake Macquarie councillors ask for more information on what one called a 'complicated' and 'problematic' area.
The site at Boolaroo could become home to retail giants, advanced manufacturing, office jobs and open space if plans to rezone the land from a containment cell for hazardous materials to mixed use and public recreation gets the tick of approval.
If rezoned, it could be suitable for anything from daycares and schools to parks and commercial developments close to public transport and major freight routes - wedged somewhere between Costco and Bunnings.
The council was set to decide on whether to approach the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment to change maximum building heights and rezone the land on Monday night - but councillor Brian Adamthwaite moved to push the decision back.
"I thinnk it's probably the classic site that suits the terms 'complicated' and 'problematic', but it also as a result of that creates much more opportunity than anywhere else," he said.
"Very rarely can a city look at a site that is basically down to bare earth and ready to do almost anything you'd like to on.
"The fact that it was an industrial site meant that it was available and unencumbered by other things."
The site has been remediated since its days of smelting lead, copper sulphate, zinc metals and producing sulphuric acid - and rezoning it has been on the cards before.
The Environment Protection Authority issued a remediation order in July 2003, which determined the site represented a 'significant risk of harm' - with the two main concerns being the migration of airborne dust containing lead and the migration of lead, zinc, cadmium and manganese from the site through surface water and groundwater.
Now that's been cleared up, the council is looking to rezone the land with a view to fast-track employment opportunities for residents around Cardiff, Glendale, Warners Bay and Edgeworth.
Council investigations have identified the area as "a city landmark that promotes Lake Macquarie's leading role in the region and state, and generates excitement, attracts visitors, workers and customers from outside of the city".
The planning proposal would rezone land south of Cressy Road to mixed use and land north of the road to public recreation - with the potential for 'end of trip' and other public facilities.
It would also increase maximum building heights to 18m across the site.
The proposal is in the vicinity of the old Pasminco laboratory building, which is listed as a local heritage item.
Cr Adamthwaite said he wants more information on the height changes, heritage aspects, social impacts and possible geo-technical issues.
"It sometimes seems with meetings like this that we rubber-stamp things, but we actually delve fairly deep into the situation because we want to make sure we get it right for the future," he said.
"By having a briefing, given there is no time imperative, means that we will have much more information when we finally do make our decision - we will feel more confident and hopefully the community will feel more confident in our decision as well.
"You're looking at a couple of months, but for something that has been in the offing for a couple of decades - a couple of months is neither here nor there."
The council expects using the land off Munibung Road would, to an extent, limit the need for more greenfield development in other parts of the city.
