Albury councillor Murray King formally objected to a $1.85 million data storage facility being built within the city's airport precinct where he is a landowner.
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Cr King stepped out of the chamber for the vote on the data storage development application vote and an earlier presentation from representatives from the proponent, Leading Edge, due to his ownership of property in the airport precinct.
The development application was approved 7-1 with only deputy mayor Amanda Cohn voting against.
In his letter, Cr King said he was targeted by council staff about his use of the property.
"This included inspecting every room, pulling out drawers, peeking behind curtains in a disgraceful display of harassing, bullying, intimidation and threatening behaviour," he wrote.
"Council is also able to issue lease default notices to a (lessor) to vacate and they can seize the property should the (lessor) breach the strict aviation requirement.
"Example of this is parking a boat on a registered trailer in the backyard of my hangar.
"I think at last count Albury City has issued seven defaults and two vacate and seizure orders of my building which is a building they don't own."
Cr Henk van de Ven was critical of the tone of Cr King's objection.
"If that was done by any ordinary member of the community in terms of the way the objection was worded, I would take umbrage and I would dismiss it out of hand," Cr van de Ven said.
"The tone in which it was delivered was a disgrace."
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Cr King said he stood by his objection.
"Everyone else has to abide by conditions of the lease,which states any building must be aviation-related activity, but council has chosen to ignore what everyone else has to abide by," he said.
"They went out and got an independent assessment, but didn't like the independent assessment and ploughed ahead.
"It's not fair on the existing lease holders and something needs to be done about it."
The independent planning assessment was carried out by Blueprint's James Laycock due to council owning the land Leading Edge will lease and build the data storage centre.
His assessment concluded the data storage centre wasn't an airport related business as required under the Albury airport master plan.
Cr van de Ven spoke in support of the development application being approved.
"The benefits far outweigh what maybe at odds with our airport master plan," he said.
Mayor Kevin Mack agreed with Cr van de Ven.
"I am comfortable the airport advisory group is across this particular proposition," he said.
"It will be something that sets us aside from other regional cities in NSW at this point, save for Newcastle.
"We are the second city in the state to be the recipient of a DA."
Deputy chief executive Tracey Squire confirmed the applicant had been in talks with NSW Rural Fire Service, which is located nearby, in relation to the facility's capability and improving emergency response.
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