Can Compromise be Reached on the Sale of Foreshore Land?

The decision has caused an outcry from day one.  The Mayoral Minute by Jean Hay in December 2012 to sell council-owned foreshore land at Little Manly, without any consultation with the community, has resulted in public meetings, letters to the editor of the Manly Daily, thousands of likes on a Facebook page .... all of which have fallen on deaf ears.

Determined to cover the cost of purchasing No. 40 Stuart Street, which was bought by the previous Council to continue the vision to extend the open space at Little Manly Beach, Mayor Hay's resolution delegated to the General Manager the sale of No 34 & 36 Stuart Street.  This 'community land' has been owned by Council for decades and includes a popular and well-used dinghy and kayak storage area on the beach-side of No. 34. (No 38 is a recently constructed large family home).

At Monday's council meeting (July 15, 2013), architects from the Public Domain Committee proposed to Council that rather than sell the two properties they be subdivided into smaller lots, thus ensuring that a large part of the public space could be retained while also meeting the objective of raising funds.

The General Manager undertook to meet with the architects to explore the idea further.

Do you think this could be a good compromise?