Waverley rejects private pot plants on public land

Waverley Council has rejected a bid to allow private removable pot plants on public land, including footpath verges and laneways, at its Strategic Planning and Development Committee meeting on 2 June 2026 at The Boot Factory in Bondi Junction. The committee also unanimously adopted the Display of Goods on the Footpath Policy and Guidelines.

The pot plant proposal was refused when councillors decided not to amend the Waverley Development Control Plan, the Public Gardening Policy or the Verge Garden Guidelines. The motion said council would continue to support compliant verge gardens under the existing Public Gardening Policy.

The minutes say the existing Public Gardening Policy, Verge Garden Guidelines and associated strategic framework already support community greening through approved verge gardens, planter boxes and coordinated landscaping treatments. Officers also reviewed approaches by the City of Sydney, Randwick City Council and Inner West Council. None of those councils currently support informal private removable pot plants on public land.

The motion specifically covered footpath verges and laneways. Waverley Council said it would keep supporting verge gardens that comply with its existing policy.

The committee also deferred its planning proposal on heritage policy implementation to a councillor briefing. It asked the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for a three-month extension, moving the deadline from 16 June 2026 to 16 September 2026.

Councillors also renewed the Waverley Local Planning Panel. The committee reappointed expert members Heather Warton, Oliver Klein, Elizabeth Kinkade and Megan Jones until 30 June 2029, and appointed community representatives Claire Edwards, Jesse Lockhart Krause, Kristin Koslowski and Maria Atkinson for the same term.

The meeting at Spring Street, Bondi Junction, also noted the minutes of the Waverley Business Forum meeting held on 5 March 2026. There was no urgent business.