In 2013, the GCC adopted the Land Use Strategy – a 30-year plan to assess the economic situations as well as the community’s needs in order to provide land to meet those needs.

According to the GCC, the population forecast estimates the city will grow to 30,507 by the year 2036. The Strategy therefore predicts Griffith will need approximately 440 hectares of residential land to meet demand.

Mayor John Dal Broi acknowledged “there has been a fair bit of commentary over the last few weeks about not enough land being available.”

“We’re certainly going to do the best we can to assist the development of Griffith – but we can’t just turn around and develop in five minutes,” Cr Dal Broi said.

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The Director of Sustainable Development Phil Harding presented an overview of the housing issue to give insight into the land that available, the land that can be subdivided and developed immediately, and those that need master planning.

“The strategy focuses on optimising land use and urban design to accommodate future economic trends and our community’s evolving needs and aspirations,” Mr Harding said.

The key areas of focus included Lake Wyangan, Collina, South Griffith, Griffith North, Hanwood villages, Bilbul villages, Yenda villages, Beelbangera villages, and Yoogali villages.

In total, there are 1,400 lots available now for development, and another 2,400 lots estimated to be master planned.

While the forum looked at potential long-term strategies, there were some dissatisfied with the lack of immediate solutions.

President of the Business Chamber Paul Pierotti said he hopes Council was listening to concerns raised on the night.

“I hope they understand there is a significant and very serious immediate need to get development on the ground,” Mr Pierotti said.

Mr Harding said if somebody were to come in and show interest, Council will work with them to do it as quickly as they can.

At the Griffith Residential Land and Future of Housing Forum earlier this week, interested parties were invited to listen to the 30-year vision – what Griffith City Council (GCC) has named the Griffith Landuse Strategy Beyond 2030 – and voice their concerns on the housing crisis.

During the forum, Council explained while there is a substantial amount of land available, it cannot so easily be developed.

The Director of Sustainable Development Phil Harding presented the matter before the community forum and addressed the issues.

“It’s subject to demand. If developers are genuinely interested, we will work with them,” Mr Harding said.

President of the Business Chamber Paul Pierotti however was not satisfied with the forum.

“There’s lots of talk about future developments – that’s all well and good – but there’s a far more serious issue at hand about this immediate housing and rental crisis, and unfortunately I heard very little to address that issue.

“So, I hope they have heard that this is something very serious and needs addressing.”

Mr Harding said a grant has been issued for affordable housing, which will “go towards understanding the dynamics of the housing market in Griffith.”

The next day, mayor John Dal Broi gave his thoughts on what he believes was a successful forum.

“Last night has proven that we weren’t on the wrong track,” Cr Dal Broi said.

“We’ve got quite a bank of land throughout the council area that has been zoned, some of it’s been master planned, some has to be master planned.

“Adding up some of the figures, we’re very close to 2,500 lots – it’s just a matter of getting it out there.

However, he also said there is a "time lag” to consider.

“From when somebody decides to put in a DA for some land, and by the time it goes through the process and all the assessing of the DA, it takes a bit of time.”

Director of Flexible Solutions James Scremin said it was good to listen to the community’s concerns.

“People have concerns and it’s good to have it out in the open,” Mr Scremin said.

“I thought it was a good idea.

Mr Scremin said the community cannot put all responsibility on Council to fix the issue.

“There are developments happening at the moment. Why they haven’t happened before is because it’s been difficult financially for anyone to do it.

Council said the next steps are to review the Land Use Strategy, apply the grant for affordable housing, and move on to further discussion.