THE City of Kalamunda is facing rising criticism for its proposed sale of two public land blocks next to Andrew Reserve, with residents arguing the local authority is rushing the decision and failing to follow its own governance policies.

The land on Urch and McRae roads, which contains a number of native flora and fauna including century-old trees, has been used as a public open space for over 40 years.

Local resident Shay Marie first raised concerns in May 2025 at a council meeting after noticing survey pegs on the land and was told a motion to sell the blocks was passed by council in February.

Ms Marie highlighted a breakdown in governance, noting the absence of community engagement and the lack of transparency, especially when the city refused to release the full decision-making report citing its “commercial” nature.

“In the end I had to make a FOI (Freedom of Information) request in order to get all the documents and pay a $30 fee,” she said.

“There was a whole heap of information including communications from a councillor who suggested some more time should be given to this decision.

“That obviously wasn’t followed up on as they were happy to go sell them off anyway.”

The City of Kalamunda has since opened up public consultation on the proposed sale which is set to close on October 24, but Ms Marie says the consultation is “disingenuous” and that the decision seems to have been rushed through regardless of the public’s response.

“They’ve told me that no decision has been made yet,” she said.

“It appears to me that they’ve already made a decision, and have already progressed to putting fencing and survey pegs along the two blocks.

“You can’t have it both ways, either you’ve made a decision and have begun implementing it or you haven’t.

“It’s my view that they haven’t complied with their own engagement policy and have jumped straight into advertising it.”

During public question time at the City of Kalamunda’s May council meeting, resident Shayla Strapps asked a question around the consultation process.

“Given that no… community engagement occurred prior to the vote,” she asked.

“How did you ascertain what the community wanted?”

The city responded saying the disposal process for local government assets is primarily a local government responsibility and is set out in the Local Government Act 1995.

The city has committed a $50,000 boost for improvements to the reserve, yet local residents view this commitment with deep skepticism, arguing the funds are being promised without transparency.

“The figure seems to be plucked out of nowhere,” Ms Marie said.

“There’s been no engagement about what the reserve needs, or how much money it might take.

“They said in the second half of 2025 they were going to engage with people, but there’s been no movement on that end.”

City of Kalamunda Mayor Margaret Thomas supported the decision to divest saying that no decision has been made yet and public consultation is still open.

“The city has fully complied with the consultation and advertising requirements prescribed under the Act and encourages residents to provide feedback before council considers the matter,” she said,

“We understand the concerns about the trees and environmental impact.

“The city undertook an assessment of the natural vegetation… no threatened, priority, or ecological communities were identified at the time of the study.

“The city has foreshadowed a commitment of $50,000 of any sale proceeds to fund enhancements at Andrew Reserve.

“We will engage with the community early next year to understand the community’s vision for that space.”

Despite the city’s stance that no final decision has been made and that public consultation is ongoing, a ‘For Sale’ sign calling for expressions of interest has been erected on the land.