Hepburn Park is back on the agenda for tonight's Lismore City Council (LCC) meeting but not in the way most people believe.

Under the Reports from the General Manager, it is mentioned that a letter from Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke was received by council asking for LCC to reconsider their position on leasing Hepburn Park to the NSW Government so Resilience NSW can use the site for temporary housing.

The result of this report is simply to "note the request is received", not to approve it. Of course, that could change on the night but that is unlikely to happen.

The use of Hepburn Park comes down to the Lismore community playing its part in helping the hundreds who remain homeless or are in temporary housing outside of their postcode versus the regular use of Hepburn Park for community sport and recreation in a flood-free area.

Here is some background for those that haven't followed this story closely.

Temporary housing was being sourced by the NSW Government in early April with construction starting on the Wollongbar Sporting Field site in late April and the first residents moving in mid-May.

On May 13, the names of eight more potential sites were released which included the East Lismore Golf Course, Southern Cross University (in East Lismore) and Alphadale Street, Lindendale in the Lismore LGA.

The SCU site is nearing completion and will be ready for residents this week or next while the Golf Course site has been deemed problematic due to "construction complexities related to the significant site incline".

This leaves Lismore with two temporary housing sites and looking for a third, given it was the hardest hit, in terms of displacement numbers and damage done.

CEO for the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation David Witherdin had asked council to lease the land at Hepburn Park which was put to councillors at the last meeting in July.

Mayor Steve Krieg put the motion to the floor with no seconder coming forward so the motion was not put to a vote.

It was then that Minister Cooke wrote a letter to the Mayor asking for councillors to reconsider their position.

In her letter, Minister Cookes says "As the current sites do not have the capacity to meet the expected demand for medium-term housing within the Lismore LGA, we need to urgently secure additional housing sites."

"While I acknowledge Council's concerns that the use of this site will mean that the land is no longer available as a community sports and recreation area, I understand that no alternative sites offering a comparable yield, site amenity and site works timeline have been identified within the Lismore LGA. I assure you the NSW Government will continue to work with Council to determine what alternative support may be available to assist with the enhancement of other sporting facilities across the LGA."

"Without Council's agreement to use Hepburn park as a temporary housing site, it is highly likely that we will not be able to meet the critical housing needs of displaced persons within the Lismore LGA."

There is a petition called 'No Temporary Housing For Hepburn Park' being shared on Facebook groups. As of 12 midnight Monday night, there were 752 signatures with a goal of hitting 1000.

One resident wrote, "I'm all for finding accommodation for these flood-displaced persons, and am APPALLED, that LCC and the Gov hasn't found somewhere 5 months down the track, however the only park out of flood is used constantly by our children for sports, community and charity events is not the place."

We go back to the earlier point that this is Homeless v Community Sport & Recreation.

Could it be that parts of the community are appalled that it has taken this long but as long as it doesn't get built near where I live?

If you look at the other Lismore LGA sites and close by Wollongbar, they are isolated with no residential area close by. As a community we appear to be happy with that, at least the homeless have somewhere to live.

Hepburn Park would be the first temporary housing site to be close to shops and amenities, close to transport, close to schools and a site that can be built quickly BUT people don't want it near them.

The sporting argument is interesting when the NSW State Government and the NRRC are both saying we will improve your CBD sporting fields by constructing lighting and building change rooms that currently don't exist. They will put money into improving Lismore's sporting facilities plus leave Hepburn Park in better shape than it is now.

When you weigh up the facts of the case, where do you sit?

Councillors will determine whether to "accept" the letter at tonight's council meeting.