Sydney councillor urges local residents to act on government’s plan to override local planning controls

by GRACE JOHNSON

Residents of the Woollahra Municipality are being urged to submit feedback before the looming deadline regarding the NSW Government’s plan to override local council planning controls in low and medium density zones.

Late last year, the Minns government said they would “confront” the housing crisis by announcing reforms to create tens of thousands of new low- and mid-rise homes.

Currently, each local council has its own rules for what kind of homes can be built in their area.

Many have criticised the NSW Premier for the decision, saying the push for higher density fails to take into consideration areas in which council is already accomodating high-density living.

Councillor Merrill Witt of Woollahra Municipal Council said, “Many of these developer-led proposed changes – supposedly designed to address the housing crisis by increasing the potential for more medium and low density development – make no sense for the Woollahra municipality.”

“Our Council area already ranks 7th in NSW in terms of density with apartments comprising approximately 55% of our dwellings. Attached dwellings, terraces and townhouses represent a further 22%.”

In her newsletter, Cr Witt added that “The Department of Planning and Environment’s Explanation of Intended Effect: Changes to create low and mid-rise housing makes assumptions that are not supported by the evidence, and uncertainty exists about whether Heritage Conservation Areas will be protected from the changes.”

Minns was previously criticised for suggesting that Sydney councils were using heritage preservation listings as a tactic to prevent greater development. North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker hit back at the time, saying overriding local planning recalled “totalitarian regimes.”

The government’s proposed changes would allow:

• Mid-rise apartment blocks (up to 6 storeys with no minimum lot size or width) within 800 metres of stations and town centres in all medium density zones within the Six Cities Region;
• Multi-dwelling housing (terraces) and manor houses (re-characterised as 2-storey residential flat buildings with no limit on the number of dwellings) near transport hubs and town centres in R2 low density residential zones across the Greater Sydney region, Hunter, Central Coast and Illawarra;
• Dual occupancies (minimum lot size 450 square metres and FSR of 0.65:1) in all R2 low density residential zones.

Local Government NSW recently expressed concern that communities across NSW could find themselves living in congested neighbourhoods unless the State Government consults with local councils.

Cr Witt similarly noted that some suburbs, such as Edgecliff, already have strained water and sewage infrastructure, and that essential transport links are already struggling to cope with existing demand, Bondi Junction in particular.

Cr Witt is strongly encouraging local residents to submit feedback before the 23 February deadline.