Council to ask for community feedback on new housing scenarios
Published on 31 October 2024
Following an extraordinary Council meeting on Wednesday 30 October, Councillors have voted to consult the Ku-ring-gai community on a range of new housing options.
Ku-ring-gai Council is seeking community feedback on five scenarios in total to deliver new housing supply around Roseville, Lindfield, Killara and Gordon stations.
The decision to consult the community was taken at last night’s meeting. Consultation will begin in mid November and end in mid December, using a wide range of methods to obtain community feedback.
Click here to be notified of the commencement of the exhibition period
One of the scenarios the community will be asked to give their views on is the NSW Government’s existing Transport Oriented Development (TOD) planning scheme. This scheme was introduced in May 2024 and rezones areas within 400m of the stations for apartment buildings between six and nine storeys in height.
The Council has previously expressed concern that this scheme will
- Encourage the demolition of 410 homes in Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs) and allow a further 141 heritage items to be surrounded by high-rise development
- Place development in highly sensitive environmental land
- Cause unfair impacts on some property owners by placing owners of low-rise areas directly alongside sites zoned for high-rise unit blocks.
Four other scenarios have been prepared by Council, which all deliver the same level of housing supply as the government’s scheme. The Council’s four scenarios seek to avoid some or all of the NSW Government’s scheme impacts by shifting dwellings from constrained land into town centres and other more suitable residential areas.
The five scenarios Ku-ring-gai residents will be asked to give their views on are known as:
- Scenario 1– the NSW Government TOD scheme
- Scenario 2a - protects most HCAs and high-value environmental areas by transferring dwellings from these areas to commercial centres
- Scenario 2b - limited protection of HCAs, limited protection of tree canopy and largely within TOD boundaries
- Scenario 3a - protects all HCAs and high-value environmental areas by transferring dwellings from these areas to commercial centres. To limit building heights in smaller centres, dwellings are transferred from Killara to Gordon, and from Roseville to Lindfield
- Scenario 3b - all the same outcomes as Scenario 3a, however to further limit centre building heights, some dwellings are shifted to new residential areas within 400-800m of stations.
Ku-ring-gai Mayor Christine Kay said she looked forward to hearing feedback on the scenarios.
“While there is a need to deliver new housing supply, there is also a need to ensure that this housing responds to our unique and special local area,” Mayor Kay said.
“The NSW Government planning scheme doesn’t do this, by taking a ‘one size fits all’ approach and rezoning all land within a 400m circle of four stations. We can do far better than this.
“In addition, we want the local community to be actively involved in planning decisions that directly affect them.
“That’s why Council is undertaking a comprehensive communication and engagement process to seek feedback on these scenarios – something the NSW Government refused to do.
“I am looking forward to hearing the views of the community on this important issue. We will be releasing details of the many ways people can have their say ahead of consultation beginning in mid November.”
Mayor Kay said the Council had separately released a study which shows that Ku-ring-gai’s heritage areas are unique in Sydney, containing intact Federation and inter-war housing patterns and a high proportion of architect designed dwellings.
Mayor Kay added that the Council would consider community feedback on the scenarios at a meeting in February 2025.
“If Council supports scenarios 2a, 2b, 3a or 3b at this meeting, it will seek NSW Government to formally exhibit this scenario as a proposed replacement to the government’s scheme”.
ends
Media enquiries: media@krg.nsw.gov.au or 9424 0000