Pittwater Life January 2024 Issue

Govt planning reforms
News
The NSW Government
is under pressure to
rethink its proposed
planning laws that would permit
seven-storey developments
within 400m of Pittwater town
centres including Narrabeen,
Mona Vale, Newport Beach and
Avalon Beach.
This includes the potential
for towering 21-metre shop-top
housing along Old Barrenjoey
Road at Avalon Beach and Barrenjoey
Road at Newport.
The Government’s broadbrushstroke
reforms for dual
occupancies, shop-top housing,
multi-dwelling housing and
mid-rise housing (see panel)
apply to the Six Cities region,
which incorporates the Northern
Beaches Local Government
Area as part of the Eastern
Harbour City region.
The Eastern Harbour City
region comprises 19 Sydney
Council LGAs.
The Government’s reforms
– outlined in a 40-page
document on public exhibition
until February 23 – propose
non-refusal standards for new
developments in R3 and R2
Zones, plus shop-top housing.
This would mean Council
and local planning panels
would be powerless to deny
DAs that meet all other planning
requirements.
Northern Beaches Council’s
zoning map reveals swathes
of R3 blocks across Pittwater,
including within Narrabeen
EXAMPLE: Pittwater MP Rory Amon outside a Mona Vale home in R3 Zone.
(along Ocean and Lagoon
Streets), Mona Vale (Vineyard
Street, the north side of Mona
Vale Road, Golf Avenue and
Darley Street East), Newport
Beach (Foamcrest and Seaview
Avenues and the eastern side
of Ocean Avenue) and Avalon
Beach (The Crescent and
Avalon Parade East). Most of
Warriewood is zoned R3.
The planning map shows
large parcels of R2 zones
adjoining those suburb’s R3
zones.
Shop-top housing is prevalent
in Avalon Beach, Newport,
Narrabeen and Mona Vale.
Although its reforms have
not been legislated the Government
has already overruled
a planning refusal within
Parramatta Council LGA; in late
December Channel Nine Media
reported that Parramatta Council
was considering legal action
against the Government for
interfering with the integrity of
its planning process.
At is December meeting,
Northern Beaches councillors
voted to seek an urgent
audience with Premier Chris
Minns and Planning Minister
Paul Scully to voice Council’s
opposition and also request an
extension of time for community
submissions.
Mayor Sue Heins said Council
believed the proposals represented
‘rezoning by stealth’.
“The changes are in effect rezoning
land for higher density
uses without going through a
rezoning process,” she said.
“The rezoning process allows
all relevant factors to be
considered for good strategic
planning outcomes. The
one-size-fits-all approach as
outlined here does not and it
undermines the very basis of
the planning system in NSW.”
Planning Minister Paul Scully
said the Minns Government
was confronting the housing
crisis with bold reforms to
create tens of thousands of
new, well-located, low-rise and
mid-rise homes.
“The reforms create capacity
for industry to deliver up to an
estimated 112,000 new homes
across the Greater Sydney region,
Hunter, Central Coast and
Illawarra,” he said.
He said currently, each local
Council had its own rules for
what kind of homes could be
built in their area.
“In many local government
areas, these rules do not allow
the types of homes that we
need for the next generation,
housing close to transport,
infrastructure and social
amenity.”
Pittwater State MP Rory
Amon condemned the Government’s
plan.
“Dumping significant development
in Pittwater without
adequate infrastructure is
wicked,” he said.
“The Government has
cancelled the Mona Vale Road
West widening and canned the
Beaches Link Tunnel. These
cancelled projects and now
new density would leave our
suburbs in gridlock and ruin
12 JANUARY 2024
The Local Voice Since 1991