Arboretum gets special zoning

Gosford Council has zoned the Crommelin Research Station and the Native Arboretum at Pearl Beach, SP1 Special activities with the adoption of its Draft Local Environment Plan 2009 (DLEP) on Tuesday, May 31.

However, the Council has proposed a new E5 Public Conservation zone for other bushland on the Peninsula and elsewhere throughout the local government area.

It has asked the new zone be included in the "standard instrument" template to apply to all council-owned and managed Coastal Open Space System (COSS) bushland.

Council has requested that the Department of Planning and Infrastructure review and update State Environmental Planning Policy 19 (Bushland in Urban Areas) to reflect the "standard instrument" and its relevant zones, including the requested Zone E5 Public Conservation.

"Council recommends a public conservation E5 zone that would recognise Council's aim to preserve COSS for conservation purposes whilst at the same time recognising their 'public ownership', which the E2 zone does not do (E2 zone permits a dwelling/house)."

The council's zoning of the arboretum and research station as special activities follows submissions objecting to a proposed RE1 recreation zone and requesting the E2 environmental zone.

The submissions objected to the RE1 zone on the basis that uses permissible in the zone would conflict with the sensitive bush land on the site, hence would serve to diminish the site's environmental qualities.

In other submissions from the Peninsula, owners of properties located on the northern side of the Boulevard at Woy Woy claimed that development heights should be increased from 11.5 metres to 19.75 to be consistent with the rest of Woy Woy Town Centre.

The council agreed to a maximum height of 19.75 metres for site areas of 1000 square metres or more and street frontage of 20 metres or more for Woy Woy B2 Local Centres, 14.25 metres for Umina and 17 metres for Ettalong.

A maximum height of 11.5 metres would apply for site areas of less than 1000 square metres or street frontage of less than 20 metres at Woy Woy, Umina and Ettalong B2 Local Centres.

Council's report stated that setting heights at 11.5 metres would discourage redevelopment of the ageing building stock and that there would be adequate separation between buildings to support increased height.

"These separations will ensure that overlooking, overshadowing and apparent building bulk from future development will be acceptable."

Submissions were also lodged in relation to three composite sites at Umina in Oscar, Alfred and West St, claiming that consolidation incentives were insufficient to encourage redevelopment.

The submissions argued that until reasonable incentives were provided for larger developments, the area would remain a patchwork of undersized redevelopment.

The council report rejected the request stating that controls formulated under the Peninsula Urban Directions Strategy were considered satisfactory in terms of desired hierarchy of centres on the Peninsula, encouragement of redevelopment and to achieve urban design objectives.

The Draft Local Environment Plan attracted a high level of interest from all sections of the community over the past three years, receiving more than 1500 submissions during the public exhibition period, the council was told.

The adopted plan will now be forwarded to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure for Ministerial approval.

Council Agenda ENV.34, 31 May 2011