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Collapse Issue 467 - 08 Apr 2019Issue 467 - 08 Apr 2019
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Development action groups to consider joining forces
Mehrtens questions generator pollution at Woy Woy tip
Palm Beach ferry runs aground
Technical failure blamed for ferry grounding
Nursing home approved for sensitive bushland
ACF branch to raise Hillview St objections with Ministers
Celebrating 100 years
Approval to strata subdivide Atlantis building
Chamber calls for 'swift action' on local planning panels
CCTV cameras installed at Umina
Anzac Day services around the Peninsula
Veterans' families to receive commemorate crosses
Environment network to screen seismic testing film
Labor promises second Ettalong foreshore project
Money raised to restore community garden
Almost a tonne of waste taken from Empire Bay waters
Feedback wanted on water price drop
Charity run to include new event
Bays group holds annual meeting
Easter book fair held for 43rd time
Events planned for Youth Week
Free school holiday activities
Free activities for families with young children
Kids' market will have Easter theme
Volunteers receive community service awards
Pride of workmanship awards have been presented
Rotary to develop better communication strategies
Ulysses motorcycle club looks for new members
CWA members take out competition awards
CWA vegan scones in demand at festival
Trees planted at CWA hall
Men's Shed to hold garage sale
Dinghy retrieved from channel
Garage sale for Sydney eye hospital
Produce swap at community garden
Easter hat parade
Elders speak on Harmony Day
Suicide awareness program to run at community centre
Charity lunch for disabled surfers' association
Pre-school children visit retirement village
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
Ettalong commercial zone should have three-storey limit
We need to address State planning laws
Time for exhaustive consultation again
Controls are designed to prevent the worst development
Seriously reckless behaviour in school traffic
Consider an independent
Collapse  HEALTH HEALTH
Creating a 'warmer softer environment'
Cancer diagnosis was at once a relief and devastating
New plastic surgeon at hospital
Knitting blankets for charity
Collapse  ARTS ARTS
Author to speak at art exhibition launch
New gallery has launched
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Text messages used to chase parents of absentees
Musicians and singers perform under the stars
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Photography students make pin-hole camera
Grant for a new garden
Selling cakes on election day
Chinese folk dancers for Harmony Day
Students learn history from Grandpa Fred
Hall redevelopment
Learning about native wildlife
Parents' group seeks volunteers
Keep sick children at home, principal asks
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Jemma Smith named for three international events
Southern Spirit juniors finish an undefeated season
Ettalong junior part of winning Central Coast bowls side
Umina juniors contest grand final
Bowlers celebrate work of their patron
All swimmers competed in finals
Rugby league players selected for schoolboy teams
Stridsman trains in Colorado Springs
Jemma Smith featured in national campaign
Ettalong competes in summer league
Ettalong women's major singles final

Ettalong commercial zone should have three-storey limit

The Ettalong Beach resident's group, Residents for Responsible Ettalong Development, would like to respond to Matthew Wales' letter (Peninsula News edition 466).

In 2005, Mr Wales' "highly successful Peninsula Urban Design Strategy (PUDS)" consultation process was labelled by one local residents group as "a one-day information session" which attracted "50 people out of 34,000" residents.

The major comment on this was "I don't believe the community has had an opportunity to have some discussion on the document". (Peninsula News 17 Oct. 2005, Residents Speak About PUDS, Gosford Council Meetings, reported by Lyle Stone.)

Another resident's group spokesman said "his organization was disappointed to read that the Council considered the consultation process a success".

They went on to say "of the 77 submissions received by council ... 61 referred to the consultation process as inadequate".

Mr Wales' response was reported as being: "It's urgent that we do move ahead" ... "urban development should focus on the quality of the design, not necessarily the height, bulk, or amount".

The subsequent LEP2014 produced a P1 zoning for a 17 metre, five-storey high "commercial corridor" in Ettalong Beach, which the majority of Ettalong Beach residents feel is too high.

This P1 height zone exceeds almost all Central Coast centres except Gosford City, Terrigal, and Woy Woy CBD.

The Ettalong waterfront L2 zone of 11.5 metres (three storeys) adjacent to P1, now houses the seven storey, 24-plus metre Atlantis building.

And the latest development application, DA55896, would involve a total height of approximately 22 metres (including building services structures) in the commercial corridor.

The PUDS 2005 document recommended "that new developments maintain the best features of traditional streetscapes and existing housing patterns."

The traditional streetscapes of Ettalong Beach are colonial heritage based, not highrise, high-density, unit blocks.

The Residents for Responsible Ettalong Development group believes that there should be a three-storey limit for our village's commercial zone, that local traffic would be hugely impacted by high-rise development, with no possible road expansion, and that high-rises would destroy the area's amenity.

The Residents for Responsible Ettalong Development group does not infer that Council is responsible for ''inappropriate development", as alleged by Mr. Wales.

We infer that Council is being asked to approve developments by commercial enterprises which have a vested interest in hugely profitable buildings whose scope is massive "height, bulk, or amount".

In the overview to the PUDS 2005 draft, under the heading "Development", it was stated that "new planning policies are necessary to offer commercially competitive opportunities for investment whilst ensuring new developments maintained the best features of traditional streetscapes and existing housing patterns, and also provide contemporary standards of accommodation".

In the summary to the draft it was stated "If the Peninsula is to retain the environmental qualities that make it a highly attractive residential setting, both the level of population growth and the location of future development must not compromise current levels of amenity, existing scenic qualities or environmental character".

The Residents for Responsible Ettalong Development group is completely in agreement with these sentiments.





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