Nine-unit proposal referred to Ausgrid

A proposal for a three-storey residential building for nine units next door to St Luke's Anglican Church at Woy Woy has been referred to Ausgrid for a second time.

Central Coast Council received the application in October last year and it is still undergoing the process of assessment with the council architect with revised plans submitted in December.

The proposed units at 145 Blackwall Rd, Woy Woy, would contain parking for 12 cars with access from the rear laneway, next door to St Luke's Anglican Church.

The existing site is vacant with the previous house and garage demolished. An old jacaranda tree would be removed.

The allowable building height for the site is 11 metres and the maximum height of the development is 10.38 metres.

The proposal seeks a variation to the minimum lot size and the allowed floor space ratio, among other variations.

The land is 0.9 per cent below the minimum lot size .

The consultant Mr Michael Leavey argued that compliance with the development standard was not physically possible as the church on one side and an existing strata subdivided medium density development to the north prevent any practical consolidation of the land with an adjoining property in order to increase the minimum lot size.

"Additionally the proposed variation is negligible, being less than one per cent to the standard and, for all intents and purposes, the site satisfies the intent of the standard,'' his environmental statement says.

The floor space ratio has been increased because parking is on ground level rather than basement level but the applicant revised the plan in December 2018 so the variation to the development standard is now 9.7 per cent over the standard.

The applicant argued that it was not practical to provide basement parking due to the narrow width of the site.

The carparking provided would be for 12 cars while the Development Control Plan requires 17 spaces.

Eighty percent of the units have the required solar access. Twenty percent do not.

The application also seeks a variation to Development Control Plan setback requirements; and does not meet the minimum of one third of dwellings to be accessible dwellings and cannot meet the communal open space requirement of 25 per cent of the site.

The proposal received a number of submissions when it was put on public exhibition with neighbours saying the development should be rejected as it was a development that was too big for the block.

"The number of vehicles expected to use the unsealed one way unnamed laneway is totally unacceptable.

"How many more properties is council proposing to push on this laneway?

"It is not a road, is not maintained and not sealed.

"You're turning Woy Woy into a ghetto," one submission said.

Another said the proposed building would overshadow both the memorial garden and the chapel of St Lukes.

"The garden is used for internment of ashes and a place of quite reflection. All natural light will be compromised because the proposal will be blocking the northern windows. This will also adversely affect the recently installed faceted coloured windows which is an important design feature of the church building.''

It said the parish was working towards sustainable practices that included solar panels on the church's roof. The proposed building would overshadow the roof area that would defeat the purpose of solar panels.

There was a concern of possible storm water drainage on the site due to low water table and no natural land fall.

SOURCE:

DA Tracker, 26 Apr 2019

DA55285, Central Coast Council