Townhouse comment period still open
People have until May 17 to comment on a development application for three townhouses proposed for 19 Warrah St, Ettalong Beach.
The development was lodged with Central Coast Council on April 16 and some comments on the proposal are already on council's DA tracker page.
"Families are leaving the area,'' says one.
"Backyards are turning into cheap rental accommodation.
"Congestion is rapidly increasing and liveability is evaporating.
"People are angry about what is being forced onto them.
"Is this really the community that this council wants to be responsible for creating?" it asks.
"I don't have the impression that the majority of residents on the Peninsula feel that the leadership for the region is strong or reliable."
Another says the area is being trashed with over-development.
The lot size for the three townhouses is 3.4 per cent less than the minimum 750 square metres lot size guidelines for multi dwelling housing in the Gosford Local Environmental Plan.
But the applicant has named 20 other recent approvals of multi-unit developments with essentially the same design scale, height, setbacks in its justification for approval.
It also fails to meet the setback guidelines for side and rear boundaries and the overall length of the building of 39 metres is longer than the 25 metre requirement for building articulation.
The application says the proposal would incorporate sufficient setbacks and breaks that would negate monotonous or symmetrical appearance when viewed from the adjacent premises.
Development consultants Clarke Dowdle and Associates submitted the statement of environmental effects with its town planner Ravi Sharma preparing the report.
It says the proposal would be within the environmental capacity of the land and not be detrimental to the surrounding properties or the public domain.
"The proposed development would be in line with Draft Central Coast Regional Strategy that is the NSW Government's long term land use plan for the region, which covers the Gosford City and Wyong Shire Local Government Areas.
"The Regional Strategy contains policies and actions designed to cater for the region's projected housing and employment growth over next 20 years.
"Greater housing choice is prioritised to satisfy the community's desire for smaller households.
"The plan places emphasis on providing new housing in existing and committed growth areas.
"To meet the projected housing demands over the next 20 years, an average of 1980 new homes will need to be constructed each year.
"This is 590 more homes than the average annual housing production of 1390 dwellings over the 19 years to 2014-15.
"The proposed medium density development would allow for more affordable dwellings. That is consistent with the policies and strategic actions outlined in the strategy."
SOURCE:
DA Tracker, 26 April 2019
DA 56368, Central Coast Council