Five seniors living units proposed for Rawson Rd

An application for five two-bedroom "seniors living" units has been received by Central Coast Council for 21 Rawson Rd, Woy Woy.

The site for the development, which was expected to cost $650,000, has an area of 1223 square metres and is one block from Phegan St, which runs alongside the railway.

The application was made under the State planning policy for seniors housing, and was "permissible on the land due to its residential zoning", the application stated.

The proposed development was defined as "in-fill self-care housing" under the State planning policy", according to planning consultants Clarke Dowdle and Associates in a submission supporting the application.

"The proposal would entail the erection of five self-care seniors housing units," the statement said.

"Each unit would include two bedrooms, bathroom, living room, dining and kitchen.

"Each unit would also include a single car space with a small garden or private open space area with timber fencing around the perimeter of the garden."

The development would require "the removal the existing dwelling-house and ancillary structures, excavation for the implementation of building footings, driveways, services and stormwater systems, the placement of temporary construction fencing and sediment and erosion control measures".

"The development is to be designed in a residential style with a range of finishes and materials including face brick walls, and colourbond roofs to match the existing residential development within the residential zone," the statement claimed.

The application does not comply with council development standards for setbacks, proposing a side setback of one metre and rear setbacks also of as little as one metre.

The proposed number of parking spaces also falls short of the standard, which requires eight resident spaces and one visitor space.

The design allows for only five spaces.

The ground floor entry open space requirement of 50 square metres is not met in all cases, with three units having only 20 square metres.

Despite the non-compliance with the development control plan measures, the consultants argued that the proposed development was "consistent with the objectives, planning strategies and controls applicable to the site".

They argued that the proposed standard "was accepted for the adjoining SL development (No. 19 Rawson Rd)", where an apparently similar design was approved.

They claimed: "The design allows the incorporation of sufficient building separation from the common boundaries.

"The proposed building setbacks would allow landscaping to include small to medium sized trees to provide a landscaping buffer around the built form and additional privacy screening.

"The site cover is consistent with neighbouring and surrounding multi-unit development and it is widely acknowledged the Peninsula soil provide is highly permeable allowing excellent infiltration of stormwater back into the water table."

According to the Council's DA tracker, the application has been advertised for public comment since December 18, with the exhibition period closing on February 8.

SOURCE:

DA Tracker, 21 Jan 2021

DA60155/2020, Central Coast Council