South St proposal attracts second-most comments

A proposed $3.2 million six-unit development in South St, Umina, has attracted 23 comments on the Planning Alerts website and 18 submissions to Central Coast Council.

This is the second highest number of comments received in NSW for recent planning applications, according to Planning Alerts.

An application for a boarding house in Lane Cove West was the only application in the state to receive more, with 27 comments.

The comment period for the South St application closed last Friday.

Most submissions opposed to the development - objecting to the number of units proposed, its effect on parking and traffic, and to the hard surface area and lack of trees and vegetation.

A typical comment was: "South St already leaves no ability for residents to park outside their home during the seven days of the week.

"Bunnings staff, Bunnings shoppers, West St businesses and shoppers, beach-goers all fill up the current spaces.

"Six villas also leaves no room for significant gardens or trees to offset the increase in hard surfaces."

However, three submissions did support the application.

Development consultants Clarke Dowdle and Associates, which submitted the application, said: "The development entails six dwellings with basement parking."

"The residential flat building would include two storeys above ground with a basement to allow undercover parking for 10 spaces (including one disabled parking space).

"The unit mix would include one three-bedroom unit and two two-bedroom units on the ground floor and two three-bedroom dwellings and one two-bedroom dwelling on the upper floor."

The consultants said the building would have reinforced concrete footings, timber framing, prefabricated roof trusses and colorbond roof sheeting.

"The external finished include a mixture of textured claddings and powder coating aluminum windows.

"The proposed units provide public open space area and landscaping around the perimeter of the ground floor."

It has "areas to store mobile waste collection bins away from the street and clothes drying areas that would be screen from other dwellings".

The proposal exceeds planning requirements for a floor space ratio of 0.6:1. The proposal has a floor space ratio of 0.75:1.

It does not comply with setbacks required by the planning provisions, and the basement carpark extends into the "deep soil" area, which is also not allowed under the provisions.

The maximum width and depth requirement of 25 metres is exceeded: 38 metres is proposed.

The maximum length of eight metres for unarticulated wall is exceeded with a proposed length of 19 metres.

Minimum sunlight and open space requirements are also not met.

SOURCE:

DA Tracker, 5 Feb 2021

DA60728/2021, Central Coast Council

Website, 5 Feb 2021

planningalerts.org.au