Council agrees to rezone Ettalong foreshore land
Central Coast Council has agreed to rezone a section of The Esplanade in Ettalong facing the foreshore at its meeting last week.
The decision sees the maximum building height at 43-45 The Esplanade increased from 11.5 metres to 17 metres, about five storeys.
It also sees the maximum floor space ratio increased from 1:1 to 1.75:1.
The staff report for the meeting lists 95 submissions objecting to the proposal, one neutral submission and 23 supporting the proposal.
Mention was made of a petition of almost 2000 signatures presented to then Planning Minister Mr Rob Stokes and representations by community groups.
Council planning staff did consider some of the suggestions, one resulting in indexing the funding made by developers for community improvements.
However, most concerns from the objections were dismissed and the rezoning was approved by Administrator Mr Rik Hart.
He approved a site-specific Development Control Plan, with amendments arising from the public exhibition, along with changes to the Local Environment Plan.
It also approves a planning agreement for "an indexed monetary contribution of $250,000 ... for the purposes of funding public domain improvement works in the vicinity".
As a result of public submissions, lot consolidation will be required as part of a development application.
An objective "to minimise overshadowing of the beach and public open space" has also been added.
However, no other controls or numerical constraints have been added to limit overshadowing of public open space.
An objective was added "to allow for commercial development of sufficient size to support a wide range of uses".
Another objective was added "to improve and enhance the existing laneway to the west of the site by integrating it into the design for the public domain around the site".
The approval paves the way for a development application on this site for buildings of 17 metres in height.
SOURCE:
Central Coast Council agenda 2.12, 21 Feb 2023