Planning Panel insists on boundary landscaping
The Local Planning Panel has deferred a decision on a four-unit development at 168 West St, Umina, "to allow the applicant to submit a revised design".
The design must "provide a minimum one metre landscape strip along the eastern boundary of the site, extending from the front property boundary to the rear elevation of townhouse four".
"The Panel considers that providing suitable landscaping to side and rear boundaries is an important design consideration," it stated in its unanimous decision at its September 14 meeting.
The Council assessing officer had recommended approval, and there had been 15 submissions against the proposal.
The only speaker against the application was Mr Francis Wiffen representing the Peninsula Residents Association.
He reminded the panel of a recommendation that it made to the Central Coast Council that planning provisions for the Peninsula be reviewed.
He said that the Panel recommended "Central Coast Council consider conducting a strategic planning review of the planning controls, development provisions and character statements for Umina, Woy Woy and Ettalong".
"The Panel had requested that the review should ensure there is consistency between the relevant controls, provisions and character statements applicable to each locality, and a clear direction and expectation on the desired future character of these suburbs".
Mr Wiffen said that the recommendation was made as part of its decision to refuse two applications for multiple dwelling developments at 16 and 34 Warrah St, Ettalong.
Mr Wiffen recalled that, in an email to the residents' association, Council planning director Dr Alice Howe had stated: "Council recognises the need for improved planning controls around mitigating urban heat island effect and the importance that trees and other vegetation play in doing this."
She had also said "the council's Greener Places Strategy required a review and update to Council's planning controls to include consideration of urban heat island effect for all future subdivision and medium and high-density development."
Mr Wiffen said that this proposal would be an an overdevelopment.
He said Umina Beach's R1 zone had just as poor a tree canopy as Booker Bay and that it was caused by "gunbarrels like this one".
"They cover virtually the entire site with little in way of tree or shrub cover."
He queried the point of building lots of dwellings "that will soon become uninhabitable due to unrestricted heat sink temperature."
He quoted urban forest consultant Gwylim Griffiths: "A city that cannot sustain trees will soon be a city that cannot sustain people."
Mr Wiffen said that "developers flock to the Central Coast because they're not allowed to build gunbarrels like this in most Sydney suburbs".
"Why should the council be allowing large variations to the DCP In order to overdevelop the Peninsula?"
Mr Ravi Sharma represented the applicant.
He said that this application had been "in the pipeline" for over two years and the council had only asked for "a couple" of small technical changes to the design.
He also said that the proposal complied with the LEP and in almost every aspect with the DCP.
SOURCE:
Local Planning Panel Item 5- DA/2144/2021, 14 Sep 2023