The State Government has announced today its Low- and Mid-Rise Housing Part 2 provisions.
What this means for Ku-ring-gai is that within 800m of Wahroonga, Turramurra, Pymble, Gordon, Killara, Lindfield and Roseville Station as well as St Ives Shopping Village, 3-storey townhouses and manor houses can be built in R2 zones, and 6-storey apartments can be built in R3 and R4 zones. This applies to Heritage Conservation Areas as well, but not Heritage Items.
The implication this has for residents near TOD zones is that it will probably add an additional level of transition from high to low [The details of this are being checked / confirmed with the Department of Planning in coming days.]. Previously there were fears from some residents that the council?s 5-storey TOD-alternative (with setbacks) would overshadow / overlook 1-2 storey homes. But with the formalisation of the State?s LMRH part 2 changes which we have known is coming (since November 2023), all of these ?impacted? residences (including those in HCAs, but with the exception of heritage items) may have the ability to become 3-storey themselves and I don?t believe that the future residents of these future 3-storey homes will be concerned about the 5-storeys next door. As for heritage items, I suspect that they can still be incorporated within larger developments in such a manner that the item is protected but the population increase and value still realised.
Another implication of this announcement is that Warrawee Station, as well as neighbourhood centres such as St Ives North, West Pymble, East Lindfield, Roseville Chase, Eastern Road and Princes Street are confirmed to not be impacted by these changes as originally implied by the State Government. (Residents in these areas may, however, potentially have access to dual-occupancy depending on where those changes land in the next 4 months).
Snippets of the State Government?s indicative mapping are provided, and a more detailed map is linked. Please note that these maps include the default TOD which may be superseded in coming months.
Please also note that the reasons why Council took the State Government to court over the TOD are not applicable to the LMRH provisions. Therefore I do not see any legal challenge arising from this.
