The Local Planning Panel has given the thumbs down to a proposed rezoning change at the corner of Terrigal Dr and Charles Kay Dr, Terrigal, to allow for an eight-storey development.
The proposal wanted higher height limits for a building with up to 50 units and retail on the ground floor.
The panel is providing advice to Central Coast Council, which will make the decision on whether to proceed with the process.
The panel said it does not consider the plan to have strategic or site-specific merit with a lack of strategic justification for the proposed increase in height and yield on the site.
“There is no precinct or local strategy to indicate the appropriateness of the site and the surrounding area for increased development capacity,” the panel said.
“In the absence of such a strategy the planning proposal has no contextual planning justification and is not supported.”
The panel said the planning proposal failed the site specific merit test for the following reasons: the site shape and dimensions constrain future development; traffic access to the site on a busy intersection is constrained and access to the site results in the loss of significant and sensitive vegetation; the density proposed would conflict with the ecological sensitivity of the site together with the potential bushfire and flooding risk; surrounding development is predominantly single-storey and two-storey form and the proposed 32 metre tower would be anomalous; and the site is not considered a gateway site to Terrigal.
“While the Panel’s advice is that it does not support the planning proposal for the reasons provided above, should the Council decide to proceed with the planning proposal a maximum size for the retail use should be nominated, because as currently drafted the whole development could potentially become a retail use,” the panel said.
It considered the matter at its November 30 meeting and the minutes are now public.
The matter will go to a Council meeting in the new year.
Merilyn Vale
Why has so much of our ratepayers money has been wasted by CCC supporting this private development which does not comply with several of councils own guidelines ! Why did Rick Hart back this private development which would set a terrible precedent for the Terrigal/Wamberal area ? Is the local infrastructure capable of handling the increased demand that could happen if this building and others were to proceed ? Terrigal drive cannot handle the local traffic as it is now ! Time for real community representation on OUR council !