TOD-SSDA (State Significant Planning Applications) Update

In our last email in March, we undertook to investigate the SSDA (State Significant Planning Applications) that were beginning to be lodged in some HCAs (Heritage Conservation Areas) in Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, and Gordon under the ‘protection” of the State’s TOD that came into effect in May 2024. The Council's ‘new” TOD will generally restrict the density and location of apartment buildings away from HCA’s towards the town centres. It seems that applications inside the State TOD, but outside the Council TOD, that have passed through the preliminary assessment “SEARS Stage“ before 14 June will be “grandfathered” (under the State TOD). This is a somewhat normal arrangement that Planners call Transitional and Savings provisions. The effects are however dramatic to the streets where this will occur.

What is SSDA and what does it do?

It’s a separate way of getting a Development Application lodged, assessed, and approved through NSW Dept of Planning. It’s for applications over a certain construction cost threshold ($70m for apartments) that must include a % of affordable housing. Those below the threshold still go through Council albeit they are constrained by the regional planning panel’s role. The objective is to accelerate the approval and delivery of new larger scale development to address the State’s housing crisis. SSDAs set aside some planning controls like Councils Heritage DCPs ( Development Control Plan)  provisions but applications still require proper heritage assessment. The applications are advertised/exhibited and subject to both Council and Resident/Community submissions. SSDA can be searched, reviewed and submissions made via the State Planning portal.

How did we end up in this “Planning No-man’s Land”

It goes back to early COVID in 2020 when all Councils were required by the state to prepare a Housing Strategy to identify additional land to be zoned for housing growth. Ku-ring-gai Council were uncooperative, rejected the growth targets and effectively made no change to their LEP.  This entrenched the decade long view that Ku-ring-gai were recalcitrant heritage zealots who used planning to “salt the earth” preventing sensible development. Basically, NIMBYs living in $4m Federation Houses not pulling their weight.

Coming out of COVID the housing crisis became mainstream politically. Part of the solution was to remove planning blockages and zone more land for apartments near transport and amenity. Enter the TODs in early 2024 on 40ish Sydney Stations including 4 in Ku-ring-gai. Councils could choose to accept the State 400m template or do their own LEP but within a defined timeframe. All Councils complied except for Ku-ring-gai who attempted to mount a rebellion and undertook ill-advised court action. A ceasefire was finally agreed with Ku-ring-gai committing to prepare a proper TOD. In this they have done a comprehensive job and should be congratulated.

The 12 month “gap” has allowed time for developers to secure options over land inside the State TOD but outside the Council TOD. This difference wasn’t defined until Council's Preferred Scenario was exhibited on March 25 - but the train had left the station. Many thousands of hours have been spent by developers preparing applications. The lucky homeowners selling to a developer at nearly twice the property value win, while the neighbours left behind lose.  

Like cruise ships that have run aground, overbearing and isolated 10 storey apartment buildings will appear on our domestic scale streets.

It’s a mess on a mess that no one wants to own. (Profanity edited)

What can we do?

Submissions on individual SSDA applications can be made during the exhibition period via the portal here:

There are now 19 or so SSDA applications in Ku-ring-gai, so please check for one near you. Over 50 objections or one from Council require the application/submissions to be considered by the Planning Commission. To be counted, submissions need to be individually framed and ideally specific. (The "I just don’t like it" basically gets ignored!) SSDA’s go through a State Significant Design Review Panel involving Architects, Landscape and Urban Designers who are more likely to reflect on appearance/impact issues than planners looking purely at compliance. We suggest putting forward desired design changes that would lessen/mitigate the impact. eg. one less storey to reduce overshadowing, setback upper level to lessen visual impact, greater boundary/street setback to keep gardens suburb/tree canopy, introduce domestic scale to maintain the streetscape, more building articulation to reduce bulk.

As always, reach out to us if we can help.

Update regarding the Lindfield Village Hub and TOD

Here is an update regarding the Ku-ring-gai Council’s Transport Orientated Development (TOD) plans and the impact it will have on the Lindfield Village Hub (LVH).

In summary,

1.       Council has opposed the State TOD, produced 4 scenarios of their own and sought feedback from the community.

2.       Council has taken the community feedback and settled on an alternative TOD which includes:

a.      Extending the TOD area to 800m from the Gordon and Lindfield railway stations

b.      Increasing the height to 28 storeys in Gordon and 18 storeys in Lindfield

c.       Retaining 80% of Heritage Conservation Areas (HCA)

3.       The alternative TOD is open for public comment until Tuesday April 22nd 5pm. Have your say now.

4.       State Government TOD is active now and will remain active until the Council alternative TOD is approved. More applications will be submitted and grandfathered once the new TOD is in place. However, they would not pass approval with the new TOD.

5.       Positive impact for Lindfield Village Hub.

For more detail about each point above and links to council documents, please read on. 

Point 1

Many will be aware that the NSW Planning Minister introduced a TOD (Transport Oriented Development) in May 2024 that covers land (except Listed Heritage Houses) within 400m of Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, and Gordon Stations. The State TOD effectively rezoned land for 6-8 storey apartment buildings across much of the HCA’s (Heritage Conservation areas). A blunt approach, with very poor planning and development outcomes.  The State Government, however, left the door open for Ku-ring-Gai Council to prepare an alternative if it was sensible and achieved the same housing numbers.  In late 2024, Council produced 4 Scenarios and planning principles for the community to consider. Support Lindfield produced a video explaining the State TOD and these scenarios.

Point 2 

Over the past few months Council have consolidated the community feedback, produced a 400-page document, settled on a preferred alternative TOD. This went on public exhibition a few weeks ago. It effectively retains some 80% of the HCA predominately on the eastern side of the rail in Roseville and Gordon. To achieve the same housing numbers, the density and heights in Lindfield and Gordon Town centres has been significantly increased. It peaks at 18 storeys in the Lindfield/LVH area and 28 storeys on the Council Chamber site in Gordon. Additionally, the new TOD area is extended to up to 800m on the eastern side of Lindfield and Gordon. This link takes you to the details of changes around each station.

Point 3

The new Ku-ring-gai Council TOD is a very dramatic change to our suburb but the least worst option available given the State TOD is in place and active. The preferred TOD is open for public comment via an online survey until 22 April 2025 at 5pm, an insanely short period given Easter and school holidays. We encourage all to participate. Link to Survey.

Point 4

One of the issues that has arisen from this State/Council planning fiasco is that the current State TOD is lawful and remains in place until another replaces it. This means that a Development Application can be made now on land that falls outside the new Council TOD or with lower planning controls (height, density, setbacks). The new Council TOD could be 6-9 months away from being considered by NSW Planning and brought into force. New planning instruments (eg. Council TOD) contain a “Saving and Transitional” provision that effectively lawfully “grandfathers” developments that are in the planning process at a prescribed date.  Currently there are about a dozen mainly SSDA (State Significant Development Applications) in the planning process but many more are expected. It is expected that many will be on land that would not be permissible under the new Council TOD. They are SSDA and have an added barb in that they set aside the Council’s heritage controls in Ku-ring-gai’s Development Control Plan (DCP). Additionally, there will be many Heritage Listed Houses that will be isolated/orphaned and surrounded by an 8-9 storey building. Understandably, these owners are irate as their “listing” was often unknown and from dubious drive by assessments. The worst of all worlds for many, hence the fiasco! More on these in Roseville and Killara in the next update.

Point 5

Despite the impacts there are positives for the LVH (Lindfield Village Hub). You might remember it stalled about 18 months ago when the State Government reneged on their $10m contribution to the commuter parking 24 hours before Council and the Preferred Developer were due to sign the project agreements. The additional floor space/apartments and height (9-18 storeys) under the new TOD will make the project viable. With the increased number of apartments in Roseville, Lindfield and Killara over the next 30 years the Hub will be crucial to the TOD’s success and community life of existing and new residents. It’s the New Heart to our Village that the community envisaged 13 years ago. 

As Season 13 of the Hub finishes, we await Season 14 where the HUB will have to be replanned/designed to accommodate the TOD changes.

Ku-ring-gai's Transport Orientated Development - what does it mean for the Community and the Hub?

You may have heard or received information about the State Government’s TODs, Ku-ring-gai’s Transport Orientated Development, that began in May 2024. It intensifies apartment development around Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, and Gordon Stations. Over the next 20 years the removal of grand houses on large lots will change the character of the area. Ku-ring-gai Council is seeking to replace this high impact TOD with an alternative and have prepared 4 Scenarios for Community Consultation. The objective is to intensify the town centres and reduce the impact on Heritage Conservation Areas.

Support Lindfield encourages all residents to participate in the process to help achieve a better planning outcome. We have put together an 11 minute Video/Powerpoint presentation that provides background and a summary of the scenarios to assist in understanding the impact. It is NOT advice particularly on individual properties. There is reference to the Lindfield Village Hub as well. It is now inevitable that the Hub project will be integrated into the plans to address the State Government’s housing targets and TOD scenarios.

Following watching, we recommend you go to the Council website where you can “cast your vote” on your preferred scenario. Closes 17 December 2024 at midnight.

On the website
1. Have a look at the scenarios on the right hand side
2. Click on the “complete the survey” link.  This will take about 5 minutes.

There are questions asking why you’ve selected specific scenarios. In the video clip, Andrew has stated "Scenario 2a is the “sensible centre” and is likely to get State Government approval."
However, choose another scenario if it suits your preferences.

More information can be accessed through Council's website.
https://www.krg.nsw.gov.au/Planning-and-development/Changes-to-NSW-Government-housing-policy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1INkhk5YuU

Council Election 14th Sept 2024 - Roseville and Gordon Wards

That time is fast approaching where we head off to the local school or church hall and cast our vote in the NSW Local Government elections.  Saturday 14 September 2024

And of course……….. have a Democracy Sausage! 🌭

To initiate and advance the Lindfield Village Hub, Support Lindfield has been deeply involved in the Ku-ring-gai Council. Like most community endeavours it's a 12-year tale of the good, the bad and the ugly. Like any company/community board or committee our Council needs committed, skilled and experienced councillors to serve in the interest of all stakeholders/ratepayers.

Here are a few things to look at:

A community focus and leadership attributes are key to being able to achieve real outcomes. In any political environment collaboration skills are respected and vital.

Support Lindfield encourages you to look at all the candidates but is highlighting a few that are worthy of consideration in Roseville and Gordon Wards:

 

Roseville Ward

Sam NgaI

Group A

 

GORDON WARD

Indu Balachandran

Indu Balachandran

Group F

Sarah Winn

Sarah Winn

Group G

Simon Lennon

Simon Lennon

Group C

Roseville and Gordon Wards are where most of our database reside and the main area that the Lindfield Village Hub would service. It’s hard to make an informed judgement, so we have provided links to their websites, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. Of course it's your decision.  Happy voting… and enjoy the democracy sausage.

The Support Lindfield Team

Devastating setback for the LVH!!

As you may recall we advised you recently that Counsellors would be voting this past Tuesday at their regular Council meeting on the recommendation from the Officers that Council nominates Proponent A as the successful proponent to develop the LVH and then finalise and execute the Project Delivery Agreement with that party.  The signing of the PDA was due to happen this week!

The gallery in the Council Chamber was almost full, with all those present there to support approval of the project.  Thank you to those of you who attended. Unfortunately, a bombshell was dropped on Council staff Tuesday morning by a contingent of officers from Transport for NSW.  Their message was that TforNSW was withdrawing the $9.8m funding for the 135 commuter parking spaces. 

Please see the links below for details:

Needless to say, heads are still spinning and we will be working with Council and Matt Cross, our State Member of Parliament, to try to have this decision reversed.  To that end, we met with Matt Cross who is fully supportive of the project.  He has put a petition on his website for residents to sign and submit to the Minister for Transport.  We encourage you to have your say and complete the petition at this link.

We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, we welcome your comments.

Regards,

The Support Lindfield Team
info@supportlindfield.net

Posted on Facebook here

Changing of the Guard in Davidson Electorate

As you will be aware, Jonathan O’Dea has been the State Member for Davidson since before Support Lindfield was formed in 2012.  He has been a great supporter of ours and the Hub project. Because some State Government funds are destined for the Hub he’s been a staunch advocate for the Hub with relevant Ministers, as well as addressing Parliament several times about the project.

 
Jonathan has worked tirelessly for the communities in his electorate, and he has now decided to leave politics for the next stage in his career. We sincerely thank him for his dedication and work with us, the Hub project, and the electorate as a whole.  We wish him the very best in his next career move.
 
Jonathan invited us to meet his intended successor for Davidson; three of our Committee members met with him and Matt Cross last week. Matt hopes to be elected to the Davidson seat at the election this Saturday.
 
Matt was very keen to hear about the Hub project, and Jonathan had given him some information before we arrived. As a Lindfield resident, he is keen to get more involved and, should he be elected, will do what he can to move the project along.
 
We gave Matt a run down on the history of the project, its ups and downs and the difficulties that Support Lindfield has experienced over the past 10 years. He is keen to learn more about it and to work with us.

There has been silence from Council lately as Council staff are now in the stage of negotiating with “Proponent A” and no information is available for the community as Councillors continue to be prevented from communicating with us. Whenever we get further information, we will, of course, pass it on to you.

We breathe a sigh of relief!!

A few of us attended the Council meeting on Tuesday evening in person.  It was a nail-biting experience as the debate over funding from the current library site went around in a few circles for an hour and a half.  The outcome was as follows:

Resolved:
That:
A. Council authorises the General Manager to undertake exclusive negotiations with Proponent A, with the objective of refining their proposal and agreeing the terms of a PDA
B. A report be brought to Council on the outcome of the negotiations, which if successful may result in Council resolving at a future meeting to execute a PDA with Proponent A.
C. The required proceeds from the future sale of the existing Lindfield Library will be quarantined and dedicated to the Lindfield Village Hub project.
 
For the Resolution:                The Mayor, Councillor Pettett, Councillors Kay, Ngai, Smith, Spencer, A. Taylor, G. Taylor, Ward and Wheatley
 
Against the Resolution:          Councillor Lennon
 
At least the Council Officers can now move to the next stage. 

There will likely be little action that Support Lindfield can take for the next few months so if there is silence from us, that will be the reason. 

FYI we're still looking for a Secretary to join the Committee.  If you're interested, please contact info@supportlindfield.net.  It's  a good time to join since there won't be much work for awhile!

Regards,

The Support Lindfield Team

Councillors to Decide Fate of LVH Project on 14 February

At their meeting next Tuesday 14 February, Councillors will be considering a recommendation from the Officers that:
A.    Council authorises the General Manager to undertake exclusive negotiations with Proponent A, with the objective of refining their proposal and agreeing the terms of a Project Delivery Agreement.
B.    A report be brought to Council on the outcome of the negotiations, which if successful may result in Council resolving at a future meeting to execute a PDA with Proponent A.
C.    Council confirms allocation of proceeds from the future sale of the Lindfield Library site to the Lindfield Village Hub project.

Councillors voted on these same recommendations at its December 2022 meeting.  However, they voted to defer their decision until February because "they needed more time".  We sent the message below to each Councillor encouraging them to vote in favour of the recommendations so that the project could proceed. 

The project has now been on the drawing board for 10 years and the cost to the end of December 2022 is $10,460,377.  It's about time we saw more progress.

Regards,
The Support Lindfield Team

Demolition of 4-6 Bent St

4-6 Bent St Lindfield

The State Government set October 1st as the date by which council had to show some progress against the Lindfield Village Hub or else lose the commuter carpark funding. With council yet to select a developer, they have instead decided to demolish 4-6 Bent St Lindfield over the next 6 weeks and sacrifice the rental income in the name of showing progress and securing the funding.

Let's hope we get some real progress with a final tender decision in the November council meeting.

Progress on the Coles Lindfield site

Coles closing poster

68 of the 69 apartments in the new Coles Lindfield development sold out in just 3 days, so construction is moving ahead! There were 1500 enquiries and only 59 apartments in this development, which bodes well for the Lindfield Village Hub development next door.

Given this success, the posters have gone up at Coles Lindfield to announce that the final day of trading will be Sunday 1st May 2022 at 8pm.

Construction on phase 2 of the development will commence in July. It is not known how long construction will take, but the result will be a new Coles that is double the size of the current offering!