Site
19-25 Macquarie Place and 46-56 Pitt Street, Mortdale
Applicant
Think Planners.
Rezoning Review
The Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) has advised that a request for a rezoning review has been lodged, by Think Planners on behalf of Mortdale RSL Community Club Ltd, for consideration by the Sydney South Planning Panel (SSPP). The rezoning review seeks the following amendments to the Georges River LEP 2021, to enable a mixed-use development, including redevelopment of the Mortdale RSL, on the subject site:
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Amend the zoning from part B2 Local Centre and part R3 Medium Density Residential to B2 Local Centre;
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Amend the maximum building height from part no height and part 12m to 28m;
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Amend the maximum floor space ratio (FSR) from part 1.5:1 and part 1:1 to 3:1 (comprising 0.75:1 non-residential and 2.25:1 residential); and
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Permit up to 0.5:1 additional FSR of non-residential floor space where provided below ground level.
The applicant is seeking a rezoning review because Council has failed to indicate its support for the proposal 90 days after the request to prepare a planning proposal was submitted.
Council has been invited to provide comments and/or additional information on the proposal which will be considered by the Panel when making a decision on whether the proposal should proceed to Gateway.
Status
On 1 November 2022, the SSPP considered the rezoning review request along with the advice provided by Council and recommended that the proposal should not be submitted for a Gateway determination as;
1. Planning Proposal lacks strategic merit:
i. It does not have regard to the cumulative impact of the increases to planning controls, especially in terms of infrastructure, traffic and development feasibility in the Mortdale Local Centre.
ii. Proceeding with the planning proposal would result in an ad hoc planning approach, as Council’s place-based controls, the draft Mortdale Local Centre Master Plan, the draft Mortdale Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme and the draft Activating Our Centres Policy were not adopted by Council.
iii. Council is currently preparing options for a revised Mortdale Local Centre Master Plan based on heights of four and six stories respectively. Further traffic and public domain studies are required to verify these options and a revised draft Master Plan is expected by March 2023.
iv. The Planning Proposal provides a VPA offer which fails to address the infrastructure requirements needed to support the proposed changes in land use.
2. The Planning Proposal lacks site specific merit as:
i. The proposed development controls that seek to increase the maximum building height from no height and 12m (four storeys) to 28m (equivalent to nine storeys).
ii. It may set a precedent for other B2 Local Centres leading to inconsistency with the hierarchy set out in the Commercial Centres Strategy Part 1.
iii. The planning proposal does not provide adequate consideration of the buildings street-edge interface, residential amenity, traffic and parking issues.
iv. The concept built form and scale of the development supporting the planning proposal demonstrates an inappropriate response to the context of the subject site and its locality.
v. The excessive bulk and scale of the concept proposed development is not justified on this site.
vi. The concept proposed development remains out of context with any existing or approved development within the Mortdale Local Centre.
3. The Planning Proposal provides a VPA offer which fails to address the infrastructure requirements needed to support the proposed changes in land use. A VPA offer would need to fully consider the physical, social and monetary implications of any future development. Council is not willing to consider a VPA for affordable housing without an adopted Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme in place.
The SSPP decision can be viewed in this
letter from NSW Planning Panel to Georges River Council.
Further Information
Rezoning Review documentation (16 August 2022)
Planning Proposal documentation
Thank you for your feedback.