Proposal for Extraordinary Meeting to consider Transport Oriented Development Scenario

KU-RING-GAI COUNCIL MOTION – 18 March 2025:

Nearly 12 months ago, the NSW Government introduced its Transport Oriented Development (TOD) planning policy for the areas within 400m of Roseville, Lindfield, Killara and Gordon stations. While the TOD policy did deliver the capacity for additional housing, it had a range of detrimental impacts:

• including allowing development on environmentally sensitive land causing significant impact on the tree canopy
• encouraging the demolition of high-value heritage neighbourhoods

In May 2024, Council resolved to start work on its own alternative housing scenarios, so it could deliver more locally responsive outcomes than the NSW Government’s policy while still delivering the same level of housing. At the same meeting, Council also resolved to commence legal action against the TOD policy. 

Council undertook in-depth research to help prepare the alternative scenarios. This included analysing development opportunities and constraints and developing seven principles for good planning for the Roseville to Gordon corridor. 

Between November and December 2024, Council sought community feedback on five scenarios, including the existing TOD policy. 

The community engagement process was extensive. The communication activity included writing to landowners and occupants in Roseville and Gordon Wards, bus shelter and local newspaper advertising and publishing a summary brochure. 

The engagement activity included seeking feedback from randomly selected community members living within Roseville and Gordon Wards, through a survey and workshops. Council also carried out traditional opt-in engagement, allowing any interested party to attend a drop-in session and a public meeting, lodge a submission or fill out an online survey. 

All up, more than 3,000 people filled out surveys, while more than 300 community members attended drop-in sessions, workshops or meetings and a further 600 lodged submissions.

Council received meaningful and useful input, which due to the specific engagement techniques applied was both reflective of community sentiment and allowed any person to raise issues which was important to them.

In November 2024, Council also reached a mediation agreement with the NSW Government in relation to its legal action. Under this agreement, the government supported Ku-ring-gai Council developing specific planning controls that deliver at least equivalent dwelling capacity to the TOD program. 

Council has also been liaising with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in relation to a preferred housing scenario. 

Council is now in a position to advance the next step of this important project. I am proposing that Council support the calling of an Extraordinary Council Meeting to be held on the evening of 31 March 2025, to consider: 

• Community feedback on the alternate housing scenarios
• A preferred scenario for public exhibition 
  
  

The business paper for this meeting is due to be released on Tuesday 25 March 2025, with a public forum to be held on Monday 31 March 2025 at 5:00pm

Resolved: (Moved: The Mayor, Councillor Kay) 

That Council hold an Extraordinary Council Meeting on Monday 31 March 2025 at 7:00pm to consider: A.   Community feedback on the alternate housing scenariosB.   A preferred scenario for public exhibition 


CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY at Ku-ring-gai Council meeting of 18 March 2025

FOKE notes that Developers can now bypass Ku-ring-gai Council and have their proposals assessed by the NSW Housing Delivery Authority.

Currently ten State Significant Development Applications have been published on the
Housing Development Authority portal for Gordon (3), Roseville (3) and Lindfield (4)

• 3-9 Park Avenue, Gordon
• Woodside & Highgate Road, Lindfield
• 21-27 Roseville Avenue and 16-24 Lord Street, Roseville
• 2-8 Highgate Road, Lindfield
• 27-29 Tryon Road, Lindfield
• 12-16 Bent Street, Lindfield
• 59-63 Trafalgar Avenue 1A & 1B Valley Road, Lindfield
• 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 & 16 Pockley Avenue, Roseville
• 2-4 Larkin Street & 1-5 Pockley Avenue, Roseville
• 3B,5A and 7 Burgoyne Street and 1&3 Pearson Avenue and 4 Pearson Lane Gordon

In total 1206 units