Ku-ring-gai TOD Backflip Slashes 1500 Homes from Under-Way Developments

The latest manoeuvre in a battle a Sydney council has been waging against the NSW Government’s Transport-Oriented Development reforms has put residential projects in the crosshairs. Ku-ring-gai Council north of the capital tabled a new Transport-Oriented Development (TOD) plan with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment on May 16. But the alternative proposal the council has put up is a huge step down from the existing TOD plan in terms of potential residential yield. According to the council’s agenda for the extraordinary meeting it plans to hold this week to finalise the changes, its plans would slash 1569 homes from 19 projects under way at Gordon, Lindfield, Killara and Roseville. Of those, 580 homes would be cut from the sites where State Significant Developments (SSDs) are already lodged and on exhibition. ▲ Hyecorp co-managing director Stephen Abolakian: “Degree of uncertainty.” Hyecorp is one of the developers working on a project in a Ku-ring-gai TOD precinct after submitting proposals this month for 267 apartments with 17 per cent affordable housing in Roseville ( pictured top ). But the council’s TOD challenge means the development is now under threat, Hyecorp co-managing director Stephen Abolakian says. “We’re seeing policy reversals that undermine both confidence and outcomes,” Abolakian told The Urban Developer. “While the Government’s intention is to boost housing supply in well-serviced areas, the council has taken legal action, challenging the planning controls associated with the TOD proposals. “This has created a degree of uncertainty, not just for Hyecorp, but for all developers with a pipeline in the area.” Legal challenge to TODs Willowtree Planning managing director Chris Wilson explains that councils were given the opportunity to push back on TOD and low and midrise reforms. “Ku-ring-gai Council decided to take the TODs in its LGA to court, and the department gave them a few months to deliver an alternative planning scheme that ensures its housing responsibilities are met,” Wilson says. ▲ A rendering of Hyecorp ’ s project at Roseville. Ku-ring-gai’s court action against the state-determined TOD in the Land and Environment Court (LEC) is ongoing after a May hearing adjourned proceedings until August, according to updates on the council website. “The council has rushed to deliver a scheme of its own and in response, some developers have walked back on FSR and height as a result, but some of them have benefitted,” Wilson says. Now that the council-led TOD plan has been tabled, the department says that steps would be taken “to disapply existing controls” after June 13, according to correspondence seen by The Urban Developer. After that, while developers will be able to lodge State Significant Development (SSD) and local development applications, the existing TOD planning controls determined by the NSW Government will no longer be applied. ▲ Willowtree Planning MD Chris Wilson: “Some developers have walked back.” In a small reprieve, the department told developers at the weekend that it was proposing “to save all state significant development applications with valid SEARs and all local DAs lodged but not yet determined” by the cut-off date—including those subject to an LEC appeal—under savings provisions. “The industry has acted in good faith in Ku-ring-gai in responding to the call of the government to deliver housing by amalgamating sites and making applications,” Wilson says. “But we don’t want to see inconsistency here, and have other councils spending six months on their own strategic housing plans which developments are then not consistent with, because then everyone will just end up back in court.” However, this looks like it might be just the direction the issue is heading in. The alternative scheme A Ku-ring-gai Council spokesperson told The Urban Developer that the council’s plans avoid environmentally sensitive areas, minimise impacts on heritage items and the tree canopy, and “ensure appropriate building heights”. But the council’s agenda does not touch on how it will help deliver the 7600 homes required by 2029 as part of Ku-ring-gai’s allocation of the NSW Government’s targets under the National Housing Accord. The council’s plan, which finished its public consultation in April, proposes “significantly reduced building heights and densities”, Abolakian says. ▲ CPDM ’ s Lindfield project at Reid Street and Woodside Avenue is the only one of the 19 projects to gain FSR under the alternate plans. It proposes buildings up to 28 storeys around Gordon Station and 18 storeys at Lindfield, and limits development around Roseville and Killara stations to eight storeys or fewer, despite these areas also being well-served by rail infrastructure, he says. “In some cases, this could mean the difference between medium-rise and low-rise outcomes—which affects project viability, housing yield and the economic feasibility of delivering high-quality outcomes,” Abolakian says. “The scale of new housing delivery in Ku-ring-gai could fall well short of what the State Government envisages, potentially exacerbating the housing supply issue.” Abolakian says that although the council ’ s concerns are all valid considerations, the legal challenge and new TOD plans are creating a layer of planning uncertainty. ▲ Sundale Northland Development ’ s project on Bent Street at Lindfield also takes a hit in the council-led TOD, losing 57 units. “It effectively puts a pause on long-term planning confidence in the area,” Abolakian says. “For developers like Hyecorp, that uncertainty makes it more difficult to plan investments and move forward with confidence on projects that could otherwise help deliver much-needed housing in line with the Government’s broader targets.” The council’s changes rewrite the rules, he says. “Now, despite government calls for the private sector to help solve the housing crisis, we’re facing mixed messages and shrinking certainty,” Abolakian says. ‘Complex, protracted’ Serendipitously, as developers look for an alternative route to developing in Ku-ring-gai, the first project recommended by the Housing Delivery Authority to submit a DA was a 106-unit project at Gordon. While it has been submitted well before the cutoff date for the existing TOD scheme, as an SSD it can be considered with concurrent rezoning, which could also allow circumvention of the council’s TOD plans. But the latest backflip by the Ku-ring-gai Council puts in the spotlight the difficulties in developing in certain LGAs. Ku-ring-gai itself is “a highly desirable location, with strong community values, excellent amenities, and well-connected public transport infrastructure—all qualities that make it ideal for sensitive, well-designed residential development,” Abolakian says. ▲ Bridgestone Project ’ s 27-29 Tryon Road, Lindfield project, on exhibition, is affected by the alternative TOD. “However, from a planning perspective, it’s traditionally been a more conservative LGA, with relatively restrictive zoning and a slower development approval process compared to other parts of Sydney. “That creates a more complex and often protracted environment for development.” Abolakian says Hyecorp will be monitoring the outcome of the legal proceedings and engaging with the council and the government. “We’re taking a prudent and flexible approach to our projects in the area—including scenario planning across different planning outcomes, revisiting design assumptions, and ensuring that community engagement remains at the forefront of what we do. “We believe in the long-term future of Ku-ring-gai and remain committed to delivering projects that enhance the local area while meeting broader housing objectives,” Abolakian says.

Ku-ring-gai TOD Backflip Slashes 1500 Homes from Under-Way Developments

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