Northern Beaches Advocate:
State Significant Developments (SSDs) are taking Northern Beaches residents by surprise as they blow past height limits.
Resident groups, Northern Beaches Council and local MPs are raising the alarm at the scale and wave of State Significant Development Applications (SSDAs), and potential impacts of new planning laws just passed by the Minns Government.
On Saturday morning (08 November) around 350 people, including families with children, gathered outside 156 Ocean Street, Narrabeen, to oppose a SSDA by aged care living provider Retirement by Moran to demolish the existing Wesley Taylor Residential Aged Care and Independent Living facility on the site, and build a new five-storey luxury seniors living facility...
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby also addressed the crowd, just days after hosting a public forum at Mona Vale discussing the impact of planning reforms before the NSW Parliament.
“I’m horrified at the size and scale of the development that’s been put forward. This is on a State Significant Development [SDD] pathway, and that rips away the control of local council and puts the decision in the State Government’s hands.
“In the NSW Parliament, we will be passing the biggest reforms in 50 years, which will bring more of this,” said Ms Scruby, leading a chant of ‘shame’ from the assembled crowd.
Further significant changes to planning laws went through both houses of the NSW Parliament this week (Tuesday, 11 November), that aim to cut red tape, streamline development application approval and accelerate delivery of housing.
Ms Scruby said she was one of only four MPs in the Legislative Assembly who opposed the reforms.
“Both major parties are now pro-developer, pro-low to mid-rise reforms — but protecting Pittwater means preserving our tree canopy, our character, avoiding construction in bushfire and flood zones, and upholding our local planning controls.
“The streamlining of planning approvals will increase the number of complying development certificates and we will also see an increase in State Significant Developments [SSDs] and rezoning, all of which reduce community input and usurp local planning controls as well as bringing corruption risk with the consolidation of power to the Development Coordination Authority and the Housing Delivery Authority.
“My office has been flooded with concerns in recent weeks. People can count on me to be their voice against developer driven development,” said Ms Scruby.