Protecting Mosman’s scenic beauty
“Mosman’s magnificent harbour foreshores is one of Sydney’s greatest assets. However our foreshores are increasingly under pressure from inappropriate development.” Mayor Carolyn Corrigan.
IMAGE: Michael Mangold
For many years Mosman has had a Scenic Protection Area (SPA) in place that safeguards our harbour foreshores from inappropriate development. These controls consider matters such as the visual impact of development, landscaping, view sharing to the harbour and iconic landmarks, bulk, scale and design.
In recent years, Council has endeavoured to secure the protection on a permanent basis. However the exclusion that currently exists under the Housing Code is due to expire later this year.
In the interim, the state government has made major changes to NSW’s planning system. This includes substantially expanding the State Environmental Planning Policy for exempt and complying development (Codes SEPP). Intended to fast-track development bypassing the traditional council Development Application (DA) process, the one size fits all approach could have devastating implications for our harbour foreshores, streetscapes, tree canopies and residential amenity.
In response, Council has been working to secure longer term protections by designating the same areas as E4 zoning, i.e. Environmental Living zone which would replace the current R2 zoning.
If approved, this would afford similar protections under the current Scenic Protection Area, as the Housing Code would no longer apply; nor the Codes SEPP. As a comparison the Housing Code applies under a R2 Low Residential Zone, with the protections that are currently in place removed. Likewise the Codes SEPP can be used to bypass the traditional DA process.
To better understand the proposed zoning, an E4 Environmental zone is a low-density zone that can be applied to land in areas with special ecological, scientific or aesthetic values. This would also ensure Council considers such matters as the visual impact a development can have, landscaping, view sharing to the harbour and iconic landmarks, streetscape, tree canopy and bulk and scale and design. Adjoining property owners are also notified, and importantly have the opportunity to have their say.
In comparison, while the private certification system under the Codes SEPP has some benefits, such as faster approval time and lower application fees when compared to submitting a DA, its use also presents some key challenges. These include a one size fits all approach, where factors such as the visual impact, privacy or overshadowing and landscaping are not properly considered, with potentially major implications for our harbour foreshores, and environmental and residential amenity.
Moreover the use of a Private Certifier under the codes SEPP process would bypass a more independent assessment by Council planners.
The proposed changes to E4 zoning have been unanimously endorsed by all councillors. Assuming the Department is agreeable to the changes, further community consultation will follow, including a full public exhibition process.
