Current Issues

The most concerning current issue is a recent Planning Proposal lodged with Northern Beaches Council. The proposal is for significantly increased development density along the western side of Garden St between Orchard St and Fern Creek. In summary, it is requesting an increase of dwellings from the currently proposed 76 to a staggering 178. Please see our Campaign page for more details, or click here.

Previous History

The Warriewood Resident’s Association web site was launched on the 11 January 2013. We still have more work to do on the site, but the submission by Meriton to submit a DA for Stage 2 over the holiday period really forced our hand, so we have put up what we have so far to assist residents in their fight.

Meriton DA – Stage 2

We provided Council with a detailed submission, and a number of members addressed the JRPP meeting of 17th April.2013. Unfortunately, the prior concept approval granted by the previous State Government (under the now defunct part 3A legislation) meant that the JRPP could not legally consider any changes to the built form (size height and scale), and so the DA was approved as consistent with the concept approval. It was a sad day for Warriewood, but it just makes us more determined to fight to avoid any more. This was the last that can be built under the concept approval, so our focus now is to ensure we stop any more of this gross over-development.

Warriewood Valley Strategic Review

That brings us to the Warriewood Valley Strategic Review. The final report was posted on Council’s web site on 2 May 2013. This report will be considered by our elected Councillors at an Extraordinary Council Meeting on 12 June 2013 at 6:30pm in the Mona Vale Memorial Hall. You will find under the campaigns heading above, our detailed analysis of the original version of this report. Council received 450 submissions on this report, and the message was clear ……. NO MORE THAN 25 DPHa. The WRA have been fighting the proposed increase from 25 DPHa to 32 DPHa, but we are now staggered that yet another application has been lodged by a Meriton Company for the rezoning of 2 & 18 Macpherson St and 23 – 27 Warriewood Rd. The application is a planning proposal requesting Council to rezone this land to allow development up to 80 DPHa.

The good news on dwelling numbers in the latest version of the Report is that the land already purchased for a park in sector 9 is to be retained, rather than developed. Having said that, of course it should never have been proposed for development in the original report anyway! The maximum increase in the dwellings (over and above the Warriewood Valley 2010 Planning Framework) from the original draft report to the final report to be considered at the above meeting has been reduced from 269 to 193 dwellings.

Another MASSIVE Development Proposal  …… lodged 7 June 2013

We haven’t had a chance to assess it properly yet, but another massive development proposal was lodged at Council on 7th June by one of Meriton’s Companies – Karimbla Properties (No. 32). This application is a planning proposal requesting Council allow residential development up to 80 DPHa on 2&18 Macpherson St and 23-27 Warriewood Rd. Initial indications from what is said in the application suggest that this could be another 600 or more units, in blocks up to 5 stories high. To put this in perspective ….. What we see on the ground at present is 226 units. The recently approved Stage 2 development is another 221 units (not yet built), so this would mean something in excess of 1000 units or more in total, more than 4 times what we currently see already built on the corner of Boondah Rd and Macpherson St. We are not sure what part of the 450 submissions someone did not understand, but this application leaves us breathless ….. and we are DETERMINED TO SEE SANITY PREVAIL!

Other activity

Aside from the letters and submissions forwarded to Council by the Committee described in our Campaigns, the Committee have also made a submission on the rezoning application for 120 Mona Vale Road Warriewood.

Following concerns expressed by the WRA on section 94 contributions, we have also recently had Council agree to a workshop on Section 94 contributions for the Warriewood Valley. We will keep you posted.

In the meantime, please tell us if there is anything you feel we might be missing!