The new legislation, passed on November 27, overrides Wollongong City Council zonings and other state planning policies.

Residents only became aware of the rezoning after news of the legislation was published in the Government Gazette on Friday.

A Department of Planning spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that 19.3ha had been zoned for low-density residential and 1.2ha for medium-density residential.

More than one-third of the one-time industrial site has been set aside for environmental conservation, while 1.24ha of the turpentine forest has been designated as a heritage landscape item to provide protection against development.

"This SEPP amendment does override council controls but in fact represents a reduced level of urban development than current zoning under Wollongong council's 1990 Local Environmental Plan," the spokeswoman said.

"The environmental conservation area covers land around the four creeks flowing through the site, namely Hewitts, Woodlands, Cookson and Tramway creeks, along with a rare stand of coastal turpentine forest."

The department said the amendment reflected the 2006 court-endorsed concept plan for Sandon Point and ensured future development would be surrounded by green corridors.

The site has been the subject of vocal opposition for a number of years.

Stockland has submitted an application to the Department of Planning to subdivide the site into residential lots and one super-lot for medium-density housing.

The other major landowner, Anglican Retirement Villages, is proposing a four-storey residential aged-care facility with up to 120 beds, three-storey apartment buildings with 250 independent living units and community facilities. It has yet to lodge detailed plans with the department.

Northern Illawarra Residents Action Group spokeswoman Jill Merrin was concerned the residential footprint on the approved maps appeared to be much larger than what had been recommended by the Commission of Inquiry.

"The area east of the turpentine forest seems to be entirely zoned for development, whereas the Commission of Inquiry said none of that should be rezoned," Ms Merrin said.

She said the rezoning ignored the need for 40m-conservation buffers on each side of creeks and wetlands.

"It appears the Minister for Planning has ignored the warnings of the Government's own Commissioners of Inquiry, and State and Local governments, that this amount of development within the borders of coastal wetlands isn't appropriate,'' she said.