A draft regulation put out for public comment by the Barangaroo Delivery Authority on Friday afternoon reveals a proposal to allow the "reservation of parts of public domain for certain purposes".

Among the proposed purposes is "organised commercial activity". The regulation proposed to allow the authority to fine anyone who enters a reserved area without permission up to $1100.

According to a map published alongside the regulation, the "public domain" is defined as the entire new headland park at Barangaroo as well as the foreshore at the north and western edge of Barangaroo Central.

The proposal comes shortly before the headland park is due to be opened to the public next month and amid a debate about the loss of public space due to billionaire James Packer's proposal for a high-rise hotel, casino and luxury apartment block at Barangaroo South.

Opposition Leader Luke Foley, who has railed against similar commercial ventures in the Botanic Gardens, described the proposal as "a shocker".

"It's setting it up for the commercialisation of the public open space from day one," Mr Foley said.

It's already happening at the Botanic Gardens where there's events all the time – for those who can afford to pay top dollar."

Mr Foley said the original cabinet decision of the former Labor government was "to restore the Barangaroo headland to as close as possible to its pre-1788 condition and gift that to the public as open green space".

"This regulation is a major departure from that public policy decision," he said.

"The problem is the mindset from Treasury and others that public space on the harbour foreshore can be prostituted out to those willing to pay top dollar".

Mr Foley urged Premier Mike Baird to "reconsider and to restore faith with the original vision for the Headland Park".

When Mr Baird last November presided over the official naming of the headland as Barangaroo Point, he highlighted its return to public hands after decades of stevedoring operations.

"For decades, this spectacular edge of Sydney Harbour has been inaccessible to the public," Mr Baird said.

"By the middle of next year Barangaroo Point will be returned to the people of Sydney and quickly become one of the most popular destinations on the world's best harbour."

On Friday, Mr Baird said the draft proposal was "a standard provision for regulations that relate to public places – that is the ability to charge for private events should they be held".

"The facilitates the exact same kind of activity which occurs at the Botanic Gardens with popular events such as the Open Air Cinema and the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour," Mr Baird said.

"Barangaroo Point is a public park and access will always be free for the public."

Last year former prime minister Paul Keating last year blasted as an "atrocity" a draft master plan for the Royal Botanic Gardens and The Domain.

The plan included a five-star hotel, harbourside viewing platforms and a permanent sound shell in the Domain.

He described it as "the most appalling and outrageous plan Sydney has ever seen for the misappropriation of its public lands".