A ban on new residential high-rise along Burelli Street, ground-floor apartments elsewhere instead of empty shops, a focus on commercial space but not retail, and a bigger focus on walking and cycling to disincentivise cars.
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That is what Wollongong's CBD will look like in the future, after the council unanimously adopted a new plan which is designed to dramatically shift the way the city works.
The City Centre Planning Review is the first major move towards rezoning and changing building heights and floor space ratios. In it, the council says intervention is needed to make sure it can hold on to its "regional city" status.
If the strategies are adopted into council's official planning rules, it could see an end to the bulky skyscrapers constructed in recent years, and a move away from the "shop-top" apartments which have left the mall struggling to retain its place as the retail heart of the city.
Instead, some parts of the city will be set aside for "commercial-only" buildings and developers will be encouraged to build ground-floor apartments in other areas to help to activate the street.
It will also pave the way for several new precincts, allow for better cycling and pedestrian access in the city - including in the mall - and hold developers to much higher design standards when they are redeveloping important sites.
Councillors spoke in support of the review, with many highlighting that - although some measures are contentious - they had the support of a majority of community members to adopt the new direction for the city.
Councillors also took umbrage at the recent public debate, in which retailers and property owners have said the mall is failing.
For instance, Leigh Colacino said he was "very proud of our CBD" and said it was simply in a state of flux, while David Brown said the city has seen a record amount of investment in recent years.
The council said it plans to develop the Wollongong City Centre Planning Strategy, which will include a rezoning proposal and Development Control Plan Chapter, by the end of this year.
This will formalise the visions outlined in the review.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
