The developers behind a massive residential estate planned for the foothills of Mount Keira says they are "considering alternative approaches" to their plans, which have been heavily criticised by residents and Wollongong council.
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However, they failed to outline these alternatives or address the many concerns about their existing proposal to build 47 closely-stacked homes on a steep Cosgrove Avenue parcel during a state planning meeting.
On Wednesday, the state's Southern Regional Planning Panel held an online forum on the proposal - lodged with the council late last year - to hear concerns from Keiraville residents as well as the views of the applicant.
Before the meeting, Wollongong City Council planners published their recommendation to knock back the plan, saying it was "undesirable" and against the public interest.
They said the proposal to be known as "The Cosgrove" - which would include five buildings of three-and-four-bedroom homes - was "an overdevelopment of the site" and that the developer had submitted "insufficient information" for the Rural Fire Service to issue a Bushfire Safety Authority for the area.
Developers also did not properly consider the potential heritage impacts the development would have on the Illawarra Escarpment Conservation Area, or on the Aboriginal cultural significance of Mount Keira, the council said.
More than a dozen residents spoke against the proposal at the meeting, highlighting issues with traffic, waste collection, bushfire danger, environmental protection and the way the site will look from various locations across Wollongong.
For instance, resident Yvonne Toeffer described it as "gated high-rise development" in an environmentally sensitive area and said it would rise the equivalent of a 20-storey building from east and west up the site.
Asked to respond, spokeswoman for the applicant Helen Deegan, of City Planning was taciturn, saying the developer had "listened very carefully" to the community and would "note" their views.
"We also note the report that council has before you and request that you give consideration to the matter and we look forward to your determination. We have no further comment other than that," she told the panel.
One of the panellists asked why the developer had not responded to the council's request that they should consider an alternative design with smaller grouping of houses, despite being asked to do so months ago.
"We are in the process of reviewing very thoroughly ... and considering alternative approaches," Ms Deegan said.
She said the unusual circumstances of COVID-19 had made it hard to get the right people together in an "orderly timeframe" and so the applicant had been left with no choice but to ask the council to assess the plans as they are.
The panel adjourned to deliberate over the proposal and will publish its decision on the regional planning panel website within seven days.
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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.
