Owners of almost 300 properties in Wollongong's city centre could be hit with higher levies in the future if they choose to develop their land.
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However, if they build a commercial-only development with no residential components, the council will apply a discount to the higher rates for the next three years.
As part of its push to create more than 10,000 new jobs and ensure the CBD stays as the Illawarra's main employment hub, Wollongong City Council is proposing changes to the way it taxes people developing land.
The levies collected by the council are used to fund public infrastructure which is required as the result of the development.
All developers across the LGA are subject to a 0.5 per cent levy if the cost of their project is over $100,000, with construction projects worth more than $200,000 charged at a rate of one per cent of their project's cost.
However, since 2007, the government has allowed Wollongong to charge a two per cent levy on properties in the city centre's B3 Commercial Core zone if a development project is worth more than $250,000.
The council has collected about $12 million since 2007, and spent about $9 million on capital projects.
Now, under its proposed reforms to planning rules for the CBD, the council has suggested expanding the area which will be subject to the higher two per cent levy to include B4 mixed use zoning, as well as the commercial zones.
This will mean an extra 27 hectares of land - or 273 properties - would pay the higher rate.
To be debated at next week's council meeting, the proposed reforms are aimed at reshaping the city centre, and include several pushes designed to attract more A-grade office space to the city.
This includes banning new residential developments on blocks along Burelli Street, and adjusting the city height limits in various places to ensure the tallest buildings will be built along that strip, forming an "east-west spine" of commercial buildings.
So, while developer rates across the wider CBD could rise, the council has also suggested a special discount levy of one per cent for those who lodge commercial-only plans.
"Commercial development may include retail premises, office premises, business premises, tourism accommodation, education establishments (as defined in Wollongong LEP 2009) but not be a mixed development that includes residential development," the council said.
The exemption would therefore be considered on a case by case basis and would be available for three years before being reviewed, the council said.
It would only apply to new development applications lodged after the council approves the exemption, with councillors urged to do so on Monday night, and would not be backdated to any existing development consents as it is to incentivise new developments.
Developers building offices and business premises will also be able to apply a reduced car parking rate to their new plans.
Currently the minimum number of car spaces for these developments is calculated at a rate of one space per 60sqm, but the new council rules would allow parking numbers to be halved to be calculated at one space per 120sqm.
"This proposed change will provide an incentive for commercial development in the city centre by reducing the construction cost of parking," the council says.
"It will also help to encourage the use of public transport to the City and the park-and-ride Gong Shuttle."
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.
