Last September the Southern Regional Planning Panel knocked back the application for a 47-dwelling development at 14 Cosgrove Avenue in Keiraville, citing 10 reasons that included a "significant adverse impact in the locality", the site being unsuitable for the development, and unacceptable effects on biodiversity.

The panel said the plans were inconsistent with numerous council planning controls, and approval would set an "undesirable precedent" for unsuitable development.

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The developer, Surewin Parkview Pty Ltd, has since lodged another development application with Wollongong City Council.

This time, they propose to build 42 dwellings at the site: 31 with three bedrooms, and 11 with four bedrooms.

The application says the changes include more freestanding buildings than before "to allow for views through the site to the landscape beyond", separation between pedestrians and vehicles, more communal spaces, and a utility and waste recycling area set below the natural ground level.

But residents of the area say all their concerns still remain.

Felix Bronneberg said the changes to the development application were very minor and "seemed cosmetic".

Honglin Chen said the community made 100 submissions to the last application, but the developer had not addressed these issues.

"If they want this, come back to the community," Ms Chen said, adding residents were worried the developer was not taking their concerns seriously.

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She said the level of traffic the development would bring to the quiet residential streets was one concern.

"Children won't be able to walk safely on our streets," Ms Chen said.

Geoff Kelly, another resident, said landslips on the steep block were also a worry, particularly for the occupants of the existing residences below.

He said a residential development of this sort should be built where services and shops were, not on the edge of town.

Other concerns listed by residents include impacts on wildlife and the environment, bushfire safety, and the view of the escarpment.

They said developments of this density could not work in the area.

"We're fighting not just for our neighbourhood, but our community and the region as a whole," Ms Chen said.

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The development application was scheduled to stay on public exhibition until Monday, April 12, but Mr Bronneberg said residents were seeking to have this extended.

The new plans submitted to the council also include a number of communal outdoor spaces for residents, a zone that will remain "largely untouched" and will undergo bush regeneration, a pond and waterfall near the entrance, and a communal vegetable garden.

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