The main entry to Kiama could get a new look with a multi-storey building proposed on Terralong Street.
A development application has been lodged for the building, which would sit on the western corner of the roundabout-controlled intersection of Terralong and Collins streets.
The proposal would see a four-storey building on the Terralong Street frontage, with three storeys along Collins Street to allow for the upward slope.
"The sloping topography of the site means that the height of the building is necessarily variable as a response to sloping topography," the statement of environmental effects said.
It would include a restaurant on the ground floor, commercial premises on the first floor, with five three-bedroom units on the floors above.
Basement parking will accommodate 32 car spaces, with access via Rosebank Lane at the rear of the building.
The statement of environmental effects claimed the new development would be a "substantial improvement" to the site "because [the] existing 'dated' 1960s commercial building will be replaced with an architecturally designed building of high quality".
A traffic study claimed the new development would result in fewer peak-hour trips than the current building, which includes ground floor commercial space and a first-floor restaurant.
The study said the existing development generated 36 trips across the morning and evening peaks, while the proposed building would result in 26 trips - a fall of 10 peak-hour trips.
"As such, the proposed development will have no adverse impact on any nearby intersections and can be readily accommodated within the existing road network with minimal impact in terms of traffic flow efficiency and road safety considerations," the traffic study stated.
The height of the proposed building could be an issue as it is 2.5 metres taller than the 11-metre maximum for the site, though it noted a proposal to change the allowable height to 14 metres is in the works.
A request to vary that 11-metre development standard has been lodged, claiming the development "enhances the appearance of the Terralong Street streetscape".
"It will provide much needed accommodation including adaptable housing," the variation request stated.
"The proposed restaurant and commercial uses will also create employment and inject economic activity into the town centre."
The application also claimed that "the scale of the building is compatible with its surroundings".
The development application is on public exhibition until November 5.
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
