The government said the tier one sites will open up a new State Significant Development pathway for proposals of $60 million or more.
Loading
The NSW Property Council has been lobbying the government to include snap-rezonings. The 31 tier two sites have been “identified as being capable of accommodating new homes within existing enabling infrastructure”,the government said.
Premier Chris Minns said the density surge was critical to resolving a housing crisis that was preventing young people from not just owning a home but being able to enter Sydney’s overheated rental market.
“The simple truth is we don’t have enough well-located homes for the people who make up our city – and that has to change if we want our kids to be able to afford a home in Sydney and not leave for other states,” he said.
Following the accidental release of the government’s plans,industry groups questioned why parts of the inner west and east had been excluded from suburbs marked for increased density.
While Minns and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey insisted the eastern suburbs needed to shoulder more of the city’s housing burden,none of the affluent seaside suburbs were included.
Roseville made the list of suburbs targeted by new housing rules.Credit:Steven Siewert
Describing the leaked government plans as a “blessing in disguise”,Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest welcomed the announcement but said he had concerns about the slow timeframe and exclusion of the eastern suburbs and north shore.
“We are a little bemused that Edgecliff,Bondi Junction and Chatswood were not on the initial list of targeted stations,” he said.
While the density push has been welcomed by most industry groups,Property Council NSW executive director Katie Stevenson criticised the government’s lack of ambition,saying it failed to take advantage of locations with transport capacity,including on the City and Southwest Metro line and the Northwest line.
Loading
Councils affected by the generational housing shift were also critical of the proposal,suggesting it could delay plans already in the pipeline.
The mayors of two councils — Peter Gangemi in The Hills and Zoe Baker in North Sydney — questioned how the government’s plans would affect land surrounding Metro stations already set for increased density.
On Tuesday,The Hills agreed to enter a planning agreement with Landcom over government land at Kellyville and Bella Vista,which is zoned for an additional 5700 homes. The precinct surrounding the two Metro stations is zoned to take a total of 8400 homes over the next five years.
Gangemi said the leaked announcement raised significant doubts about how the government would progress those plans.
“This land has already been rezoned by government and is nearing the point in the process where construction of homes can commence,” he said.
“To completely re-examine and go back to the start will only push the construction of new housing further down the road.”
Councils included in the second stage of the announcement questioned why the government hadn’t consulted them in the months leading up to the announcement. Ku-ring-gai mayor Sam Ngai said the “secrecy” surrounding the proposal meant it was impossible for councils to progress their own plans.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights.Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.