Mr Stokes said that if the council did not want to undertake local planning responsibilities,"I can appoint a planning administrator to do it for them".
"My preference is they do what they're elected to do,because I think their community feels passionately about local planning,so I'd encourage them not to hand over their powers but if they want to,we'll help them,"he said.
His comments come after Ku-ring-gai mayor Jennifer Anderson seized on a letter from Mr Stokes,which stated targets weren't a legal requirement,to amend the council's draft housing strategy. Liberal MPs Jonathan O'Dea,who represents Davidson,and member for Ku-ring-gai Alister Henskens had previously criticised the strategy for allowing buildings up to 15 to 20 storeys high in some areas.
Mr Stokes'letter of September 8 said councils were ultimately responsible for deciding the number of dwellings in their targets but encouraged them to work with the commission to meet the needs of Greater Sydney.
In a newsletter last week Cr Anderson said that in March the commission set a target of 3000 to 3600 new homes in Ku-ring-gai within the next six to 10 years,equating to a projected population increase of 10,000 residents.
"The council put together a housing strategy based on that target,"she said.