Lourdes Killara

The fire weather risk in the ku-ring-gai area are becoming increasingly severe, based on the climatic trends. As bushfire risk intensifies, larger and more rigorously managed Asset Protection Zones are required around new development to meet bushfire protection standards. Expanding residential density within the urban bushland interface therefore increases the cumulative land area that must be cleared or intensively managed for fire protection.

This process reduced the development of the tree canopy, and degrades habitat connectivity. This results in the progressive loss of ecological values. This outcome is inconsistent with the objectives of current NSW climate risk and biodiversity planning policies.

This is a holding submission, I reserve the right to provide further independent safety reviews at a later stage.

Many occupants in the expanded aged care facility will have severe mobility issues, dementia or require specialised ambulance transport.
Evacuating high-dependency seniors via dead-end road presents severe life-safety risks due to mobility constraints, cognitive impairments, and limited staffing during emergencies.
This is a holding submission.
I reserve the right to submit further evidence regarding aged-care welfare.

During Emergency, Stanhope Road is in a standstill, gridlocking situation.

In a bushfire threat, panicked residents and staffs will rush out while spouses, anxious family members and off-duty staff will rush towards the facility. This situation will completely paralyzed the traffic of Stanhope Road before official evacuations can even begin.

This is a holding submission; I reserve the right to tender detailed traffic arguments.

I object to the development on multiple grounds, particularly relating to noise and traffic - but also on the basis of a failure to address prior public submissions. This application fails to demonstrate how it has meaningfully integrated or resolved the hundreds of public objections lodged during previous Council and SNPP reviews.
This is a holding submission; I reserve the right to tender comprehensive planning summaries later.

The 14-day public exhibition period is wholly inadequate for a complex State Significant Development involving hundreds of pages of technical reports and significant long-term impacts on the surrounding community. Residents have not been given sufficient time to properly review specialist reports relating to traffic, bushfire safety, environmental impacts, noise, heritage, drainage and planning matters before submissions are required.

In addition, the proposal will impose substantial impacts on nearby residents throughout the extended construction period. Heavy truck movements will generate significant noise, vibration, dust and traffic congestion, reducing residential amenity and affecting the health and wellbeing of households in the surrounding streets. Dust generated from demolition and construction activities will impact neighbouring homes and outdoor living spaces.

The increased construction traffic and the eventual demand created by the development are also likely to reduce already limited on-street parking, particularly along Rosebery Road. This will make parking more difficult for residents, visitors, carers and service providers and will negatively affect everyday family life.

Given the magnitude of these impacts, the community deserves a substantially longer exhibition period to enable informed public participation and independent expert review.

This is a holding submission. I reserve the right to submit comprehensive planning, traffic, parking, environmental and engineering objections once adequate time has been provided to review the full technical documentation.

The proposed development raises serious concerns regarding bushfire safety due to its location immediately adjacent to Garigal National Park. The design includes multiple multi-storey buildings with extensive balconies and roof structures that may be exposed to ember attack during bushfire events. Given the increasing frequency and severity of bushfires in NSW, I am not satisfied that the proposal adequately demonstrates that future residents, neighbouring properties and surrounding community facilities can be safely protected.

This concern extends beyond the retirement village itself. My son attends Newington College Lindfield Preparatory School, which is located nearby with bushland separating the proposed development and the school. Any significant bushfire event affecting this site has the potential to increase risks to students, staff and families during emergency situations, including evacuation, road access and emergency response. The cumulative bushfire risk to the broader community should be carefully assessed, not just the safety of the development itself.

Furthermore, the scale of construction and the increase in population adjacent to a bushfire-prone area warrants a more comprehensive and transparent independent bushfire assessment before any approval is considered.

This is a holding submission. I reserve the right to provide further expert bushfire engineering and emergency planning objections once sufficient time has been provided to review the technical documentation.

I am objecting to the project based on its failure to meet the SEARs Bushfire Criteria as the Environmental Impact Statement ( EIS) fails to fully satisfy the rigorous Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) concerning absolute safety on single-access roads. Also nothing is addressed towards the safety for the residents of Stanhope Rd regarding accessing a clear, unimpeded exit from their homes in an emergency fire situation.
This is a holding submission, I reserve the right to tender comprehensive planning summaries later.
By failing to provide accessible Physical Documentation copies of the master plan in local libraries or community centres during this rushed and brief 14 day window period, the Department has digitally excluded elderly neighbours and local residents from participating.
I reserve the right to tender legal arguments.
Also this submission does not address the single access road of Stanhope Rd and obstructions impeding safe traffic flow on the road which currently does not even have curb and guttering. This would be a critical failure point in the case of bushfires and weather conditions that make obstructions impeding safe egress for surounding local residents.

Yours sincerely,

Unresolved Civil Construction Risks: The extensive excavation required for underground basement parking threatens to disrupt local natural water tables ad destabilise adjacent residential foundations. This is a holding submission; I reserve the right to submit independent geotechnical reviews.

The proximity of commercial loading docks to nearby residencial areas will subject neighbours to intense and continuous early-morning noise from e.g. reverse beepers and heavy hydraulic tailgates.

This is a holding submission; I reserve the right to submit independent acoustic impact reviews.

Gridlock at the Stanhope Road/Rosebery Road Intersection: During an emergency, the limited width of the evacuation route creates a complete bottleneck at the intersection of Stanhope Road and Rosebery Road, preventing residents at the end of Stanhope Road from safely exiting the area. This is a holding submission, and I reserve the right to provide detailed traffic-related submissions at a later stage.

I seek clarification in a number areas (refer attached).
In principle I am not against the project but prior to the Proposal being approved, I do want written confirmation of verbal undertakings given by Levande during the consultation period. Based on my past experience Levande will seek to circumvent approvals and regulations wherever it sees fit with potentially disastrous consequences. In my opinion any development application submitted by Levande, prior to approval, needs to be heavily scrutinised and sufficiently documented to prevent Levande from doing so.

Please find attached the Friends of Ku-ring-gai Environment Inc (FOKE) submission SSD-88004956 95-97 Stanhope Road Killara

I am a resident of Killara residing within 200 meters of the proposed development project. Our neighbourhood is adjacent to a reserve and the proposed site is situated in a hilly terrain. I am a supporter of providing additional retirement housing for seniors in New South Wales but also mindful of the unintended consequences the proposed project may bring unless a thorough site and environmental assessment is carried through prior to providing fast track approval for this application. Based on the information provided, the project requires extensive excavations for underground basement parking which may threaten and disrupt local natural water tables and destabilise adjacent residential foundations. It is especially true for residential houses in Clarke Place which are built on steep sloping blocks. My sincere belief is that the short consultation period provided for this project is inadequate and; an independent assessment of the proposal needs to be carried through prior to approval of this project.

I am a resident of Killara living within close proximity to the proposed development site.
Whilst I am generally supportive of providing additional residential living for seniors of NSW, I am concerned about the brief consultation period provided to this substantial development application. The proposed development site is in an enivironmentally sensitive area and the proposed development will have an adversement effect on Riparian Zones with potential uncontrolled runoff during the long demolition and construction period and is very likely to threaten the local creek lines feeding directly into River catchments.
I believe, a project of this magnitude warrants a detailed environmental assessment prior to securing the development approval.

As per the attached letter, I am registering both some objections and some comments. I believe the input will improve the design and offer improved amenity and safety for village residents while minimising the impact on the local low-density neighbourhood.

Refer attachments