Residential Flat Building with In-fill Affordable Housing - Park Ave, Gordon

Whilst I am appreciative that we need development in the area, nine stories is ridiculous. We do not have the infrastructure to support this sized development. It is inconsistent with the TOD proposed by Ku ring gai council. It isolates heritage homes, which should be preserved. Once these are lost, they can not be brought back. The height is excessive, and a poor design. It will leave homes in significant permanent shadow and remove their privacy. There will be significant destruction of the tree canopy and to the wildlife in the area causing harm to the environment. Lastly, the roads in this area are already chocked with traffic in peak periods. Adding 100 more apartments will dramatically increase the woes of residents. The roads already in disrepair for heavy rain and vast volumes of traffic.

9 Stories in the Gordon area on this road will totally choke traffic which already backs up to Pacific Highway. Gordon East does not have the infrastructure to support so many residents and the height should be kept to a minimum of 5 stories max.

Dear DPHI, please find my objections to this proposal as follows:
1. The height of the proposed development is excessive at 9 storey's (actually 10 storey's for part of the structure).
2. Located directly opposite and adjacent to several single or two storey heritage listed homes and the heritage conservation area of Gordondale it would create an unfair and disproportionate impact, isolating our properties with no viable option for heritage property owners in the HCA to delist their homes, with significant negative financial impacts as well as mental health impacts. 
3. There are inadequate transition zones and set-backs, which overly impacts the livability and privacy of all the surrounding residences.
4. There would be significant traffic issues with the number of cars entering to the narrow one way Park Lane
5. This development proposal and the number of storey's is counter to the TOD as well as Ku Ring Gai councils modified TOD. It is being rushed through before that is finalized with council..

I request the design and height of this proposed development to be modified to address these impacts, such as two storey podium to Park Ave and reduced overall height and set backs, as well as being deferred for alignment with Ku Ring Gai council's modified TOD proposal. This development if approved would create an undesirable precedent counter to the TOD or modified TOD for Ku Ring Gai.

Thank you.for your consideration. This proposal is creating significant stress for our family and is impacting our mental health with many sleepless nights.

State Significant Development Application SSD-78775458
3-9 Park Avenue Gordon
I refer to the above application and record my strong objection to this proposal.
The proposal:
1. ignores planning by the Kuring-Gai Council which following community consultation does not allow this height of building in this location
2. Is significantly excessive for the local area resulting in excessive loading on the immediate streets which are already operating at maximum capacity
3. Is of poor design with minimal setbacks, lack of building modulation and a box like design clearly designed to provide maximum profit to the developer
4. Is completely inconsistent with the heritage buildings located with the adjacent area
5. Will result in devastating tree loss and impact on wildlife
In summary it is amazing that a poorly designed block of units, which is completely unsuited to the Gordon heritage and which will detract from the Gordon area could even be considered a State Significant Development. If any development is to proceed, the scale of the building must be greatly reduced and the design significantly improved to provide a quality building which is in keeping with and recognises the heritage and conservation values of the area.

This extreme high rise development will totally destroy the unique KuRingGai locality which consistes of many heritage homes and other 125 year old homes ,just like my own Federation home, situated opposite this proposed development. The development height is excessive for our area and is inconsistent with KuRingGai Council's preferred scenario. The huge number of new apartments will overload the existing local street capacity to accommodate traffic movements while a great many trees will be destroyed making this area a suburban building maze.

The project is a total destruction to the Gordon Community. The traffic junction of Park Avenue, Werona Avenue and Pearson Ave is very busy. Traffic accident can easily happen. Increasing density in this area will definitely make lives of the residents difficult and increase the risk of life hazards.

Gordon station is a very busy area especially school time. Before change house to units. Please think about catchment area school and traffic safety.

This project will increase traffic to an already busy and quite dangerous suburb for pedestrians. There will be destruction of wildlife canopy and trees. There is no plan to increase the economic prosperity of Gordon e.g more shops if this project will make 100+ people congregate in this area.
The height of the building will disrupt sunlight for current residents.

You are going to build too many units in such a busy area. It's a crazy project. The noise and traffic will be terrible for the neighbourhood. Shouldn't let the developers ruin our nice neighbourhood. We object to this project strongly.

As a resident of Park Ave with rear lane access via Park Lane, I have a grave concern about the impact of the proposed traffic access for the development at 3-9 Park Ave.
It is not feasible to direct 128 extra vehicles down the back of the proposed development(SSD-78775458) into a 3.25m wide rear lane with no footpath. The laneway is access for pedestrians from nearby Gordon Quarter Retirement Village as well as school children and residents walking to the station and Bus stop in Werona Ave.The developers propose closing off three existing entry points into Park Ave to improve street scape.
This argument is nonsensical when entry and egress if maintained as existing from Park Ave, can be from either direction and would allow entry and exit parallel to each other as well as entry from either direction if maintained from Park Ave as exists with properties 5,7 & 9
The rear lane has only single lane access with right of carriageway for No2 Park Ave. How can 128 vehicles enter and leave via this restricted passageway entering into a 3.25m laneway?
It is because the developer lazily sees a slope from Park ave to ParkLane, making easier excavation for the carpark.
This proposal for high density development was not announced before the last State Election although other alternatives such as the
High Speed train to Newcastle has been promoted before the last two State elections. This would prove
a much better solution allowing access to traditional housing with back yard and gardens.
These high rise developments will be the slums of the next generation.
Traffic at school times is already gridlock. With an extra 300 vehicles ( 170 at Pearson Ave SSD 82395459) so far with proposed developments it will be utter traffic chaos.

I am writing to state my strong opposition to the above development. There has been no community engagement on this development.

The height is excessive which will result in significant overshadowing. It will destroy the heritage of our neighbourhood - there are heritage homes in the street which will not only be overshadowed, but also lose their value. It will have a huge impact on the native fauna and flora, especially during the construction period when there will be significant noise pollution.
There is no corresponding infrastructure upgrade
Traffic congestion around Gordon is at an all-time high, and Park Avenue is a road LEAST suited to any development. It is already a real danger spot with Wade Lane, Pearson Avenue and Werona Avenue all feeding into it. I regularly use this road to travel to work, as do many people travelling from East Gordon, Killara, and St Ives. High rise developments should be restricted to Pacific Highway.

This should not be an SSD Development Application, communities MUST have a say in these developments.

In summary, whilst I acknowledge the need for affordable housing and housing for essential workers, I object strongly to this development based on the following grounds

• The above needs should not be at the detriment of destroying an area’s heritage flavour and culture that has been formed over a long time. Residents' past and present have striven hard to create the flavour of the north shore. It is a credit to a growing Sydney that we can still see so much of our heritage. Drawing a radius around a transport hub fails to acknowledge this. Whilst flippant, where does this stop. Should the Opera House be torn down, should Surrey Hills have its iconic terraces flattened? Governments come and go. Ideas change. Once you destroy it, this heritage landscape is gone.
• Parking for 100 flats is inadequate. Essential workers require cars especially if night work is needed. The parking in the nearby streets is already full. Essentially 1 car per apartment does not realistically meet the requirements of apartment owners/renters. In effect another 100 to 200 cars would park overnight in the area. By not providing adequate parking you also prevent current commuters from having a parking spot during the day time. Allowing inadequate parking on this development will have a ripple effect. The parking situation without adequate planning will only get worse with further developments. Adequate planning is essential at this development stage. This development and others like it would reduce daily commuter parking.
• Above all, the height of this development is extremely excessive. 9 stories is oppressive. The eastern side of the highway has nothing like this. The benefit is to the developer alone, who stands to profit from every floor allowed. Excessive high rise living is not the answer to affordability, or life style optimisation.
• No consideration has been given to the vehicle traffic congestion, which is already considerable, on entering and existing the Pacific Highway
• This developer, and those that follow provide no improvement to local amenities.
* The Pacific Highway is already a very busy road. There are no plans to improve roads or public transport to accommodate the proposed increase in dwellings across Ku-ring gai. The lack of overall transport and parking planning to accommodate extra dwellings will have a negative impact not just on those residing in the designated areas but anyone passing through up and down the line. ( noting this is the gateway to the North Coast)
• The north shore is known for its trees and wildlife. This type of development destroys the heritage and uniqueness of the area. Whilst a suburb is not a museum, it can be altered to reflect and respect the areas flavour.

What a great shame that the swipe of the pen can have such a negative effect. There are many modern architecture streets in Gordon that would benefit from well-planned low level developments, bringing the benefits of affordable housing and quality living arrangements without destroying the culture of the area.
The opportunistic demands of a developer motivated by profiteering, or a governnment's quick fix to housing affordability, is not the way to achieve harmony for the current community and only creates more problems for the future community to come

I am a resident in the area and object to the scale of the development which will cause significant parking and further traffic congestion issues along Park Avenue in an area that Government crash statistics show as a road blackspot with several reportable crashes showing serious injury. This development will further hinder the NSW Government's commitment to the Towards Zero initiative. I live to the north of Park Avenue where there are only 4 entry/exit points for over 600 residents. Two of these points are along Mona Vale Road which can only be accessed from the East. Another entry point off St Johns Avenue will require a significant detour around Gordon to access, while the only viable access point at Park Avenue and Pearson Avenue will be put under immense strain should this proposal proceed in its current state. This is because the development is adjacent to the intersection and with limited parking based on ABS average household car ownership numbers, forcing more vehicles to park on the street. Importantly, this intersection for residents north of Park Avenue is the ONLY viable entry point for traffic coming from the north, south and west. This intersection is also a dangerous dog-leg into Werona Avenue, a high pedestrian area, limited by a narrow road over rail bridge, the only access point for the local police station, several dangerous entry/exit points to carparks and placing further pressure on the dangerous intersection at Wade Lane and Park Avenue. The development does not allow enough car parking spaces and also puts local heritage at risk by its shear scale next to a sensitive area. The development does not provide better community amenity and has only sought to maximise its scale at the expense of the wider community. This project should be significantly scaled back from its current form due to the significant impact it will have on the surrounding roads and community. The project also does not sit within proposed council guidelines for future development in the area. THE ATTACHMENT "park avenue" IS A MORE COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW showing the issues this development will cause and is THE MAIN COMPONENT to this submission. I have updated my details in the system to show my new place of residence is Pymble, noting the system keeps wanting to show Stanmore.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to object this project due to the below reasons.
1. The site sits at a critical junction adjacent to Gordon Railway Station and the Pacific Highway, which is already identified as a traffic bottleneck. The current Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) lacks actual traffic analysis (e.g intersection turning-movement counts, peak-period queueing analyses), and fails to test the proposal impact with other committed developments, undermining its conclusions.
2. This project has only 8.5% deep oil condition, which is far below the council's high-density land 50% deep soil condition. This would lead to a high contrast with local residential development projects. Keeping sufficient deep soil would accommodate trees and sustain urban biodiversity. This would be very unfair for residents living in this suburb or LGA.
3. The project would isolate 2 Park Lane, Gordon. The approach how developer negotiate with this landowner described in its report lacks concert details (only says three letters all above market value). The way how the developer handling the isolation issue is not appropriate. The report uses a "cherry-picking" approach when citing policy and principles when handling this issue.
4. The proposed FSR 2.9 (actually it is 2.9409 based on its report), 31m height building applies for this site, which is well above the council's preferred scenario, half FSR 2.0 and half FSR 1.3. This project would have overshadowed, solar access, overlook issues etc. It says no such issues often assume that other similar developments would be made nearby. This is an unjustified assumption and only cater to its self-interest. The council's preferred scenario has already taken the building form, transition impact, heritage, environment etc. More importantly, all of those third-party documents are only served for the developer as its main purpose. It doesn't take the whole community interest as its top priority though it pretends to be, often says it being consistent with State Government TOD.
The Ku-ring-gai council would finalize the final preferred scenario by the end of May and submitted to State government. So, if there would be an agreement that is the final version, any project that are inconsistent with the planning controls should be reassessed under the agreed revised controls.

I respectfully request that you consider the above objection and community feedback.

Thank you.

I'm writing in support of the project. In this housing crisis we need more housing of all types especially affordable housing. Gordon's placement on the train line makes it a perfect spot for this development.