I to object to SSD81426710 at 138 Maroubra Road.
This proposal repeats the same issues that led to its earlier refusal and dismissal, including excessive bulk, inadequate setbacks, and impacts on surrounding residents.
Importantly:
• Height is not clearly compliant and depends on a contested interpretation
• The site is fully built out with no real deep soil or landscape capacity
• Privacy, overshadowing and amenity impacts remain unresolved
• Construction impacts, particularly alongside Pacific Square remediation works, have not been properly assessed
The proposal relies heavily on future management plans rather than resolving impacts through design.
It does not represent a genuine improvement and is not in the public interest.
I request that it be refused.

To Whom It May Concern,

Re: SSD Application – 138 Maroubra Road, Maroubra

I write to object to the proposed development at 138 Maroubra Road.

I am a resident and property owner at 140 Maroubra Road, the immediately adjoining property. My apartment is located approximately eight metres from the proposed development. At that distance, the impacts of this proposal are not theoretical. They will be experienced directly and daily by residents of our building.

I have followed this development through its various iterations. While the current application has been presented as a revised proposal, I do not believe it represents a materially different planning outcome from the schemes that were previously refused and ultimately dismissed by the Land and Environment Court. The fundamental issue remains unchanged: the scale and intensity of the development are not appropriate for the site and its immediate context.

My principal concern is the relationship between the proposed building and the existing residents of 140 Maroubra Road.

The proposed development would place a building of substantial height and bulk directly adjacent to existing homes with a separation of approximately eight metres. No amount of façade articulation, screening or architectural treatment changes the reality that residents will be confronted by a large building at extremely close range.

The consequence will be a significant loss of privacy, increased overlooking, reduced outlook and a heightened sense of visual enclosure. These impacts arise from the scale and proximity of the development itself, not from any deficiency in architectural detailing. The proposal continues to rely on mitigation measures to manage impacts that are fundamentally created by the excessive size of the building.

I am also concerned that the proposal continues to exhibit many of the characteristics of an overdeveloped site. The extensive excavation, limited setbacks, constrained opportunities for meaningful landscaping and reliance on development incentives all point towards a scheme that has been pushed to maximise yield rather than achieve an appropriate balance between development potential and neighbourhood amenity.

The question of building height also remains unresolved. The applicant’s own material acknowledges differing approaches to the assessment of building height, with materially different outcomes depending on the methodology adopted. Given the extent of excavation across the site and the uncertainty regarding natural ground level, I do not believe this issue can simply be treated as settled. Where compliance remains open to legitimate dispute, caution should be exercised.

Beyond the completed building, I am particularly concerned about the practical consequences of construction.

A significant issue for residents of 140 Maroubra Road is the constrained laneway that services our building and nearby commercial operations. This area already accommodates resident vehicle access as well as regular loading activity associated with the adjoining commercial precinct. Truck movements are a routine occurrence.

The proposal seeks to introduce additional vehicle access and construction activity into this same environment. In my view, insufficient consideration has been given to the cumulative impacts on traffic flow, safety, manoeuvrability and day-to-day access for existing residents. These are real operational constraints that cannot be fully understood through traffic modelling alone.

The presence of a childcare centre within 140 Maroubra Road raises an additional concern that I believe deserves specific attention.

The childcare facility includes an outdoor play area used daily by young children. The effects of prolonged excavation, construction noise, dust, vibration and visual intrusion on this environment have not, in my view, been adequately addressed. While management plans may be proposed at a later stage, the potential impacts on a sensitive land use should be assessed comprehensively before any approval is granted.

I am also concerned about the interaction between this proposal and the ongoing Pacific Square remediation works. The assessment documentation appears to rely on assumptions regarding staging, access and construction sequencing that remain subject to change. There does not appear to be a fully integrated assessment of the cumulative impacts arising from multiple major construction activities occurring in close proximity at the same time.

As someone who works in scientific research, I am accustomed to assessing evidence, uncertainty and risk. What concerns me about this proposal is the extent to which significant issues are acknowledged but deferred. Traffic impacts, construction management, access arrangements and cumulative construction effects are recognised, yet many are left to future plans and future decisions. In my view, known and foreseeable impacts should be clearly resolved before consent is granted, not afterwards.

I support the need for additional housing and recognise the importance of affordable housing. However, those objectives should not come at the expense of reasonable planning outcomes for existing residents, neighbouring land uses and the broader community.

Ultimately, I do not believe the current proposal demonstrates that a development of this scale can be accommodated on the site without imposing unacceptable impacts on adjoining properties and local infrastructure. The proposal remains substantially similar to schemes that have previously been rejected, and the issues that led to those decisions have not been satisfactorily resolved.

For these reasons, I respectfully request that the application be refused.

Thank you for your consideration.

Dr Robert Rapkins

This formal submission registers an absolute community objection to the amended design proposal for 138 Maroubra Road (SSD-81426710). The surrounding community requests that the Department refuse development consent based on severe traffic infrastructure failure, unsustainable high-density overdevelopment, and critical safety risks to vulnerable residents.
The proposal directly disregards the physical site constraints previously upheld by the NSW Land and Environment Court in its November 2024 refusal (Maroubra Property Development Pty Limited v Randwick City Council). Piling a 10-storey high-density tower onto an isolated, non-amalgamated standalone plot overloads the site boundaries and misuses affordable housing incentives to bypass local height controls.
Key Infrastructure & Community Impacts:
• Traffic & Pedestrian Gridlock: Funneling 100% of residential, visitor, delivery, and waste vehicles through Piccadilly Place and the rear Bruce Bennetts Place roundabout guarantees chronic traffic paralysis due to existing heavy commercial loading trucks from Pacific Square.
• Senior Citizen Safety Hazard: This laneway bottleneck creates severe vehicle-pedestrian conflict risks, threatening the physical safety and mobility of the high concentration of walking senior citizens who use this flat corridor daily to access essential services.
• Microclimatic Loss & Visual Oppression: Piping a raw 32.5-meter concrete vertical face right along the shared boundary line inflicts permanent afternoon solar deprivation and visual claustrophobia onto adjacent living spaces, severely degrading the health and livability of less-mobile elderly neighbors.
The Department is strongly urged to maintain orderly planning frameworks and refuse consent. Please refer to the attached document

This formal submission records a comprehensive community objection against the amended design plans submitted for 138 Maroubra Road, focusing explicitly on unsustainable high-density overdevelopment and transport network failure. The proposal ignores the core physical constraints upheld by the NSW Land and Environment Court in its 2024 refusal (NSWLEC 1716). Squeezing an inflated 10-storey built form onto a standalone, un-amalgamated single lot represents an inappropriate overdevelopment that relies on housing bonus calculations to evade local height restrictions. Operationally, funneling 100% of residential transit, commercial deliveries, and waste services into the narrow rear pathway of Piccadilly Place creates chronic traffic gridlock at the main roundabout. This creates unacceptable noise pollution for adjacent homes and introduces direct collision risks for the numerous families and vulnerable senior citizens walking through this flat commercial corridor daily. The Department is urged to refuse consent. Full arguments are detailed in the attached document.

This strategic community impact statement represents a unified public objection by the surrounding residents and affected adjoining neighbours against the amended 10-storey proposal at 138 Maroubra Road due to acute overdevelopment and severe traffic network degradation. The revised design completely bypasses the core site boundaries and community protections established by the NSW Land and Environment Court's 2024 refusal (NSWLEC 1716). Crowding a standalone, un-amalgamated parcel with a high-density footprint by exploiting affordable housing calculation incentives represents a severe overdevelopment that compromises local neighborhood character. Operationally, directing 100% of all residential vehicles, commercial deliveries, and waste services into the restricted rear lane at Piccadilly Place creates a permanent infrastructure failure and a dangerous traffic chokepoint at the commercial roundabout. This layout poses a critical safety risk to local families and the heavy demographic of less-mobile senior citizens walking through this flat precinct. The Department is urged to refuse consent. Full grounds are detailed in the attached document.

This strategic planning submission outlines a formal community objection to the amended design plans submitted for 138 Maroubra Road due to structural overdevelopment and severe transport network impacts. The revised proposal fails to resolve the clear physical constraints upheld by the NSW Land and Environment Court in its 2024 refusal (NSWLEC 1716). Squeezing an out-of-scale 10-storey envelope onto a narrow, isolated parcel represents an unsustainable footprint overload that bypasses local height controls using mathematical housing bonuses. Furthermore, directing 100% of the building's operational vehicle traffic, visitors, and loading activities into the tight rear confines of Piccadilly Place guarantees continuous traffic gridlock at the commercial roundabout. This layout creates severe acoustic issues for adjacent homes and introduces critical collision risks for the numerous families and vulnerable senior citizens walking through this precinct. The Department is urged to reject the application. Detailed grounds are outlined in the attached document.