Whilst supporting an improvement and development of the site, I strongly object to the proposed height and quantity of the proposed buildings. The proposed structure is well above the current height of existing Apartments in Cowan Road. Cowan Road is a busy thoroughfare for residents and visitors to the adjoining Shopping Centre, as well as motorists travelling from Mona Vale Rd to and from Killeaton Street . On street parking is very limited at any time for visitors of existing Apartments, Church attendees and shop staff (although there is some staff parking provided) .
If this developement goes ahead in its current proposal, I believe it will create a danergous bottle neck on an already busy road .

I strongly object to the SSDA for 5-9 Cowan Road, St Ives
Cowan Road is a small two-lane suburban street, already suffering from traffic congestion particularly at peak times. It has to cope with traffic to and from the shopping (town) centre, traffic using it as a “rat run” between Mona Vale Road and Killeaton Street, the congregation attending Christ Church both on Sundays and during the week for other meetings etc., the traffic for the Golf Club (7 days), the traffic for the sports and training sessions on Cowan Oval and the residents of Cowan Road, with many 2-3 storey “over 55” developments housing multiple units. It cannot be denied that traffic is already an issue in Cowan Road.
The addition of some 150 cars onto Cowan Road (where there were only 20) will detrimentally and dangerously affect the amenity of the street. The majority of residents are over 55 and trying to cross Cowan Road, particularly for the elderly, will become even more challenging and dangerous.
The government policy is to put in-fill affordable housing near transport/infrastructure hubs. Firstly the St Ives Town Centre is a modest one-and-a-half storey complex with no major department store, it is certainly not a Chatswood, Hornsby or Macquarie type centre. In St Ives there is no railway station, no metro, no light rail and no plans to provide any of these. Public transport only consists of bus transport on the already congested roads. The bus services are limited, mostly on a one hour or 30 minutes only schedule, which results in the necessity for more use of private transport contributing to the already traffic chaos.
I concede that with increased population, increased housing has to be provided but this should be done sympathetically within reasonable ratios and proportions. To add 74 apartments being over 7 times the current occupation of that site on Cowan Road, without any additional infrastructure and services, will detrimentally affect the amenity and enjoyment of the area, for the residents and the environment generally. Another development at 46 Cowan Road is currently before Council for 78 unit where there were 3 residences. Also the Pymble Golf Club is planning a five storey complex, the full details of which have not been released. Developers are only interested in milking the site for the highest possible dollar profit. They have no concern for the disastrous results left behind for the residents and suburb generally. This madness has to stop. Otherwise we are all going to lose the ambience and liveability of our suburb. St Ives will end up like a Tokyo. For the benefit of the existing residents and for those of the future years, please reject this proposed SSDA for 5-9 Cowan Road, St Ives, requiring it to be redesigned for a three storey complex with a maximum of 25 residences.

M/s Amy Watson Bronwyn Edwards
Director of Affordable Housing Assessment. 7/30-32 Cowan Rd
St Ives NSW 2075
0400839422
Re Prosper 5-8 Cowan Rd St Ives Pty Limited (SDD-889484458)
Dear M/s Watson.
I am appalled by this proposal and object most vehemently. This proposal is an indictment on legislative proclamation; lacking proper investigation and foresight, an worst case example of “one cap fits all” philosophy. A broad- brush approach regardless of whether it is appropriate, compatible, functional, contributes to enhancement of the streetscape and surrounding suburban amenity, is serviced by reliable and adequate infrastructure. It is excessive in bulk, size, height and is totally unsuitable, out of character and proportion compared to the existing amenity of the immediate location. St Ives is a relatively old established suburb and the development of such buildings was not foreseen or provided for in its planned development.
I am not anti-low-cost affordable living accommodation. In fact, I support the logic. I am anti developers profiteering and taking financial advantage from ill- conceived planning legislation without due regard for the existing amenity. St Ives is not a Metro nor on the suburban rail network, the bus network is infrequent and painfully slow and inadequate.
This proposal is most inappropriate for this Cowan Road site, a nine- storey building with 73 apartments towering over a short 1 kilometre long two single lane suburban street, being a rat run linking Killeaton Street to Mona Vale Road, and feeding Northern St Ives suburbia as well as being burdened with an entrance to and exit from The St Ives Shopping centre and Village Green sports grounds. Thrown in for good measure is the entrance to and exit from the Pymble Golf Club directly opposite the site. The street is already gridlocked with motor vehicles at various times of a weekday and weekends. Cowan Road residents already experience significant frustration and inconvenience with the prevailing traffic congestion existing today
The amended plans exceed the height restriction allowable and should be reduced so as to keep within the existing local streetscape.
The setbacks to the boundaries of 4.5 metres proposed for this development is unacceptable and must be minimum 6 metres without encroachment to allow for deep soil landscaping befitting of the Ku-ring-gai Council landscaping standards.
It is noted in the amended submission numerous external balconies have been eliminated on the South Eastern and North Eastern Elevations. I believe this is not compliant with the Standard: all residential units must provide a minimum outdoor balcony space.
I note there is now a golfing simulator included in the amended design. What a most ridiculous inclusion for a development which is proposed under the guise of offering affordable low-cost living accommodation. The space should be developed as common area space for all residents benefit to enjoy. It will be a source of disharmony in the complex by way of the levy cost maintenance allocation between the “haves and have- nots”.
I genuinely believe your department assessment representative should personally visit the location to access the detrimental impact, inconvenience and disruption this proposal will cause to the amenity of the Cowan Road area. This is not fair nor reasonable for a decision of this magnitude to be made from a remote location given the inapt consequences.
Please do not give approval to this project without major building adjustments so as to make it meet acceptable guidelines suited to the site and the amenity of the location.
Yours faithfully
Bronwyn Edwards

Martin Kaplan
Unit 2 / 30–32 Cowan Road
St Ives NSW 2075
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
Major Projects Assessment Team
Submission – Objection to Amended SSD Application
SSD-88948458 – Proposed Residential Flat Building with In-fill Affordable Housing
5–9 Cowan Road, St Ives
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re: Objection to amended development proposal – 5–9 Cowan Road, St Ives
I write as a resident of Unit 2, 30–32 Cowan Road, St Ives, to lodge my continued and strong objection to the amended application for the proposed residential flat building with in-fill affordable housing at 5–9 Cowan Road, St Ives.
I previously objected to the original proposal and, having reviewed the amended plans, remain firmly opposed to the development. In my view, the amended proposal does not materially reduce the impacts previously identified by residents and the community. Rather, it is simply an intensification of the previous matters and objections raised, dressed up as “refinement”, which certainly does not reduce the overbearing impact of the development on Cowan Road and surrounding properties.
The amended proposal remains fundamentally excessive in height, bulk, scale and density. It continues, in substance, to present as a 9-storey residential flat building entirely out of keeping with the established low-rise, landscaped residential character of Cowan Road and the broader Ku-ring-gai garden suburb context.
The amended plans do not cure the original problems with the scheme. On the contrary, they reinforce concerns regarding overdevelopment of the site.
In particular:
• the proposed height has increased from 29.69 metres to 30.6 metres, exceeding even the already uplifted Housing SEPP bonus height;
• the number of apartments has increased from 74 to 77 dwellings;
• the gross floor area remains effectively unchanged;
• communal open space has been reduced;
• parking has been reduced despite the increase in dwellings.
These changes do not represent a genuine reduction in impact. They instead demonstrate a continued push for greater development yield at the expense of local amenity and character.
The core issue remains excessive height, bulk and mass. Cowan Road is not Mona Vale Road. It is a local residential street with a distinct landscaped and low-rise character, limited road capacity and sensitive interfaces with established homes, the church, neighbouring properties and the golf course setting.
The proposal remains incompatible with that context and would create an overbearing and visually dominant built form wholly inconsistent with the surrounding locality.
I also remain deeply concerned regarding privacy, amenity and visual impacts on neighbouring residents. The amended proposal relies heavily on privacy screens, translucent glazing, balcony treatments and defensive design measures in an apparent attempt to mitigate overlooking and amenity impacts caused by the excessive scale of the building itself.
In my view, these measures do not demonstrate good design outcomes. Rather, they confirm that the building is simply too large and too intensive for the site.
Traffic, parking and safety concerns also remain unresolved. Cowan Road already experiences significant congestion and traffic pressure associated with surrounding residential uses, the shopping centre, deliveries and local through-traffic. The reduction in parking spaces while increasing apartment numbers is not a sensible planning outcome and will inevitably exacerbate existing parking and traffic issues within the local road network.
Construction impacts would also be severe and prolonged for nearby residents, including noise, dust, truck movements, construction parking and disruption to residential access and safety.
I further note the applicant’s reliance on an affordable housing component as justification for the scale of the proposal. I do not object to genuine affordable housing. However, I object to the use of a limited affordable housing component as a planning mechanism to justify what is otherwise an excessive and inappropriate built form outcome.
The inclusion of features such as a golf simulator is plainly inconsistent with the purported affordable housing narrative advanced by the applicant and highlights the fundamentally commercial nature of the proposal. In my view, the affordable housing component appears to be little more than window dressing intended to facilitate an otherwise unacceptable development outcome, without properly addressing the real concerns consistently raised by residents regarding excessive scale, bulk, privacy impacts, safety issues and traffic consequences.
The amended proposal continues to represent a significant departure from the prevailing character of Cowan Road and would establish an undesirable precedent for similar overdevelopment within local residential streets.
For these reasons, I strongly object to the amended application and respectfully request that SSD-88948458 be refused.
Yours faithfully,
Martin Kaplan
Unit 2 / 30–32 Cowan Road
St Ives NSW 2075

This is much-needed housing, very close to the shopping centre, allowing more families to live close to amenities and community, especially with the park and playgrounds opposite. I approve of the design and its achievement of providing a substantial number of 2- and 3-bedroom apartments. The number of carparking spaces should be reduced by one entire level if possible to allow some apartments to either forgo having a parking spot or keep minimal ownership. Instead, I would like to see more and better compact bike parking and dedicated car-sharing spots for occupants to utilise instead (ideally EVs too).

On behalf of The Owners Corporation 92315 22 Cowan Road, I would like to voice our concerns about the Project. The project is 7 storeys high, much higher than has previously been allowed in Cowan Road.
Another building project is being undertaken on 46-50 Cowan Road with parking for 150 cars. The project 5-7 Cowan Road also has parking for 150 cars.
Even now, before the building of these two projects, the traffic is often gridlocked in Cowan Road as people attempt to turn into Mona Vale Road or Killeaton Street.
It is very difficult for residents in Cowan Road to drive in or out of their buildings.
Besides the height of the buildings and the fact that these two projects will likely be built in the same timeframe, causing additional problems to St Ives Village shopping centre and the residents in Cowan Road, additional traffic congestion in Cowan Road is a major concern to the residents in our building, 22 Cowan Road, as I am sure it is to Pymble Golf Club and all the other residents in Cowan Road.
Regards
Lynette Walker( Secretary SP 92315 22 Cowan Road)

I support the project, I believe it will significantly improve housing affordability and availability in the area.

I would however like to see the number of units and storeys significantly increased as well as units set aside for essential.