• The proposal significantly breaches the height limits for the R2 Low Rise Residential Zoning (by almost 4 times) and breaches the heights allowed under the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) program by over 22%.
• The Government’s aim was to develop low/medium-rise buildings around transport hubs. This is a high-rise development which is completely incompatible with the locality and hence, is not in the public interest. The mass and scale of this development is totally out of proportion to the street and suburb in general.
• Stanhope Road is one of Killara’s most important Heritage areas. This development takes little or no consideration of heritage issues and/or the heritage homes at 1A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12 and 18 Stanhope Road., which surround the proposed site. The Heritage Impact Statement has fundamental flaws.
• The development has a combination of huge visual impacts, overshadowing, loss of privacy and loss of amenity issues for more than 50 residences directly to the north, south, east and west of the proposed development.
• The Community Engagement on this project was not undertaken correctly. Hence, many residents were unaware of the proposal until well after its lodgement on 9th May on the SSD site. As a result, residents and other interested parties have not had sufficient time to adequately read, understand and respond to the proposal. The lack of numbers at the developer’s so called “drop-in” session on 3rd April reinforce the breach of the community engagement process.
• There are critically endangered Sydney Blue Gum trees on the site, which are at risk if the development proceeds.
• The deep soil of 7% is far below the Ku-ring-gai Council required amount.
• The Developer’s EIS submission contains multiple major contradictions and omissions. It is impossible to understand the actual size and scale of the proposed development as well as what level of benefit the affordable housing is proposed. It needs to be fixed, and the process recommenced from the beginning to give residents a chance to understand same.
• I have lived on Stanhope Road for 13 years & I am a very concerned about the traffic + noise impacts.

Please refer to the attached with my objections to this development and the development process conducted by the developers.

This project would not be allowed under the Ku-ring-gai Council Preferred Scenario which will soon be agreed between the State Government and Council. It also leaves stranded houses around it due to heritage listings.

This project should not be allowed as it will provide very poor planning outcomes.

I write to express my unequivocal opposition to the proposed ten‐storey, 135‐apartment building with 195 car spaces on Stanhope Road, Killara. This project is patently inappropriate and driven purely by developer greed, yielding zero benefit to genuine housing affordability. My key objections are as follows:

Overwhelming Mass & Scale
– At ten storeys, 135 units, and 195 parking spaces, there is nothing of comparable size between Gordon and Roseville. Other Killara apartment buildings top out at five storeys. This tower will dominate the skyline, dwarfing the surrounding single- and two-storey homes and erasing the suburb’s human scale.

Severe Solar Access Impacts
– Existing residences at 12, 8, and 6A Stanhope Road will be plunged into shadow. Their morning and winter sunlight—essential for heating, comfort, and mental well-being—will be irreparably compromised. This loss of solar access directly undermines residents’ quality of life.

Destruction of Critically Endangered Forests
– The site harbors Blue Gum High Forest and Sydney Turpentine–Ironbark Forest, both listed as critically endangered by NSW (May 2025). According to the Heritage Impact Statement, “all trees” will be removed. Eradicating these rare ecosystems is unacceptable and contravenes every principle of environmental stewardship.

Heritage Conservation Area Degradation
– Located within a designated Heritage Conservation Area, the proposal sits adjacent to nine heritage-listed homes. A ten-storey slab will degrade the historical fabric, obliterating the visual harmony that defines this precinct. Such irreversible damage to our cultural legacy is indefensible.

Lack of Local Amenities & Services
– Contrary to developer claims, there is no “Killara Village” within walking distance—closest shops are in Lindfield. Furthermore, Killara High School, local primary schools, and preschools are already operating at capacity. This surge of 135 additional households was not factored into any impact assessments, jeopardizing educational services.

Construction & Parking Nightmare
– During the many months of construction, available street parking will vanish as heavy machinery and tradespeople vehicles occupy every spare space. Once completed, 195 on-site parking spaces mean hundreds more daily car trips on Stanhope Road, clogging our narrow lanes and endangering pedestrians and cyclists.

This proposal does nothing to advance housing affordability: it markets luxury apartments at premium rents or sale prices. The developer stands to profit handsomely, while the local community bears all the costs—overburdened infrastructure, environmental ruin, and loss of heritage.

I do, however, support increasing housing supply in Ku-ring-gai—provided it is done responsibly. Ku-ring-gai Council’s alternative Transit‐Oriented Development plan offers a measured approach: it locates new homes where infrastructure can support them, transitions density gradually, and preserves both our heritage and critical ecosystems. If the goal is genuine affordability and sustainable growth, that plan is the only reasonable path forward.

For the sake of our environment, heritage, and community well-being, I urge you to reject this oversized, misplaced development and champion the Council’s alternative TOD framework instead.

Sincerely,

Scott Yuan

I strongly support his proposal and have some commentary to provide.

1. I support this proposal as it is close to public transportation. We need more housing supply as we are in a housing crisis.
2. Gas is a fossil fuel, as there are more efficient and less costly to the environment and for people who will live in the apartments, its use should be reconsidered. If gas is to be used for cooktops and hot water, then apartment owners will be forced to pay for a separate daily connection fee to use the gas cooktop and for hot water they will be paying an estimated additional $479 a year (https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/how-sydneysiders-could-save-730-a-year-by-ditching-gas-20240325-p5feyf.html). You can find evidence to show that hot water heat pumps are more efficient than gas hot water heating and that induction cooktops are more efficient than gas cooktops. Gas is also a fossil fuel, has potential health impacts when used as part of cooking.

1. There is excessive height above the surrounding buildings (some of which are Heritage Listed) causing shadowing, loss of privacy and visual changes not in keeping with existing street scape of Stanhope Road. The height proposed exceeds the TOD proposal by over 22% and significantly breaches the height limits for the R2 Low Rise Residential Zoning (by almost 4 times)
2. With a high traffic volume of residents and visitors entering the High Rise Development, accidents would occur on the Pacific Highway turning into Stanhope Road where there are NO traffic lights. Stanhope Road is a direct feeder road through to Eastern Arterial Road so new residents would cause traffic congestion.
3. More than 50 Residences would be effected directly to the north, south, east and west of the proposed development with loss of amenity issues, overshadowing, loss of Green Space, recreational space and oxygen creating Trees.
4. It is not consistent with the Ku-ring-gai Council's preferred scenario which recommends a maximum height of 12 metres in this area rather than the 35 metres proposed in this application.
5. While the Governments aim is to develop low/medium-rise buildings around transport hubs, this is a high-rise development which is totally incompatible with the locality and hence, is not in the Public interest.

Submission from a Long-Term Stanhope Resident – Strong Objection to Proposed High-Rise Development on Stanhope Road, Killara

Having lived on Stanhope Road, Killara for 29 years, I feel compelled to express my deep concern and strong objection to the proposed development on Stanhope Road. This development represents a profound departure from the established planning principles that have shaped our community and protected its liveability for decades.

Significant Breach of Height Controls

The proposed 10-storey development blatantly violates the planning regulations that govern this area. It exceeds the height limits for R2 Low Rise Residential Zoning by nearly four times—a clear and unacceptable breach of local zoning laws. Furthermore, it surpasses the maximum building height allowed under the Government’s Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Housing SEPP program by over 22%.

This is not a case of minor non-compliance. It is a deliberate attempt to force a high-density, high-rise building into an area specifically zoned for low-rise residential living. The TOD Housing SEPP was introduced to support well-scaled, low to medium-rise housing near transport nodes—not to open the door to high-rise developments that overwhelm local character and infrastructure. A 10-storey tower is entirely out of place in this context and is not in the public interest.

Unsustainable Impact on Community Infrastructure

Beyond the obvious planning breaches, this proposal would impose serious and lasting pressure on local infrastructure—much of which is already under strain:

Schools: Local schools are operating at or near capacity. The influx of new residents from a high-density development would exacerbate enrolment pressure, reduce available resources, and negatively affect student learning environments.
Healthcare: Medical centres and healthcare services in the area are limited. A significant population increase without a corresponding expansion of services would stretch healthcare access and availability, especially for families and the elderly.
Traffic and Parking: Stanhope Road and the surrounding streets are already congested, with limited on-street parking. The addition of a high-rise development would increase traffic volumes, heighten safety risks for pedestrians and cyclists, and cause further parking shortages for residents and visitors alike.
Community Wellbeing: The sheer scale and density of this development would erode the peaceful, community-oriented nature of the neighbourhood. It threatens to transform a quiet, heritage-rich street into a high-traffic corridor, undermining the quality of life that residents have built and maintained for generations.


Conclusion

As someone who has lived on Stanhope Road for many years, I have seen firsthand how thoughtful planning can protect the integrity and wellbeing of a community. This proposal does the opposite. It flagrantly disregards zoning laws, compromises critical infrastructure, and is incompatible with the character and scale of our neighbourhood.

I urge the relevant authorities to reject this development in its current form. A project of this size and intensity has no place in an R2 Low Rise Residential area and should not be permitted to proceed under the guise of a TOD initiative.

Sincerely,
Kent Mears

I write to object to the proposal to build 135 apartments on the existing lots of 10, 14 and 14A in Stanhope Road, Killara. A developer has bought three plots with existing residences and proposes to demolish them and build 135 apartments of up to 10 storeys. That indicates a seismic change to the current peace, convenience and character of Stanhope Road.
When considering this development application, I ask that you also consider the needs of the existing residents both in Stanhope Road and the immediate locality:
1. Stanhope Road is a beautiful street and a tribute to the gracefulness of Killara. The building of 135 apartments in this street that is lined with elegant houses, some heritage listed, will create an eyesore.
2. The incremental foot traffic will be many times more than exists today and local amenities such as doctors, schools, shops and transport will be challenged to support the enlarged community.
3. The incremental road traffic will be many times more than exists today. Possibly as many as 270 additional cars will use Stanhope Road creating noise pollution, congestion, queues particularly onto Pacific Highway on weekday mornings and parking issues as, inevitably, some apartment owners will prefer to park in Stanhope Road rather than in their own parking spots.
4. At the individual level, existing owners will be unable to avoid many nuisances such as more noise, air pollution, congestion, sunlight deprivation and wind -tunnelling. Their right to privacy will be comprised as they will be constantly over-looked.
The need for additional housing, particularly apartments, in Sydney is understood. However, to build 135 apartments in Stanhope Road is inconsistent with the surroundings and is therefore the reason for this objection. Any developments proposed in Stanhope Road should complement the street’s existing character and be appropriately sized so that the needs of existing residents are sympathetically considered.

The proposal is for 135 apartments and 195 car spaces across 10 storeys. The maximum height of any building in Killara is currently 5 storeys. This will significantly change the character and heritage context of the street.  The proposal significantly breaches the height limits for the R2 Low Rise Residential Zoning (by almost 4 times) and breaches the heights allowed under the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) program by over 22%. The Government’s aim was to develop low/medium-rise buildings around transport hubs. This is a high-rise development which is completely incompatible with the locality and hence, is not in the public interest. The mass and scale of this development is totally out of proportion to the street and suburb in generalThe increase in traffic to the Pacific Hwy will have a major impact on noise, traffic, safety of pedestrians.  Traffic flow from the Pacific Hwy to Stanhope Road will create more of a congestion at peak hours.
Stanhope Road is one of Killara’s most important Heritage areas. This development takes little or no consideration of heritage issues and/or the heritage homes at 1A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12 and 18 Stanhope Road., which surround the proposed site. The Heritage Impact Statement has fundamental flaws.