Dear Objectors to eDA0478/24,

Sincere thanks for your support to date - but could we ask for five more minutes of your valuable time please?

Our online petition https://chng.it/TgmbGMxxq5 has reached approx. 400 signatories and will continue to attract additional petitioners in the coming weeks.

An updated copy will be provided to Council Assessment Officer Luke Donovan via their DA submission email krg@krg.nsw.gov.au prior to the 02 January 2025 deadline for community comment.

The growth of this petition remains critical to Council in demonstrating community support against unsympathetic overdevelopment within its precious heritage conservation areas when dealing with the Land and Environment Court. 

Ku-ring-gai Council held its last Meeting of Council for the year on Tuesday 17th December where Deputy Mayor Kim Wheatley presented the petition signed by approximately 254 residents (at that stage). It was unanimously resolved that the petition be received and referred to the appropriate Officer of Council for attention. This should result in the development now falling under the Ku-ring-gai Local Planning Panel with a significantly elevated level of scrutiny and review by external legal and town planning experts assisting Council. The Petition also now becomes a permanent public record within the Council minutes.

A detailed technical review of the project has been completed by our own Town Planning Consultants and confirms there are multiple deficiencies, omissions and non-compliance issues associated with the development. This will be presented directly to Council by the owners of properties most directly impacted.

We now ask all petitioners to write directly to Ku-ring-gai Council using email krg@krg.nsw.gov.au

Your email must state you are Objecting to eDA0478/24 and include your name and address. You may copy and paste the following if you wish or simply state your own objections to this inappropriate development.

Suggested wording could include:

Dear Luke,

The proposed conversion of the existing historic dwelling house to a centre-based long day childcare facility including the construction of a new building with basement car parking and associated works at 16 Burns Road, Wahroonga presents a multitude of significant issues. The site is not suitable for the development contrary to Section 4.15(1)(c) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Accordingly, Council is urged to refuse consent to DA0478/24 as:

• The adaptive reuse of the site fails to minimise impacts on privacy of adjoining properties within Part 3.5 Visual and acoustic privacy in the Child Care Planning Guideline 2021
• The site is within the Wahroonga Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) and is near five heritage listed properties. Part 3.2 Local character, streetscape and the public domain interface within the Child Care Planning Guideline 2021 states that a “New development should also appropriately consider surrounding identified heritage items and identified heritage conservation areas”. 
• The Heritage Impact Statement contains errors, omissions and misstatements. It fails to address heritage concerns, does not identify all nearby Listed items impacted; does not relate the site to its heritage origins as detached weatherboard guest accommodation, part of the 3 acre Hazeldean Guest House prior to the 1920’s; claims the contemporary design with two levels of underground parking has no negative heritage visual impact on the streetscape within the HCA and the loss of heritage curtilage and integrity to Hazeldean next door is largely ignored.
• Car parking obligations are not met with a shortfall of 4 spaces and staff/ visitors relying upon street parking. The proposed car park is sub-optimal using a scissor vehicle- lift to the lower level. Mandatory Disability parking inappropriately requires wheelchair bound visitors to pass the front of both vehicle ramps to access the lift, creating an unacceptable safety risk to adults and children.
• The Traffic Impact Report fails to reference any of the three Knox campuses, the two Abbotsleigh campuses, St Lucys, St Edmunds and the KU kindergarten all within 1,000 metres of the site, one (Wahroonga Prep) is within 280 metres. The required methodology used was superseded on 4 November 2024 – prior to the DA submission that should necessitate a completely new study.
• Wahroonga already experiences significant traffic congestion from rail commuters, the 6,000 students attending 12 campuses within 1km of the site and Central Coast commuters accessing the M1 using local streets. The additional on-street parking and traffic associated with this centre will exacerbate an already congested and overwhelmed local road network.
• The onsite waste management plan fails to provide for onsite collection of the eight industrial 660 litre waste bins.

Council is again urged to reject this application in its entirety.