A 14-unit development is proposed at this residential site  on Chipala Court, Edgewater.
Camera IconA 14-unit development is proposed at this residential site on Chipala Court, Edgewater. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

City of Joondalup concerned by Edgewater apartments plan

Tyler BrownJoondalup Times

AN apartment complex in Edgewater should not be developed in its current proposed form, according to City of Joondalup officers.

The 14-unit development across 1 and 3 Chipala Court will be recommended for refusal at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

The proposal includes the amalgamation of the two sites and development of eight two-bedroom and six single-bedroom units accessed by a 3m wide driveway from Chipala Court. There will also be 18 on-site car parking bays and eight visitor bays within the verge.

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The 1379sq m site, which currently has two separate houses, has a residential density of R20/R40 and is part of a housing opportunity area, which aims to increase density in areas near train stations, public transport and shopping centres to meet State Government infill targets.

At this week’s council briefing, planning and community development director Dale Page said the City’s Local Housing Strategy did allow for the site to be developed with apartments and the number allowed was derived from the size of the units, the building height and plot ratio, open space, setbacks and parking provisions.

“The City cannot refuse this application solely based on the number of units proposed,” she said.

“The applicant is, however, seeking to exercise discretion in numerous areas where the City doesn’t believe the design principles and objectives have been met and therefore the City is recommending refusal,” she said.

This includes street and lot boundary setbacks, building and front fence heights, store dimensions, site works, pedestrian and disability access, and driveway arrangements.

The proposal was advertised to surrounding affected landowners and the City received 10 objections from those consulted, 45 objections from other Edgewater residents and one “no objection” from an abutting owner.

Residents at the council briefing also raised concerns of the negative impact on the residential amenity and character of the area, increased noise and traffic, the scale of the building, privacy issues, the heat island effect, lack of sustainability measures and the community being “carved up for profit by developers who are never going to live there”.

However, owner Naim Jones requested councillors vote next Tuesday night to defer consideration of the development application “to provide us with an extension of time sufficient enough to enable us to work closely with the City to address all items listed, and address and satisfy the objections raised by my fellow neighbours to achieve a quality and positive mutually desirable outcome for our community”.

Hope for density relief

THERE could be a glimmer of hope for residents who have concerns with increasing density as part of meeting State Government infill targets.

At Tuesday night’s 12/9 Joondalup council briefing, planning and community development director Dale Page said the issues raised by Edgewater residents regarding the proposed Chipala Court apartment complex were similar to those raised by residents in other housing opportunity areas, such as Duncraig.

“Up until this point, when City officers have engaged with the State Government planning department, there has not been an appetite to allow us to tailor our own policies to vary provisions of the (residential) codes to deal with specific issues in our patch,” she said.

“However, we had a meeting with the Department of Planning last week and there may be a growing appetite to consider that.

“Whilst I believe there may not be an appetite at the State Government level to reduce density in these housing opportunity areas, there could be a growing appetite from the State Government to allow us to tailor our policies to at least address some of the issues.”

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