The subject site is located on a corner with its principal entrance addressing St Clair Avenue to the south of the existing home, with the secondary road of Buckland Road located at the site's eastern boundary with road reserve for the same.
The subject site is described as Lot 5/-/DP250423
The subject site is a generally level form, with a detached garage located west of the original home, and adjacent to the site's western boundary.
The surroundings consist predominantly of detached style homes.
The site is accessed by a single width crossover at its southern boundary.
The site is an irregular block narrowing slightly in depth towards its eastern boundary, with a principal frontage of approx 26 metres, a length of 28.0 metres along its western boundary and 22.81 metres at its eastern boundary.
The proposal by decommissioning the original garage use and original crossover and driveway use, will remove off street parking for the occupants of the principal home and generate unacceptable neighbourhood traffic and amenity impacts. Alternative crossover locations if any alternative off street parking is proposed for the principal home will create unacceptable traffic, amenity, pedestrian and road user safety impacts. This is a reason for refusal.
The proposal is located less than 200 metres from the Corridor of the M4 Western Motorway and the applicant has not demonstrated acceptable design measures to protect occupants of the secondary dwelling from acoustic impacts of the motorway according to contemporary standards.
The proposal relies excessively upon mechanical cooling and heating, and is not substantially designed to be insulated from the elements and provide for passive cooling of the dwelling and the roof void space according to contemporary best practices.
The installation of mechanical cooling and heating devices by air conditioning in the boundary setback areas (western boundary) will create unreasonable amenity acoustic impacts upon the site adjacent to the west. Installation of mechanical cooling and heating devices on the eastern side of the secondary dwelling will create unacceptable acoustic impacts upon occupants of the principal (original) home.
The proposal provides for insufficient private and secluded open spaces for the secondary dwelling occupants.
The narrow size of the area set aside for the proposed secondary dwelling will allow insufficient solar access for the secondary dwelling area open spaces due to height of separating fences. Especially in winter and at equinox, the secondary dwelling rooms will have poor internal amenity due to insufficient direct sunlight and solar access unless the issue is addressed by the addition of skylights to those habitable rooms.
The size and location of secluded and private open spaces for the secondary dwelling will generate unreasonable amenity and acoustic impacts to surrounding sites.
The conversion of garage to secondary dwelling responds poorly to Council's Heat Island policy and this use rather than demolition and new structure construction will create unacceptable and poor internal amenity for the secondary dwelling occupants.
The proposal reduces overall site permeability below acceptable minimums and fails to demonstrate measures to detain and control the discharge of stormwater within the site by measures such as substantial rainwater tanks to both dwellings connected to suitable home fixtures, on site stormwater detention, rain garden, and provision of sufficient permeable private open spaces for both homes.
The proposal provides for insufficient deep soil zones and landscaped area together with insufficent plantings of suitable broad canopy trees whose height upon maturity are an appropriate response to local character as well as buffering the excessive visual bulk of the proposal and buffering the travel of night light from into and out of the subject site.
The proposal provides for insufficent environmental and energy sustainability due to poor efficiency of the stormwater detention/discharge, water use, water and space heating and air cooling choices of the applicant. If to be granted approval would seek conditions imposing mechanical ventilation of dwelling roof, 5 star showerheads, air sourced heat pump hot water system, an alternative water system whose tank stores >=2000 litres that is plumbed to lavatories and laundry, and high efficiency low noise inverter air conditioning units only.
The proposal does not demonstrate by a recognised hydraulic and stormwater engineer that there are no unacceptable impacts regarding inundation of surrounding lands, unacceptable rate of discharge of stormwater, etc.
The proposal is an overdevelopment of the site, noting site dimensions, locations of original home and garage/proposed secondary dwelling structure and setbacks.
The proposal represents an inappropriate response to the Penrith Development Control Plan 2014 matters and would be appropriately determined by way of refusal.
