41 Robey Street Maroubra NSW 2035

Another boarding house in Maroubra. Is there a limit to how many we will have?

Hello,

DA 382/2019

There is no statement of environmental effects available on the council website.

Regards

How can Maroubra stand a fighting chance if Developers continue to lodge Boarding House DA’s?

This suburb has more than its fair share of affordable housing, it cannot cope with more of the same.

Too many social unrest issues and not enough balance in residential dwellings. This area needs to attract more families, more aspirational residents who will be here long-term, and who will invest their time and energy in community events and programs.

We have more than our fair share of affordable housing dwellings. Please council, enough is enough. Support residents who are trying their best to make Maroubra a better place to live. We need your help - just say ‘No’ to developers who have no regard for current residents, and little concern for the long term pain these developments will cause.

I would like to object to the DA 382/2019 for the proposal of a Boarding House on 41 Robey Street Maroubra, for the following reasons:

1. Building a Boarding House at this location is not in character with other buildings in the neighbourhood. All the properties along Robey Street and Ferguson Street (from Maroubra road to Beauchamp Road) is predominately all single story houses with the odd double storey house, and 2-3 high density properties on Robey Street near Maroubra Road at the Junction.
2. Onsite parking: The development proposes 31 boarding rooms, but only 7 parking spaces for vehicles!! If I am correct, the SEPP standards say that .5 car space needs to be provides for every room, for every proposed DA Boarding House. This means they need to provide a total of 16 car spaces for this development to be compliant with the SEPP standards. Yes, the developers have made provision for 1 GoGet car share space, but what is if the majority of residents want to have their own car. Where will they all park? 7 car spaces will not be enough!
3. The developers have not done a traffic and parking survey for Robey Street and Ferguson Street.
4. Parking is already limited on Robey Street, Ferguson Street and Wise Street and would not be able to accommodate the extra amount of cars from this development due to their lack of car spaces provided for 31 boarding rooms.

In summary, the Boarding house is completely out of character with the surrounding area, for its purpose and it does not meet the SEPP standards for car spaces for 31 boarding rooms, not to mention limited car spaces on Robey Street and Ferguson Street.

It’s entirely understandable developers are wanting to make a fair return on their investment but not at the expense of the local community.

As highlighted by other concerned residents, there is no value to local residents. This area needs more diverse housing, not more of the same. Council must step in and protect Maroubra from having any more of these boarding houses approved. As rightly highlighted previously, Mar can’t continue to be the dumping ground for property developers seeking to make quick returns, and burden the local community, residents , law enforcement authorities with long term issues in the process.

Why has Maroubra become the dumping ground for developers to make some cash? Council need to step up and protect the residents of Maroubra who are working their backsides to make this a better place to live. This place needs help..... not be loaded with extra baggage on our saddle bag. This has to be rejected, for the sake of better balance in housing stock, and mental health of residents who are struggling as is. Stand up for local residents and not developers. Maroubra will not be a dumping ground for cheap housing options. We ALREADY HAVE EBOUGH PUBLIC HOUSING. This place won’t stand a chance if developers continue to have their way with council.

Hello, I would like to express my strong objection to this proposed Boarding House development application.

I agree with above comments in that affordable housing should be distributed across a broader area rather than in concentrated pockets like in Maroubra as this just creates ghettos.

Maroubra already has higher crime and anti social behaviour. If you’re not convinced then you haven’t been living in Maroubra long enough or haven’t had conversations with Maroubra law enforcement officers ...where they’ll happily advise where the problem areas are.

Seems like we are not learning from our past mistakes. This DA has to be rejected.

It’s probably worth reminding ‘concerned residents’ that boarding house da’s are completely within the rules ....so it’s a matter of accepting it or just simply moving on.

And Maroubra has plenty of public housing so adding building more affordable housing to the area won’t make the area any worse than it already is.

So my advice is to stop complaining, maybe even realise financial opportunities to be had in places like Maroubra where buying property with development opportunity can make a handy profitable return. There’s plenty of opportunity, plenty of wealth to spread around..so start buying, developing ... and less complaining is my advice.

Thanks,
Abbas

I wonder if Abbas is a boarding house developer.

Do you live in Maroubra Abbas?

I agree with Sam from six days ago. Especially about parking. I live close to Robey st and parking can be difficult to find. During sporting events at Heffron Park eg Saturday netball it is impossible.
Don't allow this in Maroubra.

This enormous development will impact us enormously in our wee semi in Wise street Maroubra .
Maroubra is moving further and further away from being a
family friendly suburb to more problems
with boarding houses where higher
drug and alcohol use will increase and with it brings the enormity
of social problems .
Also Parking is a problem for residents and this will be an even bigger issue .
the Privacy of the residents that back on to this development will have their quality of life
and privacy reduced greatly esp as all our living dining and entertainment is done in our back yard
feeling disappointed if this was to be past by Randwick Council This is not progress this is reducing people’s quality of life and causing even more friction when people live in such small and close housing This mustn’t happen to air neighbourhood

I’ve been to visit friends many times who live in Wise street and to my frustration couldn’t find a parking spot close by and have had to drive around for 20 minutes.
Please give careful consideration of this development as the streets are congested enough already.

Liz A

I have lived in Maroubra my whole life and very close to 41 Robey St. The development of the boarding house will be a very intrusive project that will affect many residents on Robey, Wise Street and Fitzgerald Lane. Parking is already a massive pain to find when returning from work. On top of that, privacy will be compromised for those living in Wise st as a lot of the living is done outside.
This part of Sydney suburbia can not thrive with a 4 story boarding house incompetently placed. Something like this should be on Anzac parade, growing outwards from Pacific square.

In reply to Abbas W
t’s probably worth reminding ‘concerned residents’ that boarding house da’s are completely within the rules ....so it’s a matter of accepting it or just simply moving on.

These DA's are not complying developments. They exceed local council LEP's LEP's developed over many months with Community groups to ensure that any proposed Development fits with community expectations. We are not NIMBYs. We acknowledge that developments will and should occur. What we fight for is that developments stay within the guidelines. If the legislation declares a proposed development provide a certain number of carparking places then the DA should oblige this. If the building height for the area is 12m then the development shouldn't exceed this. Boarding houses have been included in legislation to provide low income earners with affordable housing. Profit driven developers (not social housing providers) are corrupting the intent of this legislation to make profit with no thought to what they live behind. If you use public transport or have children in school or wish to keep unrestricted parking in your area, I would ask your local member, precinct commit, councillor that only complying Developments be approved. I ask all readers to give their support in the Land & Environment court to block the non-complying boarding house development proposed for Fenton Ave Maroubra. The sooner we have gain traction in the courts the soon developers will stop proposing non complying developments
Stephen J

Iam a resedent of Maroubra for the past 25 years . When I heard about 41 Robey street Maroubra proposed development . I was saddened and upset due to our small street and with this development and others proposed for this area It will make our street very congested parking difficult .
It will effect the street scape which we will see from our home .
I also have a fear of strangers always coming and going to an area that is a family friendly making me feel unsafe in my own home .
I feel this proposed development will effect too many others in this area and far too many people residing in small bed sits in the plans I have seen .
the development will impact the health of many not only the dust and asbestos but the noise level will be unbearable the trucks and tradespeople will block the street s around us and moving on the amount of residents and only 7 car spaces will make it an ongoing problem

I visit my family, who reside on wise street, frequently. Parking has always been an issue for years. Developing a boarding house without enough space to park for every individual living there would create problems far beyond repair for those who live and have lived on wise street for many years.

There is also the issue of affordable housing inevitably bringing those who perhaps indulge in the use of drugs. There are families all around the proposed area of development with small children. Going forward with this development will create more issues for the neighbourhood, unease and perhaps a lack of safety. People should feel safe in their neighbourhood and homes.

Hi
I would like to strongly reject for this Boarding house project DA/382/2019. Due to I am unable to agree with a small street, family friendly environment and so convenience location to destroy. The impact for the residents of the area will have their privacy impacted.
To build the boarding house , the developer should consider the local resident who will impact with your project for the short term and long term.
There are so many lands from Maroubra until Little Bay, why the developer needs to choose the area which is good for local resident and has the parking problem enough.
I am not against to build the boarding house but the council should consider the location and environment impacts.
Randwick council should reconsider and be proud your local residents choose your suburb to be their home.

This application appears to add to an already worsening congestion of high density living for Maroubra.

Hi. I am against the proposed building of a boarding house at 41 Robey Street, Maroubra. I visit/stay in Wise Street on a regular basis and have done for over 20 years...I have an independent veiw as i am a non resident. I have friends and family who live in close proximity to this proposed site. This boarding house will be totally out of character because many surrounding houses are protected by Council and Law as heritage listed. This will dramatically change the feel and uniqueness of this neighbourhood visually. It is such a shame to build a modern, intrusive, large structure, amoungst these period homes. It would be devastating to look back with regret, which could have been avoided by building in a more suitable area from the start. Public are aware of all the problems associated with a boarding house, do you need this in
this unique area?. This needs substantial thought and consideration...prevention is better than cure surely.?..listen to the locals, observe and " take all blinkers off"...so the outcome and future is optimum and not just convenient, ideally be prevented and re-evaluated for another more suitable area . There should be no proposed boarding house without adequate carparking in an area that is already struggling for existing home owners to park anywhere near their homes. This in itself is a huge issue...and would never be considered with such little insight surely? Linda

I have several friends who live in Wise Street adjacent to this proposed development . There already exists a significant issue with parking . When I visit Wise Street it is pretty much always full of cars making visiting very difficult . I have a Disabled Parking sticker but this makes no difference as parking is at an absolute premium already I often have to wait for a long time to find parking and have to walk long distances which is difficult for me . It seems highly inappropriate to consider approving this type of development in this area which is largely single detached or semidetached homes .

Not sure why there are so many against this DA. Boarding House developments provide an opportunity to create wealth!!! Randwick Council already recognise this and have jumped onboard with approving over 15 in recent times. Can I suggest residents jump onboard too. Start Developing!! There’s money to be made in Maroubra. Long Term consequences can be dealt with by simply living outside Maroubra. Simple!

I would like to object to the DA 382/2019 for the proposal of a Boarding House on 41 Robey Street Maroubra:

1. Boarding House at this location is out of character for this area, it's mostly houses. It's safe and quiet neighborhood, which we'll be ruined by this boarding house.
2. Finding parking in our area on some days is impossible as it is. New additional cars will bring more pain and disorder. How our street can accommodate the extra amount of cars from this development?
3. Our suburb has more than its fair share of affordable housing and often making news not for a good reason.
4. I've already raised concerns with council about intersection of Robey st and Wise st which can be congested on the weekends, this new development will be bringing an extra pressure..
Very unhappy and disappointed with this DA.

Anyone who supports this development is probably involved in the application - would they really like to have this sort of development next to their home - I do not think so. I think this development in this area of Maroubra is disgusting and I will complain as much as I like. I really feel for the people living around this boarding house application and would vehemently oppose any such development. The people of Maroubra should be screaming NO. We have enough of overdevelopment in Maroubra and enough is enough. I would suggest the people being directly affected by this development start a petition as I am sure they would get many many signatures.

Many who work in the essential services space live 60-80ks away, so where’s the consideration for teachers, nurses, police officers who make that long commute each day just to protect our interests? Instead, we have council approving these ridiculous applications which only benefit a very narrow, influential and wealthy interest group.

Let’s see innovative housing solutions, catering more to working families who are servicing our community each day, without them we wouldn’t have much to crow about.

And yes, Public Housing does make sense, but it’s fair to say Maroubra has done more than its fair share to support these lower economic groups with safe housing.

This area needs more of a mix in housing supply, and favourable consideration towards more affordable private housing stock (eg more town houses, units with 2-3 beds etc) is the way we should head.

Randwick Council - I implore you to not approve this DA! I am not a resident of the adjoining properties or even Maroubra for that matter - but I feel for these people. This development sets a new precedent for boarding houses and should be rejected outright. I am not against boarding houses - but they should not be situated in quiet single-dwelling residential areas, but instead on main thoroughfares, and in close proximity to public transport. Everything is wrong about this development application.

I strongly object to DA 382/2019
As the co-owner of a house on Wise Street and a Maroubra resident for the last 32 years, I have seen my fair share of developments around Maroubra Junction. This is my first objection to a Development Application within Randwick City.
My main concern is the amount of available parking spots around Wise Street. I see vehicles belonging to residents in the flats/apartments on Anzac Parade and Ferguson Street parked on Wise Street on a daily basis.
That includes the 'Rent My Car' minivans and the odd commercial truck that are a pain to navigate around.
I understand we all live in a capitalist society but I don't see why someone has to inject disharmony into a well established community which I considered as already 'space-deprived'.
As the proposal had said: Boarding House. Will I be seeing more garbage dumped outside the property as I see the constant dumping of rubbish outside the block of apartments on Ferguson Street as you approach Pacific Square?
I am not against 'Affordable Rental Housing' but I believe 41 Robey Street is not the proper place for a boarding house. I just don't know what is going through the brains of the developer. Is he/she trying to turn the boarding house into a tourist hot-spot? Or Is he/she trying to make a quick profit from the cheap accommodation?
Making a profit is not a problem but how you make that profit is open to discussion.
I strongly recommend the Planning Committee reject the development application.

Disagree with most of these comments. These Maroubra Boarding House DA’s are fair and benefit the entire community. Should have one on every street corner. Residents complaining should just leave to another area. Maroubra = Opportunity $$. Thank You

How a single dwelling property being replaced with 2 buildings housing over 30 people can even be suggested is beyond a joke. There is no money being made for the people who are being forced to accept and adapt to this thoughtless development. How dare anyone suggest they leave. I don't even live near there and feel for the real residents of Maroubra.

I wish to make it known
I am objecting to this application.
That narrow street cannot possibly be adequate for all the garbage a boarding house would produce.
Could you please listen to the articulate people above me. How ridiculous!
How could this be approved? That space there is not at all appropriate for a boarding house and of no benefit to the community built there. Find another space. Surely a street with guttering would be better.

I stayed around the corner from here at Easter. I believe that this area does not need an increase in boarding house style accommodation. There is insufficient parking available in the area, streets are congested & there is a destruction of the areas natural character. Putting more boarding houses up will significantly impact local residents!

I object to this boarding house proposal which is of a poor design and is aimed at providing a low quality product.
The proposed unit sizes are small eg. Approximately 12.7 sq m . This size is appalling. So 32 of these small units x 2 occupants each . Therefore aprox. 70 residents on this block which is currently occupied by 1 house.
Every unit will be equipped with single-phase air conditioning units. So there will be 30 to 40 of these units mounted on the facade or the roof.
Would you like to live next to this ?
There are lots of other issues eg parking , Rubbish , noise , crimes etc
Please disapprove this .
We need better developments!

This is really a worrying trend we’re seeing here. Developers are getting in Maroubra, and based on the countless number of approvals, it looks like they’re getting their way with Randwick Council too.

Local residents complaining on these and other social platforms is not enough it seems to put this madness to an end.

Just returned from holidays to find out from our neighbour that 3 Chester Ave DA was approved...30 something shoebox like Boarding Rooms. Packing in humans like they are fish, deepening the pockets of Developers (and who knows who else?)

Council should be ashamed of themselves for approving these Boarding House DA’s, but I feel us Residents are to blame for voting them in the first place.

For an area that has so much public housing, what chance is there to make Maroubra a better place to live.

Think Council, THINK. This madness has to end, for the sake of broader community.

There are a lot of comments about boarding houses in Maroubra. Perhaps interested parties could attend the next Maroubra Precinct meeting to ask questions about the overall plan for Maroubra. Is there a plan? How many are enough? Are these developments ever knocked back?
The next meeting is Mon 26th August at Maroubra Surf Lifesaving Club.
You can contact them on maroubraprecinct@gmail.com

We live in one of the affected properties on Wise St. This thing is absurd - it’s completely out of character with every other building on the block, and excessive in bulk and scale. It will totally look down into our backyard, and block the summer sun. And I agree that 7 car spaces is laughable - parking on the street is already often difficult. I’ve no doubt some developer is licking his lips - look elsewhere Mehajer!

I strongly object to this DA. It is not within keeping with the surrounding houses and streets. Maroubra now has overdevelopment, and the current infrastructure cannot cope with any further development. Randwick Council need to take a stand against developers and to have a 32 room boarding house with only 7 car spaces for 32 units in a residential street is not feasible, and will greatly impact on the surrounding residents. I implore the Council to reject this DA for the sake of the residents of the street and also for the suburb of Maroubra.

We approve this DA, and plenty more Boarding House DA's for Maroubra. It's good for business so guys just stop whinging and start investing! Don't knock it til you try it!

If not, there are plenty of other places to live. And btw, Council are doing a great job, pls keep it up. We love your support.

RE DA 382 2019

I must say that I was utterley stunned when I received this planning alert . As far as I knew , the only area around here that would be approved for dwellings of 3 or more stories would be Anzac Parade . This development would be completely out of character in the proposed location on Robey Street . In the winter months an enormous shadow is going to be cast on properties to the south of 41 Robey Street . As well as that , as many others have already referred to , if this development goes ahead street parking will become an utter nightmare for those without off street parking allocation . Then there is the privacy issue . There will be three properties ; and two in particular where all sense of privacy is going to be completely lost . Where previously there was only a single story property behind a 2 metre fence , there may now be as many as 31 units having a free view into these properties . This is outrageous to say the least ; whereby you have privacy then suddenly it is all lost . I cannot beleive that the council is even considering approving this development as it is completely wrong . Thank you .

How can this possibly be approved when we already have parking issues? Maroubra is already becoming overdeveloped. This is clearly a residential area, with mostly single level housing. I feel for the people who live right there and how much this will effect them.

I thoroughly object to the implementation of this boarding house. It will greatly impact the residents health and wellbeing, as well as being a nuisance and an eyesore. This boarding house will affect the day to day life of every resident in severly negative ways, and has no positive impact for the locals. Randwick City Council need to consider the detrimental effects that this boarding house will implement on the surrounding locals, before blindly going ahead with construction.

I think there are already too many of this sort of accommodation- there is not enough infrastructure to cope with another large building with many residents - the building is out is out of character for the street - it's already a difficult to visit that area wirh minimal street parking

Living in Wise Street I can attest that a development of this nature is completely out of character when compared to its immediate neighbours, raising a number of concerns for me.

Parking in the surrounding area (Wise, Robey and Ferguson Street) is already quite limited and it can be stressful for residents and visitors to find parking. My worry is that with only 7 proposed car spaces for the 31 residents, any extra vehicle requirements will fall on-street parking - further exacerbating the difficulty in finding parking. I am not convinced that serious investigation into parking availability has been conducted - the only reference to traffic impact in the PDC Traffic Report was that the development would have “...no material impact on the performance of the external road network” however it makes no mention of the already congested residential streets. The proposed ‘car sharing’ solution only helps to address the issue if the residents do not have a desire to own their own vehicles which seems difficult to predict.

The current development proposes that while “The subject site is not a heritage-listed item, but is located adjacent to and in the vicinity of the following heritage listed item: Semi-detached pair, 11 - 11A Wise Street … The heritage item has local heritage significance.” This semi is a modest single-level dwelling. The proposed development will tower over these properties, allowing for direct line of sight into backyards and rear living quarters. Additionally, being heritage items, there is little that can be developed on these adjacent properties to safeguard them from this invasion of privacy.

In recent times there has been a worryingly high number of reports of international students being exploited by Sydney’s under-regulated informal housing market. Reports are already particularly prevalent in the nearby areas of Kingsford and Kensington. I am worried that the proposed development is a perfect fit for facilitating the financial exploitation of international students who aren’t familiar with standard housing practices in Sydney or don’t know their legal rights.

I am opposed to the proposed development and I implore the Planning Committee to reject the development application.

I visit friends in two residences often in Wise st and live locally and I oppose the proposed “ development “ in Robey st for numerous reasons. The size and number of occupants is totally out of character for the surrounding heritage listed family homes. The inadequate number of car spaces for the possible number of occupants is totally out of proportion and will put increased pressure on the highly competitive daily ritual of finding a carpark anywhere near your residence. Privacy would be lost as this building would tower over neighbouring family homes most of them single storey. I fear these types of dwellings if allowed to proceed could lead to an influx of greedy developers buying up properties to turn a profit on overcrowded boarding houses frequently exploiting low income people/students. A smaller scale dwelling with larger room size and less overcrowding of the area would possibly be more appealing to the current long term rate payers that live in surrounding homes.

The scale of the building is not suitable to the surrounding streets of wise and robey, issues for parking as no parking close to this development on robey street and to state they only 7 car places, there is too much drugs and bad behaviour now in maroubra so people coming and going to a boarding house attract the wrong people in a small street
this area is suitable for single storey house with some garden space
Boarding house should be built close to main road as it suitable to public transport bus or tram there is too much greed with the developers and no consideration to the area and local people who live here for long time

Re: DA 382/2019 - 41 Robey Street, Maroubra

In your own Vision 2040 Consultation you ask local residents what they loved about where they live. Randwick City Council also states on its website that it's "the people who are best placed to identify the unique qualities and character of a place..." I ask that you listen to these same people, (particularly those who live in Wise Street) when making a serious decision about any potential overdevelopment at 41 Robey Street, Maroubra. Imagine what it would feel like to suddenly have hordes of people staring down into your backyard into once private space. Imagine having to drag shopping bags for miles with parking already heavily congested in this area. Please consider the lives of these long serving residents and how they might be irrevocably transformed by such an inappropriate development.

From where I see things, residents opposing these developments are short sighted. Boarding Houses are a great form of housing, even great to make money. Maroubra needs more of these. Less complaining is what is needed here. Just like 3 Chester Ave Boarding House, maybe a couple of rooms could be removed to lessen any perceived disruption to traffic...so reduce no more than 2 boarding rooms....that’s it!

Let’s make money people!

The "anonymous" comment above is probably from the owner. Why would you build TWO houses in one block of land? How greedy can you get?

1) Noise and Privacy Concerns
This is a family area with very young children and infants. The construction of the 3-4 stories houses with 31+ rooms create a very undesirable living area in this low density residential suburb. If the property was on Anzac Parade, it would have been different but this is right in the middle of a residential suburb with 7 adjacent properties. With multiple rooms on the top floor, I'm concerned about the privacy of my children and the blocking of the sunlight for the garden / backyard. Partying with large amounts of people in the communal/outdoor areas will cause headaches for everyone in an otherwise safe and quiet area.

2) Fail to Fit the Character of the Inner Residential Street
The existing apartments are build on Anzac Parade and corner/intersections. Building a 31-room high-density boarding house adjacent to singles/two storey houses, averaging 3-5 person per block, is in complete contrast to the existing low density building scheme. With that many boarding rooms, low income occupants can come and go with no responsibilities to keep the area safe and clean.

3) Safety Concerns
The narrow strip of land is unsuitable for two densely populated building forms with car lifts and can cause people to be trapped in the middle of a fire. With boarding houses, visitors can come and go and there is a lack of safety emphasis to existing families in the area. Traffic from Anzac parade and Maroubra road are already keeping Robey / Ferguson streets very busy, with parked cars on sides.

4) Lack of Parking
Robey / Ferguson are small streets with limited parking. The parking in front of my house is already heavily occupied. With the increase of 31 rooms plus visitors on the weekend, there are only 2+7 on premise parking space. The rest of rooms with potentially 20-40+ cars have no where to park but fight for existing parking in the area. Furthermore, occupants will take up street parking before going through car lifts and underground parking.

5) Other Communities are Rejecting High Density Boarding Houses
There are no reasons for such a high density boarding house in the middle of single/two storey houses. Other communities have rejected 10-30 rooms boarding houses on even bigger sized land.
Engadine [10 rooms]
https://www.theleader.com.au/story/5754312/residents-rise-up-a-second-time-against-boarding-house/

Ettalong [30 rooms]
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/land-and-environment-court-reject-plans-for-a-boarding-house-in-ferry-rd-ettalong/news-story/69fbd7da387a118463a6b5cc1ab159bd

Hi all - beware, the proponent has submitted an amended DA for this absurd development. It's not over yet. Please lodge your objections to Randwick council council@randwick.nsw.gov.au.