PlanningAlerts

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1. If only given the information provided on this web site I would say I do not want a boarding house built on my street.

   We need more information provided on this DA:
   - Is this short or long term housing?
   - type of resident will it attract
   - will this development improve property prices or detract from them

   Boarding house suggests it is a managed facility, and if so who is managing it.
   Will there be Security?

   If it is short term housing, the residents do not have any Roots into the community and as such will detract from the community, if not managed correctly.

   The residents need more information and until such time, I request council that this DA is NOT approved.

2. What is a boarding house development? How are you going to fit 48 units on this property?
   Why does this street/neighbourhood need a boarding house development with all the multi-unit buildings being built on our streets?
   Will this be a private facility or a government facility? And who will be residing in this facility?
   What will be the effect on the neighbouring homes and streets?
   More information is needed for the community to judge the benefit of this development before a decision can be made by council.

3. We wish to bring to Council's attention the danger and difficulties to be encountered at the proposed boarding house site.

   Bellevue Street is a very narrow but also very busy street which was never intended for today's heavy traffic. It can be very difficult to pass another vehicle.

   During peek times, traffic does not allow clear view and with 94 extra lodgers (some with disabilities) it will be difficult to get to the shopping centre for all including children and elderly.

   In our view, it is not a suitable site for the proposed boarding house.

4. Does a boarding house on the site fall under zoning laws for that site? I want to know how a 48 unit building can be built on one suburban site. I presume the application is complying with the Hornsby Housing Strategy of five storeys. If it is five storeys high, the units must be very small. For example on the corner of Thornleigh St and Wood Street 2 houses were demolished to build the approved 44 units. The proposed build would surely not comply with regulations for habitation by humans? Are we supposed to accept that this proposed build is giving boxes for people to live in? Are there common rooms included for the 98 (?) people. Are we providing short term accommodation for backpackers? for air bnb? for a pseudo hotel? (I have never belonged to any political party.)

5. Watch out. This application could be including no 22 Bellevue st thornleigh without declaring. The original application for 20-22 was for 17 units!!!!! Now it is for 20 Bellevue st only with 48 units

6. It seems to me that a lot more information is required. I have tried googling “boarding house accommodation” and see many postings of accommodation available... prices around $250 a week. Now one thing this suggests to me is that many people using such accommodation will be working.... Not too many walk-to-work options in Thornleigh, so presumably we can expect to see the boarding house attracting a significant number of vehicles. So- I would like to see whether parking for at least 48 vehicles, plus the odd guest, is included in the plans? If so, they are going to need a very deep basement- maybe can access direct from the new tunnel!
   Of course the likely outcome is that many people will use the currently unrestricted parking at Thornleigh Marketplace, above Woolworths. Rather doubt that will prove acceptable. Already we have delivery trucks down that street, a lot of traffic... already becoming un-tenable.
   I would like to understand, can Hornsby Council do anything to block this kind of development, or is the ‘boarding house’ another way to circumvent Council’s restrictions?
   Either way, I believe this one will only cause trouble. Scale for a single block on a narrow but busy street is just not practical. Please reject.

7. Absolutely not! It’s bad enough we have to put up with the disgusting development that is already happening with private residential units. The area is overpopulated as it is, building workers and their trucks overtaking the streets. The destruction of Thornleigh Street should be enough warning to other residents to fight this all the way. Much more information is needed, the description is too vague. My family’s life has been ruined by the noise by the increase in residents from the units in Thornleigh Street, people out on the street all hours and lights flooding the street from every unit. The councillors that approve these developments don’t have to live with the consequences before, during and after the fact. It’s an absolute disgrace. Put it on Pennant Hills Road, not the already overloaded Bellevue Street. Say NO NOW.

8. This development will create traffic problems in the area. There is already an issue with parking in Bellevue and surrounding streets, and this will only get worse as the units already under construction are completed and occupied. It is already obvious that some people will park on the street rather than use the basement parking. Some vehicles are too tall or long to safely use basement parking, e.g. vans, and also any visitors are more likely to park on the street.

9. Is this a Halloween joke? It is certainly a nightmare. Council please provide further detailed information about this proposal immediately on your website as well as mail drop to all residents in surrounding streets. What sort of boarding house development is it? Is it for people with disabilities/ Mental illness/intellectual/half way house for ex- prisoners? Who has made the application? What stage is it up to? Who will be building it? When? Who owns it? Is it private or government? Who will be living in it? How many bedrooms in each unit? Will there be parking?

   What and when will be that laughable concept called "community consultation" happen before Council ignores everyone and does whatever it wants. How many council members and staff live in Bellevue Street or surrounding streets?

   How is it possible to propose that 48 units can be build on one lot in an already crowded street facing the 'delightful' Woolworths building another magnificent example of appalling architecture.

   Our lives have been ruined by the over development of Thornleigh. The atrocious home units build over night in this area have destroyed any sense of community. The noise and people fighting on the streets.The over crowding, no parking. Thornleigh has been turned into a ghetto, a boarding house is another nail in the coffin. Reject this proposal.

10. @Theresia, all -

    All available documents are accessible through the HSC DA Tracking pages - go the the Planning Alerts email, and click on the link for this DA - you would have done so already to lodge your comment. At the top of the page is a button with "Read more information". Hit that and it will take you to the HSC DA page for this application. There you will find all documents in the "Documents" tab.

    I recommend looking in detail at the "Plans Architectural", the "Statement of Environmental Effects", the "Traffic Impact Report and Car Parking Certification" (for number of trips per day during peak hours, parking both off street and on street (or on top of Woollies), turning bays, etc.), the "Access Report" (for accessibility, including disabled access etc.), and the "Arborist Report" (how many mature trees will disappear) to start with. Read these carefully, and think if ways why these contain flaws or mistakes or statements that are in conflict with Hornsby or State planning documents. Look at solar access for neighbours, minimum setbacks, maximum height, maximum basement depth and definition of basement, etc.

    The main issues I see is that there are 24 car parking spots / 16 bicycle parking spots / 10 motorcycle parking spots (all underground) for up to 96 lodgers. Typical room size, for two people, is 22m2 - it's a motel room. I have my doubts that these rooms are suitable for families with kids, and I doubt that many of the occupants will "live" here for a long time; it seems, based upon design, that it's more of a temporary accommodation. It's likely that on average, around 20% of the units will remain empty.

    As an example, an interesting point perhaps in the "Access Report" where Page 34 Item 36 requires a minimum circulation space diameter of 2250mm - in a 22.0m2 room (including kitchen corner and bathroom corner and a double bed) I doubt that will be feasible. It's a mandatory feature, according to the report.

    Client seems to be Mr Jason Youssef or Skyblue Developments Pty Ltd. in Oatland (near Parramatta), not to be confused with BlueSky Developments or with Sky Blue Construction in Melbourne. No idea what experience they have in terms of developments or running a boarding house ...

11. A boarding house is quite possibly the worst outcome for the proposed site. As already noted, Bellevue Street is already a nightmare - not just for cars (and not helped by the Woolworths loading dock), but it's a hazard for pedestrians as well.

    Including a 'boarding house' to the mix is a highly inappropriate addition, and it should be denied outright. This is something that Thornleigh just doesn't need, and it seems that the development is designed only to profit from people who can't afford 'proper' housing.

    This proposal should be rejected without further ado.

12. Searching through the council posting i found many dicuments ARE available to view.... We all need to become more expert at navigating this site!
    Seems 24 car park spaces are to be provided in accordance with a government guideline of " 0.5 places per room". That guideline must be intended for normal apartments and houses.... here we see each 2 dwellings are to share 1 parking space And no guest parking. Based on some other guideline (for motels!) the application suggests each unit will make 0.4 journeys in peak hour...( not sure where the cars will be between journeys).
    Looks like they are grabbing guidelines and quoting irrelevances...
    The Apolication appears to raise cynicism to a new level indeed...
    Sharing a car park with your neighbour!

13. This proposal should be fully rejected on the basis of the unsatisfactory traffic and parking analysis. Comparing a fully occupied boarding house with up to 84 residents to a 42 room half full motel grossly underestimates the number of trips per day. Arguably, 84 residents will have approx. 60 cars, and do around 50-70 trips daily, not 20 as suggested.
    The proposal provides 24 car parking spaces, plus 10 motorcycle and 16 bicycle parking spaces, which is the minimum amount "for which a DA cannot be refused". Council should prepare itself for another 40-odd cars permanently parked in the local area. How this works (or not), can now be observed for the adjoining high-rises. It can be expected that the boarding house residents may seek to park their vehicles on top of or below the Woolworths supermarket across the road.
    Finally, the area is zoned as R4 residential 4-storey. This seems to be a 5-storey building.

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