Development Blues

How do we balance growth, with local identity, climate and affordability ?

RECENT DEVELOPMENT NEWS - 8 Marvell St Development Application (DA)

Last week the Commissioner of the Land & Environment Court (L & E), associated, planners, architects and Council staff met on-site at 8 Marvell Street for a conciliation meeting. The developer had launched proceedings against Byron Shire Council because the plans were not approved within the 40 day limit—however we have been told that Council Planners would have not passed this development due to shopping list of issues. A representative from People of Byron (POB) attended and voiced a wide range of community concerns about this development proposal. There is a possibility that this invitation was largely tokenistic, resulting in a process that lacked genuine transparency -but we look forward to further updates. Below is a summary of what was said and submitted to the Commissioner.

Firstly, due to the size and location of Byron Bay’s CBD, “ what gets built here matters to the community”.

Clearly, development in the town centre is inevitable, and most locals accept this. However, we believe it can — and should — be far better than what is proposed in this DA. As a community, we genuinely want to be positive, but this proposal does not reflect or enhance Byron Bay’s low-scale coastal character. The design appears more suited to an urban, city context and does not adequately respond to the planning requirements of a sub-tropical environment or reflect established coastal built forms in the area.

The proposed development does not deliver the fine-grained, human-scale development the town needs, nor what the community was promised in the Byron Bay Masterplan. Marvell St Hotel, a few doors up has managed to address a number of prescriptive aspects with an open courtyard, communal access and setbacks of the building and balconies.

The  Byron Local Environment Plan (LEP) and height limit is there to maintain scale, character, amenity, and the town’s overall form.  Whilst the developer is entitled to take advantage of the NSW Govt ‘affordable housing bonus’ which allows for an increase in gross floor area—many commentators believe this policy is a gift to the development industry and doesn’t distinguish broadly enough between regional and urban environments.

Course Correction Is Needed

Of particular concern is the issue of precedent. The BASQ development across the road has already established a benchmark for bulk, scale and height that many in the community consider unfortunate. Mercato was among the first developments to test these upper limits, and most locals in Byron regard it as architecturally challenged and commercially unsuccessful. Continuing along this trajectory risks further eroding the fine-grained infill character that the community values and that we believe Byron Shire Council is seeking to uphold, despite ongoing development pressure.

• We highlighted a previous L & E decision in regards to height limits in Byron Bay:

    “Commissioner Jenny Smithson considered at the time that the ‘development will not create an adverse precedent given all of the circumstances of the case’.

  In her judgment, she wrote, ‘My decision in supporting the height breach should therefore not be construed as supporting four-story development in the town centre, per se.  ‘I accept such an outcome would not accord with the Masterplan vision or expectations of the Byron Bay community as outlined in the Masterplan’. —The Echo 2019
  
  From an urban design perspective, this proposal does not achieve the objectives of the E1 Local Centre zone. The building’s bulk and scale are excessive for the site, with insufficient setbacks to meaningfully mitigate its visual impact. As proposed, it is an over development of the site and is inconsistent with the objectives of the LEP and broader planning principles for the town centre.

  We believe developments in coastal areas as scenically gifted as Byron Bay, and in such close proximity to the natural environment, should respond meaningfully to climate, landscape, social fabric, and the scenic characteristics of place. On this basis alone, the height limit should be upheld, unless the building has genuine architectural merit or offers much-needed housing for essential workers who need to live and work in the town.
  ***

  Above all, Byron Bay deserves better than a continuation of poor precedents
  that permanently alters the character of our town centre.