Why prepare another design for Pacific Pines?

The Pacific Pines site has had a long and complex planning history.

The first plan for the site was completed in the late 1980s. It was adopted by Council as a Development Control Plan.   Several stages of this original plan have already been developed, including the Montwood Drive area. It was an older style curvilinear, cul-de-sac design that had little regard for planning and design matters of relevance today. This includes walkable layouts, slow speed streets, environmental protection, water sensitive urban design and bus stop provision.

In 2002, the State Government introduced new planning rules and guidelines for coastal developments.   Under these rules a new plan was required for the site. This was known as an SEPP71 Master Plan which had to be approved by the Minister. This Plan needed to address a wide range of sustainability issues in considerable detail. It also required the use of a different type of street network, which was more interconnected in accordance with the state wide Coastal Design Guidelines. This resulted in the preparation of the currently approved Master Plan. It took approximately three years for this plan to be approved.

In 2006 the NSW State Government introduced new laws relating to Major Projects, including coastal subdivisions. It is now necessary for Petrac to revise the Master Plan to meet the requirements of a Concept Plan under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act. This Concept Plan will need to review many of the matters already addressed in the Master Plan.    It also provides a good opportunity for Petrac to redesign the Master Plan to better suit current needs and opportunities.

In addition to these requirements for planning the whole estate, three planning approvals have been obtained for specific works on the site. These include approval to construct the sports fields and approval to construct the large water quality control pond and to carry out some excavation and filling of the land.

Petrac has reviewed the existing Master Plan and now believe that there are several issues and opportunities to be addressed in the new Concept Plan. These include:

possible relocation of the neighbourhood centre towards Hutley Drive to improve accessibility to surrounding communities
potential to include a well integrated retirement community within the project
the opportunity to improve walkability and community integration by better links with surrounding development proposals
the opportunity to redesign the street network to better fit with the topography and natural drainage