The site has a previously approved DA (DA201935657) for a six-storey mixed-use commercial and residential development including 58 residential
dwellings. The application states it is only seeking to remove uses "which are considered noisy uses". The application fails to provide any specifics as to the jump from 58 residential units up to 95 residential units and whether that would encompass an increase in the height of any proposed building. The proposed amendment ought not be granted without further information on how 95 units could be accommodated within the currently approved 6 storey height limit. As this issue has not been directly addressed in the application it is difficult to provide public comment on the impact of the proposed change.
Further, the loss of mixed use facilities to purely residential use is an outcome not currently contemplated by the current zoning. Mixed uses of themselves can provide desirable amenities within a location. Approving this lease variation will limit the opportunity for such amenities to be provided within any proposed development (either by the current applicant or any future developer). A reduction in available mixed use spaces represents a lost opportunity to provide more general amenities to the Gungahlin community.
