The City of Stirling is continuing to advocate for better planning and community outcomes today by highlighting why the Metro Inner-North Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) should refuse a second development application (DA) for the Karrinyup West Residential site.
The DA being determined includes a mixed-use development of 253 apartments and 8202m of commercial floorspace inside two towers of up to 14 and 24 storeys on the western side of the newly redeveloped Karrinyup Shopping Centre.
It is the second DA lodged for this site since the JDAP approved the original proposal for three apartment towers of nine, 15 and 24 storeys in September 2021, which the City argued at the time was an inappropriate response to the local context that would forever change the character of Karrinyup.
Following approval of the original DA, the applicant AMP Capital announced a joint venture with Blackburne, and submitted the new DA in April 2022, which will be considered today.
Mayor Mark Irwin – who was elected by Council to speak at today’s JDAP meeting – said there was little hope in Council that JDAP would show any greater consideration for the views of Karrinyup residents and the expertise of the City’s planning officers this time around.
“Last September, I said that JDAP – in ignoring community concerns and the views of the City’s planners and Council – had shown great contempt for the local planning process and today’s meeting is an opportunity to reinforce why these concerns must be taken into consideration,” he said.
“JDAP members have no skin in the game, and this development could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The approval of the shopping centre expansion years ago effectively led to unplanned growth outside of the City’s local planning policies and schemes and as a result this led to traffic issues that cannot be addressed. This is before additional development proposed in the DA before the JDAP today.
“This new DA may have one less tower, one less storey and 17 fewer apartments in total than the previous DA, however it is being assessed against the planning framework for the site, not the previous development that was approved.
“Karrinyup residents may expect to be disappointed again and that their concerns will not be duly considered by the JDAP, but they can also expect that on behalf of Council, I will continue to fight for their voices and views because a 23-storey apartment tower beside a one-storey family home is not an appropriate planning or community outcome.
“The City of Stirling is not anti-development; as we reject only 0.05 per cent of development applications. When we recommend refusal to achieve sustainable developments that meet the relevant planning frameworks and also take into consideration the effect they will have on people living next door to or streets away from them, we deserve to be heard.”
Director Planning and Development Stevan Rodic said the maximum height of the development was still substantially higher than the anticipated height under the planning framework and far beyond the extent of potential variations.
“Furthermore, in the absence of any imminent or seriously entertained modifications to the relevant planning framework, the proposed development is not considered to be consistent with the existing or future character of the area of Karrinyup and cannot be supported by the City of Stirling,” he said.
“The future character of the area should not be decided by an individual development. It should be decided within the local planning framework process, which involves significant community consultation as a protective mechanism against excessive development outside of the local context.”
The City’s third consecutive RAR recommending refusal for a proposal on this site is being considered by JDAP at today’s JDAP meeting at the City’s Administration Centre.
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