MIRANDA Public School community fears a potential nearby new high-rise unit development will compromise the safety of children.
Staff and parents started a petition opposing the plan, which falls under the shire draft LEP being considered by the state government, to build an eight-storey block in University Avenue, six metres from the school fence.
The school said the 25-metre high unit block would overlook the infants' classrooms, toilets and the special-needs therapy playground.
It wants the height limit dropped to two storeys next to the school and four storeys elsewhere on the site because of potential "risks" to pupils' privacy and comfort.
School principal Glen Carter said the height of the block was a concern.
"We're not opposing housing developments, but we'd like it done in a way that doesn't disrupt our school too much," he said.
"It's not that we think the only people who will buy there will behave inappropriately, but it's the lack of privacy that could affect us down the track — it's bad enough with the Westfield car park, which runs along our border."
P&C president Heidi Bubb is submitting a petition to the council on October 1. She said the development could "put children on show".
"In an age when everything is shared on the internet, the prospect of our children being observed and photographed without our knowledge is frightening," she said.
‘‘We don’t want our special-needs children who use the playground to help manage challenging behaviours, including meltdowns and tantrums, to feel vulnerable.’’
She said the building would also cast a large shadow over a sunny play area.
‘‘We haven’t seen the whole design but we hope it’s clever, where stairwells and bathrooms face us, not balconies,’’ she said.
‘‘It needs to be built in a way that we aren’t on top of each other and is the best outcome for the community.’’
The grassy area that faces the site is unsupervised, but Mr Carter said if the development went ahead, he would also expect more noise complaints from residents.
‘‘At another school, I used to get phone calls about people getting annoyed with fund-raisers,’’ he said. ‘‘If they build it too high, residents might object to us having things like book parades.’’
He said the council did not consult the school about the proposal. ‘‘You’d think they would but no one has come to the school to have a look,’’ he said.
‘‘If the council is going to do a good job it needs to look at the area that’s in question from our perspective.’’
COUNCIL COMMENT
Sutherland Shire Council confirmed it received submissions concerning the rezoning of the site during the first two stages of its draft local environmental plan 2014.
A council spokeswoman said it was committed to housing growth in suburbs including Miranda and the low-density residential character of the site would change.
She said the extent of impact was dependent on the design of the development.
Residential-flat developments result in greater side and rear setbacks than smaller-scale developments and greater setbacks would enable better landscaping and screen planting, she said.
‘‘This allows developments to retain existing trees and vegetation,’’ she said.
She also said that even with ‘‘sensitive development’’ there would be impacts on existing developments as the scale of the precinct changes.
While the concern about pupils’ safety was noted, it was not considered reasonable to remove the proposed rezoning based on a fear of inappropriate behaviour from new residents living in the apartments, she said.
‘‘Good design can facilitate appropriate passive surveillance and can reduce the incidence of crime,’’ she said.
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