Sutherland Shire Council says many concerns need to be addressed before any decision to approve plans that include up to 2000 apartments next to Boat Harbour on the Kurnell Peninsula.
Holt family owned company Besmaw submitted plans to the state government for the $2 billion development on two former sand mining sites.
The project would include two hotels and up to 2000 oceanfront apartments in three to five-storey buildings, with resort facilities.
There would also be a convention centre, private hospital, shopping centre and business park.
A council spokeswoman said it had not had an opportunity to review the proposal, but expected to be consulted by the NSW Planning and Environment Department as part of the initial assessment phase.
“Council would expect that issues such as vehicular access to the peninsula, aircraft noise, environmental issues and public access to the beach and open space in the area would need to be addressed by the state and federal governments before any residential or other more sensitive development was considered,” she said.
“Council is willing to work with stakeholders to secure the best outcome for this site and the broader community.”
A department spokeswoman said the proposal was at “an early stage”, with an environmental impact study yet to be carried out by the applicant.
The Planning Assessment Commission is expected to make the decision.
The $2 billion development is described by the applicant as “an integrated leisure, tourism, health, residential, and employment precinct”.
It is the third attempt in the past few years by Besmaw to have a development of this size approved.
Aviation authorities have previously opposed further housing on the peninsula because of aircraft noise, while Sutherland Shire Council has been against large scale houisng.
The area covered in Besmaw’s latest application includes the foreshore areas along Bate Bay and Boat Harbour, Sydney’s only privately owned beach.
Besmaw said it would hand these areas over to the state government and Sutherland Shire Council for public use.
The company resurrected the US term “condominiums” to describe proposed three to five level, strata-titled apartment buildings.
This term was used in the 1992 Sydney Destination Resort plan, which was approved by Sutherland Shire Council, but did not proceed.
The apartments would be principally for permanent residents.
There would be between 1400 and 2000 condominiums, situated between the two hotels along the Bate Bay frontage.
Besmaw said, as long as they were occupied in conjunction with the tourist and recreation uses of the development, and residents and guests shared the facilities, they were permissable land use and the length of stay of occupants was not important.
“The condominiums will be subject to management arrangements and will have membership or user rights to use and access the recreation and tourist facilities provided on site,” the application stated.
The two hotels would include a total of about 2000 rooms and suites, convention centre, restaurants, cafes, bars, nightclubs, gyms and health centres.
Cronulla MP and Minister for the Environment, Mark Speakman, said he was “examining the Besmaw proposal very closely and will comment on it shortly as local MP”.
Mr Speakman said he did not have any decision making role in relation to the proposal.
In a statement to State Parliament in September 2014, Mr Speakman said appropriate development of former sand mining sites ‘‘could be a fantastic opportunity for a renaissance of the Kurnell peninsula”.
However, he said a proposal which was put by Besmaw at the time was ‘‘far too dense for a site affected by aircraft noise and poorly serviced by transport infrastructure’’.
Overdevelopment would cause further degradation of the peninsula, he said.
