3 10 principles that need to be taken into account in amending the masterplan 6 THE BUILT FORM MUST RESPOND TO THE LOCATION OF THE METRO WEST STATION The Draft Master Plan does not recognise the potential location of the proposed Metro West station and its impact on the current station. One of the submissions provides a solution to the new station with a tall tower to mark the station. Most urban centres (St Leonards, Parramatta, Chatswood etc.) locate the tallest buildings close to the major transport node and this should also occur at Sydney Olympic Park. 1 GREATER HEIGHT AND VARIETY IN HEIGHTS IS REQUIRED FOR TOWERS The current SOPA Draft Master Plan has very uniform heights with the highest being 45 floors. Since the Draft Master Plan was exhibited the NSW Government has announced a new Metro West with a station at Sydney Olympic Park. Normally the tallest buildings are located nearest to the station with a variety of heights up to 800 metres away. A much more dynamic built form to Sydney Olympic Park would result from a greater variety of heights and with taller heights as illustrated by submissions from lease holders. 7 A FAIR PROCESS TO CONVERT THE CURRENT RESTRICTIVE LAND USES TO NEW USES WITHOUT EXCESSIVELY SLUGGING LEASE HOLDERS IS REQUIRED Many of the existing long term tenants on the master plan area are in a difficult situation where their land tax is calculated on the proposed residential uses but their zoning does not allow the new uses. On top of this the leases need to be converted to an exclusive right to develop their site through a Project Delivery Agreement. These changes put SOPA in a very strong position to require multiple payments to agree to the right to develop. Some tenants are concerned that SOPA may try and slug proponents excessively so that development becomes unviable. 2 FLEXIBILITY OF USES SHOULD OCCUR WITHIN A BLOCK AND NOT BE PHYSICALLY MANDATED The Draft Master Plan is very prescriptive on where uses should be located including the prescription of different uses in individual buildings. The market place is more likely to provide a variety of uses in more flexible ways often through adjoining buildings. 8 INFRASTRUCTURE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING LEVIES MUST NOT DESTROY ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF PROJECTS The Draft Master Plan proposes a 5% affordable housing levy and infrastructure levies. On top of this the NSW Government talks about Value Capture as a way to fund new rail infrastructure. If the total of all the levies is too high development will not occur. 3 BUILT FORM CONTROLS OF PODIUMS AND SETBACKS MUST BE MORE FLEXIBLE TO ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY A number of the submissions to the Draft Master Plan raised concerns about the scale and height of podiums and about setbacks between buildings which exceed normal standards. A more flexible approach to the built form controls is required. 9 CAR PARKING MUST BE ALLOWED ABOVE GROUND WITH APPROPRIATE SCREENING Below ground car parking is very expensive and not good for the environment. There are very effective ways to ‘skin’ above ground car parking with active uses to ensure a balance between cost and amenity. 4 THE STREET GRID AND ALLOCATION OF GREEN SPACE IS TOO RIGID AND IS WORKING AGAINST A VIBRANT WALKABLE PRECINCT The street grid has resulted in small scale blocks edged by wide roads. A loosening up of the street grid with a focus on a walkable precinct. The park is a simplistic isolated space surrounded by roads. Green space can be more creatively woven through the precinct to provide a much more interesting layout 10 TO BE A DYNAMIC COSMOPOLITAN PRECINCT THE MASTER PLAN MUST WORK WITH THE ASPIRATIONS AND INNOVATION OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR The current Draft Master Plan is very rigid and will produce a relatively suburban solution that does not have vitality. The fact that so many long term tenants have proposed a different character demonstrates their concern with the master plan. There is a real opportunity to take a different approach to the built form at Sydney Olympic Park by working in collaboration with the private sector and the tenants. 5 ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION MUST NOT BE CONFUSED BY MULTIPLE DESIGN REVIEWS The Urban Taskforce understands that proponents of new buildings often have to hold a design competition, go through a SOPA design review process followed by a Department of Planning design review process. A much simpler process is needed that leads to a variety of quality architectural expressions.