Earlier five-storey and four-storey designs proposed by the applicant, Baini Design, were rejected, most recently in March 2019.
Planners said at the time that “the design of the proposed development does not respond appropriately to the constraints of the narrow site and would have unacceptable impacts on the streetscape and on surrounding properties”.
Fourteen submissions were received during exhibition of the most recent modified three-storey design, with concerns raised about adequacy of the proposed development for 10 rooms replacing a three-bedroom home, reduced setbacks and overshadowing, as well as a range of social impacts.
Neighbour Vivek Viswanathan outlined his concerns about the lack of privacy for surrounding units and homes, traffic, stormwater and drains, as well as the negative impact putting a boarding house in a residential neighbourhood with a transient population would have on their amenity.
“Unfortunately it’s going to affect the standard of living for the rest of the people in the community,’’ he said.
However speaking on behalf of the applicant, Brad Delapierre noted that while it was a “tricky site”, it was zoned as R4 High Density Residential and there were already other three-storey homes in the area.
“The building has been sensitively designed to have regards to its neighbours,” he said.
