By Anne Davies and Lucy Macken
To what extent are councils obliged to listen to their residents or respond to the pressures of developers? It is a vexed question in Waverley, where a vigorous debate is under way about the future of the western end of Bondi Junction.
A major redevelopment is moving closer to reality, with evidence that the developer behind the push has snapped up several low-rise buildings along the western end of Oxford street.
Property records show that developer Elia Leis and his business partner Andrew Starr have options over four terrace houses and the truck rental yard which occupy the first part of Oxford street, Bondi Junction, directly across from the Waverley bus depot.
Mr Leis has also secured an option over one of eight flats in a block immediately behind the Oxford street strip, and two other people, using the same solicitor as Mr Leis, also took out options to buy flats in the block in the past 12 months.
The moves suggest Mr Leis is well on the way to securing a large site, even though council insists that it is still consulting with residents about the change in height limits.
Under the current local environment plan (LEP), signed off by council in 2012, the city end of Oxford street at Bondi Junction is limited to four storeys or 15 metres in height. The traditional two-storey shopping strip, having struggled over the years, has been undergoing a re-invention as bohemian cafes, organic providores, boutiques and design shops move in.
"West Oxford street is the most vibrant, funky part of BJ's Oxford Street area. It reminds me of the west village in NY or the early days of Notting Hill, fabulous interesting shops selling great quality produce and products, which locals and visitors seek out to break the blandness of the generic shopping malls," said Danielle Ecuyer, who is part of the Save West Bondi Junction campaign.
But after being contacted by Mr Leis last year seeking a change in height limit, the Liberal-dominated council commissioned a "design charrette" – a process where architects and planners came up with possible schemes, not just for Mr Leis' site, but for entire area.
This has been defined as including the Waverley bus depot opposite, the road junction at York Road, the corner of Centennial Park, now occupied by a Sydney Water reservoir, as well as the Oxford street strip.
This is despite the NSW government saying publicly that it does not intend to sell the bus depot, because it needs it for operations. But that could well change after the state election.
The charrette has proposed higher buildings for Mr Leis' site, which would be enlarged by a re-alignment of the road, four storeys above the bus terminal, and some innovative ideas for the water reservoir, including turning it into a turkish bathhouse or a vaulted public space for outdoor events, similar to spa venues in Budapest.
But local residents in the nearby Mill Hill heritage area, a pocket of Victorian houses behind the bus depot, are very unhappy with the idea, fearing that the 10 storeys talked about now will rapidly become 20 as the developer first proposed.
"The council has gone to great lengths to open up a planning process to allow the LEP to be changed," said Matthew Gain, spokesman for the Save West Bondi Junction residents' group.
He said the community had already made its views known – virtually universal opposition to the proposal for high rise – when they were surveyed by council's consultants earlier this year.
But then council went ahead with a design charrette, and is now seeking further comment on the proposals
After that it will decide whether to submit a change in the LEP to the state government, via a gateway proposal.
"It feels like a process to wear the community down," said Mr Gain. "We've already made one lot of submissions to the consultant. Now we're being asked for another round of submissions, and then there will be formal consultation over any proposal to change the LEP.
"It feels like it's just being steamrollered through."
The residents are particularly sceptical about this particular developer. Mr Leis' company, Stargate Properties, developed the Forum further along Oxford Street. It was originally granted 10 storeys and 66 apartments in 2009, but through a series of s96 amendments and voluntary planning agreements with the council, increased to 126 units and 14 storeys.
Residents fear that any height limits granted by way of a change in the LEP will soon be tested by the developer seeking more height.
Property owners along the strip say they are regularly asked to sell out.
Maya Michael, who owns a shop next to the truck yard where she has run an antique business for 26 years, says she is constantly under pressure to sell.
"I've been approached by many developers over the last 15 years. In the last five it's been hectic; in the last two chaotic," she said.
She would like to see a sculpture garden on the bus terminal site. "We don't have one in Sydney and it would bring tourists to the area."
Peter Ilic, who runs The Meat Store, said there are short-term gains for him in having more local residents but he opposes it because in the long term it's likely to mean more short-term leases along the strip and higher rents.
"It's actually good for my business to have an extra 100 houses near me but that's only the short term. Soon enough the landlords will be giving short-term leases to tenants and that impacts on the sort of retail trade you have along the strip," he said.
Mr Leis could not be contacted for comment.