FACT SHEET 19: Height of Building & Floor Space Ratios - SLEP

FACT SHEET 19:Height of Building & Floor SpaceRatiosIntroductionThe approach to setting maximum height of buildings and floor space ratios is differentunder the draft Shoalhaven Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2013 than under the currentShoalhaven LEP 1985.BackgroundCurrently Shoalhaven does not have a Citywide maximum height of buildings, however,the Illawarra Regional Environmental Plan (now a deemed State Environmental PlanningPolicy) requires that any building that is proposed to be higher than 11 metres obtainsconcurrence from State Government.Some of Council’s existing development control plans (DCPs) set lower maximum heightsfor buildings based on area (e.g. Kangaroo Valley) or type (e.g. single dwelling houses).Some of Council’s DCPs contain floor space ratios (FSRs). These are generally specificto a type of development but some may be relate to defined areas.The exhibited LEP height of buildingsThe originally exhibited draft LEP proposed a maximum height of buildings limit in twoways. Clause 4.3 Height of buildings set a maximum height of buildings of 11 metresacross the City, except where mapped on the Height of Buildings map. Height of Buildingmap existed where there was a current location specific height control in a developmentcontrol plan (DCP) greater than 11 metres - Nowra Civic Precinct, Huskisson CBD andUlladulla CBD. This meant that the exhibited draft Shoalhaven LEP 2013 had only threeHeight of Building map sheets – for Nowra, Huskisson and Ulladulla.The re-exhibited LEP height of buildingsNumerous submissions were made in regards to maximum height of buildings during theoriginal exhibition of the draft LEP. As a result, a number of changes were made to thisaspect of the draft LEP. The re-exhibited draft Shoalhaven LEP 2013 now sets a newmaximum height limit for the R2 Low Density Residential and the RU5 Rural Village zoneand also any maximum height specified in an area specific development control plan(DCP) e.g. DCP No. 66 Kangaroo Valley. This means that there are a greater number ofareas shown on the Height of Building map. The maximum height of buildings for areas ofthe City that are not shown the Height of Building map remains at 11m.FSRsThere are only currently two areas within the City which have area specific FSRs.Therefore the draft Shoalhaven LEP 2013 contains only two Floor Space Ratio mapsheets – for Huskisson and Ulladulla. Where a floor space ratio does not exist, a1

DRAFT SLEP 2013 – FACT SHEET 19: HEIGHT OF BUILDINGS and FLOOR SPACE RATIOSdevelopment shall otherwise comply with applicable building setbacks, floor space arearestrictions and/or building envelopes.Exceptions to Clause 4.3The maximum height limit of a building may be varied in some circumstances, primarilythrough Clause 5.6 Architectural roof features. Development that includes an architecturalroof feature that exceeds, or causes a building to exceed, the height limits set by Clause4.3 may be carried out but only with development consent. Consent for any suchdevelopment may only be granted if the architectural roof feature:comprises a decorative element on the uppermost portion of a building; andis not an advertising structure; anddoes not include floor space area and is not reasonably capable of modification toinclude floor space area; andwill cause minimal overshadowing.Both height of buildings and floor space ratios are ‘development standards’ that can bevaried under Clause 4.6 Exceptions to development Standards. See Fact Sheet 20:Exceptions to Development Standards for more detail.DefinitionsFloor Space Ratio – The floor space ratio of buildings on a site is the ratio of the grossfloor area of all buildings within the site to the site area.Further informationFor further details relating to the information in this fact sheet and the draft ShoalhavenLEP 2013, please visit the draft Shoalhaven LEP website atwww.slep2013.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or contact Council on (02) 4429 5377 or via emailSLEP2013@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au.2