To lodge an objection to a Development Application (also known as a DA), you need to write to Council explaining what is wrong with the DA – in your own words. Objections can be as short or as long as you like.
It is acceptable to simply explain how a development is going to make an area less pleasant to live in. (Planners call this ‘amenity’).
The best objections drill into the documents in the Development Application and point out where they are incomplete, or misleading, or plain wrong. All the documents will be online until the close of submissions.
You must respond by the closing date for submissions. You must include your full name and address, the relevant Development Application number and the site address.
You can email your objection to dasubmissions@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au or you can post it to council at “City of Sydney, GPO Box 1591, Sydney NSW 2001″.
For the Alexandria Hotel DA, the DA number is “Application Number D/2015/772” and the site address is “35 Henderson Road EVELEIGH NSW 2015”.
There is a list of documents at http://development.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/DAsOnExhibition/details.asp?tpk=1204858.
The Statement of Environmental Effects (known as the SoEE) is often good place to start because it contains both the rules the DA will be judged against, and a statement of whether or not the DA complies with each rule. (Sometimes they’re rules, sometimes they guidelines.) The Heritage Report often makes for very interesting reading. If you are interested in Disabled Access, check the Access Report. Floor plans (basement, ground, 1st, 2nd, 3rd), elevations (nth/sth & east/west) and montages (se, sw) can be good for helping you understand what a building is going to look like. Where buildings are hard up against each other, it’s usually worth checking the Shadow diagrams. Practically every document is useful to someone some of the time.
Note that _all_ of these links will break after the close of submissions – Council take all these documents down, so always get a copy of everything before then.
For the Alex, the closing date is currently the 14th of July, though we will try to get an extension the 21st of July (Council have granted an extension). So please get your objections in before then.
And when you send your submission, please also email the Councillors – otherwise the objection only goes to Council staff and Councillors don’t get to see your submission – which makes it harder for them to argue for you.
The Councillors’ email addresses are:
- cmoore@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- rkemmis@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- idoutney@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- cforster@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- jennygreen@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- rkok@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- emandla@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- jmant@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- lscott@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- avithoulkas@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
For more information, see http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/development/development-applications/comments-and-objections.
PS. You also have the option to submit your objection via https://www.planningalerts.org.au/. This has the advantage of letting other people see your objection, and lets you see what other people are saying.
Planningalerts.org can also send you email notifications of future DAs near you. This is well worth doing – Council are only required to notify you of a DA if it within 50m – practically nothing. And if you do see something, make sure to talk to your neighbours, or letterbox them, because odds are that otherwise they won’t realise what’s happening until it’s too late to react.
Alexandria Residents' Action Group 
Thanks Ben. That is very clear and very useful. Greg
P.S These are some of the points that were raised last night – treat them as a starting point for your thinking about what you want to say. You don’t need to copy and paste these – writing about what the Hotel means to you is the most important thing.
– Breach to building height control: the developer is seeking ‘flexibility’ regarding height controls. This should not be granted as the proposed building is not in keeping with the rest of the streetscape on Henderson Rd. The developer’s sole point of comparison is the buildings to the North in the ATP, but these are subject to different height controls and conditions, and other buildings in the area are mostly not as big.
– Building does not meet community needs: hotel is a valued community space, there is no need for additional retail space (current spaces nearby are struggling), there is a sufficient number of apartments being built in the area already – Council needs to be told what the Hotel means to you.
– Mix of apartments (ie studio, 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms) is not compliant – doesn’t meet Council rules – too many small apartments, not enough apartments large enough for a family.
– The hotel has considerable heritage value (local if not state significance): there has been a hotel on the site since the 1870s, the current building dates from the 1930s and many original features are retained. The 6 other hotels built by the same architects from the same period are all heritage listed. The hotel may well also have state significance, given its link to the historic Eveleigh railyards – you may want to call on the Council to recognise the hotel’s heritage value and take appropriate action to protect it
Thanks Ben – really great information
Excellent, thanks Ben for the tips. For everyone that is keen to save the Alex I have been running a petition at the pub and every signature counts. I think we have about 600 so far. Please come to the pub and ask the staff for the form so you can sign it. I will be lodging this with my online objections submission.
Cheers
Sorry could I add please that everyone also mention the lack of parking that this development will provide and that the streets in this area are already struggling to cope with current residents who do not have allocated parking spots. I also understand that Garden St, is considered a commercial area and therefore residents are not entitled to a residential permit (1-2hr limited parking only).
The residents of the new building won’t have access to resident parking permits. It’s based on the age of your building. In Alexandria, multi-unit developments approved since 1996 mostly do not have access to resident parking permits. For full details, visit http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/live/residents/parking-permits/residential-parking-permits and search for ‘Restricted properties’. Building owners and real estate agents are required to inform prospective buyers and tenants about the restrictions but it doesn’t always happen.