Pittwater's Spotted Gums
Residents are being encouraged to comment on a new, consolidated set of planning rules, with the draft Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and draft Development Control Plan (DCP) under the Northern Beaches Council now on public exhibition.
The council states the draft plans will replace multiple planning controls with a single, clear set of rules, making it easier for residents, property owners, and developers to understand what applies and where.
A LEP is a state-government-mandated planning instrument that sets the legal rules for land development. The council states their DCP supports the LEP and provides more detailed guidance for new development, including requirements for landscaping, car parking and privacy.
''Northern Beaches Council is moving from four separate sets of LEPs and DCPs to a single comprehensive LEP and DCP covering the entire local government area.'' the council stated on Monday July 20 2026, in releasing the draft documents
Residents state the feedback period presents an opportunity for those living in Pittwater to require the Northern Beaches Council cease installing plastic grass, plastic walkways, plastic wharves and rubber infill in the Pittwater environment and remove those it has already installed, without consultation, especially in creek flow and flood areas or alongside Narrabeen Lagoon and Newport Beach.
Residents of Pittwater also insist the Northern Beaches Council protect the plants and habitat of the Listed Ecological Community gazetted under Pittwater Council at a NSW state level - the 1998 Pittwater Spotted Gum Forest endangered ecological community listing, which was updated to the 2013 Determination relating to the Pittwater and Wagstaffe Spotted Gum Forest - and at an Australian Government level, ensure it does nothing further to cause damage to the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia(Listed as Critically Endangered - Date effective 10-Oct-2008) and the Posidonia australis seagrass meadows of the Manning-Hawkesbury ecoregion, which has sites at Station Beach, where dogs were allowed to defecate under the Northern Beaches Council's plan, and Careel Bay among other Pittwater sites -- without exceptions.
Additionally, Pittwater residents have pointed out Pittwater has been excluded from the 'Scenic Protection' clause in the draft DCP and the LEP, and should be included given the beauty of the Narrabeen to Barrenjoey peninsula and its estuary.
At this stage applies only to:
- Foreshores scenic protection area - applies to land in the vicinity of North and Middle Harbour and the Pacific Ocean, Manly
- Scenic Protection - applies to land in Oxford Falls Valley and Belrose North [page 33 - '4B.8 Scenic protection' - Draft DCP plan]
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Rubber infill pad installed alongside Narrabeen Lagoon over tree roots shows those trees are poking through/breaking rubber infill in known flood zone. Photo: Pittwater Online News site investigations, 2026
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Northern Beaches Council Mayor Sue Heins states ''the draft plans represent the final step in what has been years of planning and consulting with the community working towards a simpler and more consistent planning framework''.
“These important documents will harmonise existing planning rules across the area and deliver more consistency in guiding future development on the Northern Beaches.'' Ms Heins stated in a media release
“Both documents recognise the unique characteristics of our neighbourhoods and will protect our precious environment while meeting our housing needs for the future.
“The community has already played a huge role in informing these documents providing feedback on various Planning our Sustainable Future projects over the past six years.
“Community input has been supported by comprehensive technical studies into local hazards, conservation areas, traffic and transport, employment, social infrastructure and the natural environment.
“For most residents, little will change; however, a small number of properties are proposed to be rezoned or subject to new requirements, particularly where environmental values are high. In these cases, some forms of development may be restricted to better protect sensitive areas. In the “deferred lands” of Oxford Falls Valley and Belrose North, the draft LEP introduces standard zoning in line with state planning requirements."
Mayor Heins encouraged residents, businesses and community groups to review the draft plans and to use the interactive map on Council’s website to see how the changes affect them.
Submissions close on 30 August 2026.
“Community input is vital. I encourage residents to have their say at this important milestone and let us know if we got it right,” Mayor Heins said.
The Northern Beaches Council states its draft LEP and DCP 'seeks to':
- ''Protect the environment, views and local heritage
- Respect and preserve local character
- Put housing in the right places to meet different needs
- Reduce urban heat and support resilient and sustainable development
- Protect jobs and employment areas
- Avoid development in hazardous and rural areas
- Create liveable communities with more trees, facilities and sustainable transport''
At the Tuesday May 19 2026 Council Meeting Councillors resolved unanimously to:
1. Council exhibit the draft Northern Beaches Development Control Plan at Attachment 1 for public comment for 6 weeks in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979) and the Northern Beaches Community Participation Plan (Plan Making and Development Assessment).
2. Exhibition of the DCP occur concurrently with the planning proposal for the draft Northern Beaches Local Environmental Plan (LEP), once the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has advised the draft LEP can progress to exhibition.
3. Council delegate authority to the Chief Executive Officer to make any required amendments to the draft Northern Beaches Development Control Plan to address minor drafting errors or the requirements of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, prior to the commencement of any public exhibition.
4. A report on submissions be presented to Council following public exhibition.
5. The relevant controls in Manly DCP 2013 (Sections 3.4.2 Privacy and Security and 4.2.5.6 Late Night Venues) be included in the draft Northern Beaches DCP prior to public exhibition, generally in accordance with the existing Manly DCP.
Pittwater Councillor and Greens politician Miranda Korzy, stated in her address to the chamber on this Item:
''I’d like to start by thanking staff for their work on this massive project. On a first reading, it seems they have listened to the voices of Pittwater residents who have been distressed about large developments on sensitive sites over recent years.
I believe the new LEP and DCP will provide an opportunity for a reset on this trend.
First of all, I’m really pleased to see Pittwater’s character statements have been retained and the rest of the LGA will now benefit from these guidelines. I’ve compared the (draft) Pittwater statements to the current ones and they appear to coincide but I’d encourage residents to read these for themselves to see if anything’s missing - and I note a few issues on the ground have changed.
Secondly, I’m delighted to see the DCP now includes a limit on depth of excavations to 1 metre along with an emphasis on retaining natural features - something Pittwater residents have called for. I’m not yet clear how this will apply to sloping land - but the document explicitly lists a range of features that should be protected.
These include:
- Escarpments and coastal headlands;
- cliffs, caves, and rock outcrops;
- native vegetation communities and locally native trees, including tree hollows, threatened flora and fauna;
- natural watercourses and wetlands; and finally,
- dune systems.
It also calls for the use of “construction methods that limit impact on sloping or difficult sites - such as pole construction”. And I note the document’s identification of the need for reuse of building material and site materials in an effort to reduce waste and to support a circular economy.
One feature of the Pittwater DCP that residents have always valued is the 60:40 rule - ie 60 per cent of any block should remain landscaped, with only 40 per cent hard surfaces. This has protected the natural vegetation in our gardens and the wildlife that live there - particularly in Endangered or Threatened Ecological Communities.
I’m pleased to see that much of this remains intact in the draft DCP’S Landscape Maps, with some areas such as Bayview Heights requiring 80 per cent landscaped areas and much of Pittwater still at 60 per cent. However, some areas, for example in Mona Vale, Newport and Avalon, are marked down to 50 per cent.
I think this reflects the reality on the ground in some places but I encourage residents concerned about preserving habitat to study these maps and please let me and the council staff know what you think.
Finally, I want to mention tree protection and the draft’s focus on biodiversity. I was delighted to see that many of the development controls explicitly call for retention of trees and other vegetation as well as for regeneration of local native trees. This used to be a guiding principle in Pittwater so I look forward to its reestablishment under the new DCP.
However, the devil will be in the detail for some controls. Eg I’ve heard some feedback about maps, such as for Core Habitat, and the use of LiDAR. This potentially leads to under-representation of important areas that have lost tree cover where it should be regenerated, particularly in EECs, to ensure genetic diversity. But that and other environmental issues will require deeper scrutiny.
I welcome many other aspects of this document, such as the emphasis on sustainable and universal design, however, will leave those to residents to discover for themselves.
Finally, I’m sure our community and environmental groups will examine the draft and I encourage anyone else with an interest in how our neighbourhoods develop to do so as well.'
However, as already sent in by residents of Pittwater, a few glaring omissions have already been identified.
Following public exhibition, the council states it will review all submissions to determine whether changes are required to the draft plans. The LEP will then be finalised and submitted to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for formal approval. The DCP will be adopted by the Northern Beaches Council once finalised.
''It is anticipated that both plans will commence in mid-2027.'' the council stated
To learn more or provide feedback, visit the council’s website or call the LEP/DCP customer hotline on 8495 5034 by 30 August.
Consultation webpage and links to documents is at: https://LEP-DCP
