A contentious development proposal has been knocked back for a second time after the ACT planning authority received more than 100 public submissions opposing the plans.
On Monday, the planning directorate handed down its notice of decision, which determined a plan for 170 apartments next to the Casey Market Town shopping centre was inconsistent with the Territory Plan.
KG Capitol and Jega, which also developed Casey Market Town, first submitted plans in February, seeking approval for 219 apartments across one nine-storey and two 11-storey buildings.
The site, block 9, section 132, sits between the shopping centre car park and Casey pond. There are no residential homes immediately surrounding the site.
After the plans were knocked back in May, the developers revised the proposal. The height was reduced by two storeys, about 50 apartments were removed and the number of car parks was increased.
The scaled-back proposal was submitted for reconsideration in September.
On Monday, less than a month after the period for representations on the application closed, the ACT Planning and Land Authority refused the reconsideration proposal.
The authority received a total 107 representations on revised application, all opposing the plans.
Residents celebrate the news
At the proposed development site on Thursday two members of the Casey Region Residents Action Group, which was formed following the initial apartment proposal, said they were relieved by the decision.
The group of residents from Casey and neighbouring suburbs joined forces to oppose the development, for varying reasons.
Nicholls resident and retired town planner Maggie Chapman said she was unhappy with the process. She believed the developers "dismissed" the National Capital Design Review Panel's early advice, which supported a development that graduated from four to eight storeys.
There was a feeling of "disbelief" from Casey resident and tradesman Justin Young, when he heard the decision. Mr Young said he opposed the development for its size and location.
Another resident told The Canberra Times they did not support residential development on the site and said it should be for community uses.
Ms Chapman said the development was more suited to Belconnen or Gungahlin town centres.
"The bulk and the scale and the volume of that development - just imagine it. Casey is not the place," she said.
Proposal considered 'excessively tall'
In its notice of decision, the authority stated while the scale of the development was smaller than the original plans, it remained at "at a scale and quantum not supported".
The authority did not consider the proposal consistent with the objective to aim for a high level of design consistency and compatibility, as stated in the Casey precinct map and code.
"There is nothing similar or close to the scale of the development proposed," the notice stated.
"It is considered excessively tall, intensive within the block and offers limited connection to existing or future visual planning outcomes."
The authority said while a departure from rule 45 - which stipulates a maximum of two storeys for the block - is permitted, the "scale of departure" proposed was not supported.
"Simply put, the scale of this development is not anticipated for the site," the authority said.
In its conclusion the authority stated the applicant had not addressed all reasons for refusal nor sufficiently amended the original plans to warrant approval of the revised proposal.
Development team to appeal at ACAT
A spokesperson for the development team confirmed the group intended to appeal the decision through ACAT.
The developers said they were disappointed in the outcome and said there was also "significant support" for the development from within the community.
"Whilst our proposed development is different from the current offerings in Casey, we believe that it provides benefits to the local and broader community and would fit well into the group centre, supporting Casey's growth over the decades to come," they said.
The spokesperson said the development would also provide 170 new homes for Canberrans "at a lower entry point than many of the surrounding options at a time when the housing crisis is peaking".
Planning consultant for the project Kip Tanner previously told The Canberra Times the development proposal was always going to be a "fairly big change" for the suburb.
But the development was justified, he said, as the suburb was designed to be a large group centre to provide services to surrounding suburbs.
"It's designed around having three supermarkets there," he said.
"The scale of Casey was always intended to be quite substantial."
The new district strategy for Gungahlin states a potential for 700 jobs in the Casey group centre by 2050.
Population projections by the ACT government forecast Casey would grow from 6711 residents in 2022 to 8253 in 2040. By 2060, the suburb is forecast to have a population of 10,857.
Ms Chapman said the community felt that they'd been heard and their concerns had been taken on board by the planning directorate.
"If the developer was to come back with something that was more in line with what the design review panel have recommended then the attitude would be different," she said.
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