Lord Mayor Scott Lloyd had unanimous support on Monday night for his controversial motion calling for a ”bubble” over the city to allow buildings of up to 500 metres to be built without regard to flight paths.
Clr Lloyd’s move was prompted in part by council’s “knockback” from aviation authorities for its proposed 306 m tall Aspire tower on the old Hungry Jack’s site.
Aviation regulations restrict building heights to a maximum of 300 metres, or about 90 stories, which council claims is impeding development in Parramatta as well as Sydney CBD.
The council is calling for a new maximum height of 500m to be created for Parramatta CBD as it develops into Sydney’s “dual CBD”.
A 500m high building, about 150 storeys, would be taller than Australia's current tallest building, the 323m high Q1 Tower.
“As a city, we cannot reach our potential with these height restrictions,” Clr Lloyd told the council meeting.
“While it is possible for approval to be granted to breach the height restrictions, this is costly, complex and uncertain process that discourages developers from seeking an exemption.
“”This is not just frustrating for Sydney’s two CBDs developing iconic skylines consistent with their role in NSW and Australia.”
The council will write to NSW Planning Minister Pru Goward to make representation to the “”relevant Commonwealth minister” to have the height limits reviewed.
But City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has told the Sydney Morning Herald that, while she supported a review of height restrictions, they had not hampered development in Sydney CBD.
Meanwhile Ms Goward told SMH that Parramatta Council should consult directly with the federal government.
The height controls exist to protect aircrafts from obstacles when the pilot is flying by sight and also to allow air navigation services to function correctly.
A Department of Infrastructure spokesman said it was not often possible or practical to impose no-fly zones in areas such as Parramatta and Sydney CBDs without "severely impacting on the safety and efficiency of the relevant airport".
