Inner West Council: Leichhardt Residential Development Control Plan (DCP) 2013 - A Summary

Leichhardt Development Control Plan 2013 - Part C: Place, Section 3 - Residential Provisions

This section of the DCP provides detailed provisions for residential development, including new buildings, alterations, and additions. It aims to enhance residential amenity, promote good design, and ensure compatibility with the character and heritage of the area.

C3.1 Residential General Provisions

• Objectives: To provide details for residential development, promote walkable neighbourhoods, ensure compatibility with neighbourhood character and heritage, and promote environmental performance and amenity.

• Controls:

  • Residential development must not adversely affect the amenity, setting, or cultural significance of a place, including Heritage Items or Heritage Conservation Areas.

  • Additions should generally be located to the rear or side of the existing building, be subservient in form, and maintain the existing building's roof forms, chimneys, and fenestration when viewed from the street.

  • Additions must be compatible in design, scale, proportion, and materials with the existing building.

C3.2 Site Layout and Building Design

• Objectives: Ensure adequate separation between buildings for privacy, solar access, and air circulation. Maintain the character and established pattern of development. Ensure buildings are constructed within a defined Building Location Zone (BLZ).

• Controls:

  • Site Capacity: A site must have sufficient capacity for buildings, setbacks, access, parking, and open space, considering site characteristics like existing development, desired character, size, heritage, vegetation, slope, and flooding.

  • Building Location Zone (BLZ):

    • Development must be located within the BLZ.

    • The BLZ is determined on a floor-by-floor basis by the location of the main building on adjacent properties, excluding ancillary structures.

    • Open-sided structures like balconies and verandahs may extend beyond the BLZ if they are consistent with adjoining properties.

    • For corner or end lots, the BLZ is determined by an adjacent property with a similar orientation, frontage, and site layout.

    • Variations to the BLZ require the applicant to demonstrate compatibility with the locality, protection of amenity (sunlight, privacy, views), maximization of vegetation retention, and minimization of bulk and scale.

• Side Boundary Setbacks:

  • Building setbacks must comply with the numerical requirements in the side boundary setback graph (Figure C129).

  • Higher walls must be set back further than lower walls.

  • Council may allow walls higher than the controls on side boundaries if the development is consistent with Building Typology Statements, minimizes bulk, protects amenity, and retains reasonable access for maintenance.

• Landscaped Open Space:

  • Soft landscape areas must be included at the front and rear of the site.

  • Landscaping should be consolidated to support significant tree planting and designed to provide privacy, solar access, and protection from wind.

• Street Orientation: Buildings must be aligned and oriented to the street.

• Building Height and Envelope:

  • The building envelope is determined by wall height, width, depth, and roof form.

  • The roof pitch or plane is generally between 30° and 45°.

  • The building envelope has a wall height and a 45° inclined roof plane from the top of the wall height.

  • Minor architectural details like chimneys, dormers, and gables can penetrate the envelope.

  • The inclined roof plane must be applied to both street elevations on corner sites.

  • The maximum height in storeys should not exceed that of adjoining buildings.

  • Four basic building envelopes apply: 2.4m, 3.6m, 6.0m, and 7.2m wall heights.

  • Roof pitch must be between 30° and 45°.

C3.3 Elevation and Materials

• Objectives: To ensure building elevations and materials complement the neighborhood character, are human-scale, and provide architectural quality and visual interest.

• Controls:

  • Facades must be divided into vertical bays and horizontal bandings to align with adjoining development.

  • Upper-level balustrades must not disrupt the vertical rhythm of terraces.

  • Incompatible existing façade elements should be removed during alterations.

  • The enclosure of verandahs and balconies is not permitted.

  • Blank side and rear elevations should be avoided.

  • Front windows should not serve non-habitable rooms.

  • Color schemes, materials, and finishes must be compatible with the prevailing streetscape.

  • Unpainted brickwork in Heritage Conservation Areas must remain unpainted.

C3.4 Dormer Windows

• Objectives: Ensure dormer windows are consistent with the building's style and contribute positively to the streetscape.

• Controls:

  • Dormer windows are not supported if the roof height from gutter to ridge is less than 2.5m.

  • The existing ridgeline must be retained.

  • The minimum distance between the main roof ridge and the dormer is 300mm.

  • Dormer window patterns should reflect existing front elevation windows.

  • Total width of dormers must not exceed 25% of the roof width.

  • A maximum of one dormer is permitted for single-fronted dwellings, and two for double-fronted dwellings. They should be centrally or symmetrically positioned.

  • For dwellings built in the 1800s, dormers should have no eaves/gutters, use a single window, and have a height of 1.5 times their width.

C3.5 Front Gardens and Dwelling Entries

• Objectives: Provide a sensitive transition between public and private domains, contribute to the streetscape, enable surveillance, and be legible.

• Controls:

  • Entries and windows must be oriented to overlook the street.

  • The front garden must include landscaped open space.

  • Visitors must be visible from inside the dwelling before the door is opened.

  • Dwelling entries must be clearly visible and identifiable from the street.

  • Original front entries must be preserved.

C3.6 Fences

• Objectives: Ensure fences are compatible with the character of the building and streetscape and enable visual engagement with the public realm.

• Controls:

  • Front fence height has a maximum height of 1.2m.

  • Fences must enable adequate sight-lines for vehicles and pedestrians.

  • Fences on corner lots can be a maximum of 1.8m for privacy, as long as they don't adversely impact the streetscape.

  • Fences in Heritage Conservation Areas must be consistent with the construction period and architectural style.

C3.7 Environmental Performance

• Objectives: Maximise energy efficiency and occupant comfort by maximising thermal mass and solar access, and minimising mechanical heating/cooling.

• Controls:

  • High thermal mass materials (brick, concrete, stone) should be used in north-facing rooms.

  • Glazed areas should have shading devices, such as awnings (0.45 x height of glazed area overhang) for north facades and vertical devices for east/west facades.

  • Development must comply with BASIX requirements.

  • The maximum internal distance between external openings for ventilation should be no greater than 14m.

  • Openable windows must be at least 5% of the room's floor area.

  • Timber used must be from sustainable sources like plantation or regrowth forests, or be recycled.

C3.8 Private Open Space

• Objectives: Provide useable private open space that integrates with the main living area, has access to sunlight and breezes, and minimises privacy impacts.

• Controls:

  • Dwelling Houses, etc.: Must have a minimum area of 16sqm and a minimum dimension of 3m at ground level. The front setback is not considered private open space.

  • Secondary Dwellings & Multi-Dwelling Housing: Minimum area of 3m x 3m at ground level.

  • Shop Top Housing, etc.: Minimum 8sqm deck or balcony with a minimum dimension of 2m.

  • Private open space located at the rear is favored over space overlooking the public domain.

C3.9 Solar Access

• Objectives: Maximise sunlight to living rooms and private open space, provide daylight to all habitable rooms, and minimize overshadowing of neighbours.

• Controls:

  • All development applications must include shadow diagrams and solar access analysis.

  • Private open space must receive a minimum of 3 hours of direct sunlight over 50% of its area between 9 am and 3 pm at the winter solstice.

  • All habitable rooms must have access to natural daylight from an outdoor-facing window or a light well open to the sky.

  • Single Dwellings: Main living rooms must receive a minimum of 3 hours of direct sunlight between 9 am and 3 pm during the winter solstice.

  • Residential Flat Buildings / Multi-Dwelling Housing: A minimum of 70% of dwellings must receive at least 3 hours of direct sunlight to the main living room between 9 am and 3 pm during the winter solstice.

  • Overshadowing: Development must not further reduce solar access to neighboring dwellings' main living rooms or private open space if they already receive less than the required amount of sunlight.

    • East/west-oriented properties: 2 hours of solar access.

    • North/south-oriented properties: 3 hours of solar access.

    • South-facing private open space: 2 hours of solar access.

    • North-facing private open space: 3 hours of solar access.

    • East/west-facing private open space: 2.5 hours of solar access.

C3.10 Views

• Objectives: Protect views from the public domain and allow for the reasonable sharing of views from private dwellings.

• Controls:

  • New development should be designed to promote view sharing and minimize view loss.

  • Design solutions should address building height, setbacks, and gaps between buildings to achieve view sharing.

C3.11 Visual Privacy

• Objective: Protect visual privacy within the dwelling, especially for main living rooms and private open space, as well as for neighbouring properties.

• Controls:

  • Sight lines within 9m and 45 degrees between living rooms or private open spaces must be screened or obscured unless separated by a street or laneway.

  • Screening methods include offsetting windows, fixed louvers, window hoods, reduced window areas, and obscure glass.

  • Screening devices should have a reasonable density (75%) and a maximum individual opening width of 30mm.

  • Roof terraces are considered based on their design and impact on privacy.

  • Landscaping can complement screening but cannot be solely relied upon.

  • Balconies (First Floor or Above): Maximum depth of 1.2m and length of 2m, unless a larger balcony can be demonstrated to have no adverse privacy impacts.

C3.12 Acoustic Privacy

• Objectives: Minimize noise transmission and create a high level of residential comfort.

• Controls:

  • Dividing walls and floors must comply with the Building Code of Australia.

  • Noise-generating areas (open space, parking) must be located away from adjoining bedrooms.

  • Developments exposed to high external noise (traffic, aircraft) must be designed to comply with relevant Australian Standards and may require an acoustic report.

  • Electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic plant must not exceed a maximum noise level of 5dBa above background levels at the boundary.

C3.13 Conversion of Existing Non-Residential Buildings

• Objectives: Encourage adaptive reuse while retaining heritage value, maximising recycling, providing high resident amenity, and ensuring compatibility with the neighbourhood.

• Controls:

  • The building's existing character must be retained or enhanced.

  • Increases in floor space must be contained within the existing building envelope.

  • Demolition and waste should be minimized, and recycling maximized.

  • Conversions must provide adequate amenity in terms of acoustic and visual privacy, open space, and solar access.

C3.14 Adaptable Housing

• Objectives: Provide a mix of dwelling types to maintain a diverse resident population.

• Controls:

  • Developments with 10 or more dwellings must provide adaptable housing units that comply with AS4299 Adaptable Housing.

  • Number of Adaptable Units:

    • 10-15 dwellings: 1 unit.

    • 16-24 dwellings: 2 units.

    • 25-34 dwellings: 3 units.

    • 35+ dwellings: 10% of total dwellings.