Inner West Council: Marrickville Residential Development Control Plan (DCP) 2011 - A Summary
- Aleksander Rus
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
Marrickville Development Control Plan 2011 - Part 4: Residential Development
This part of the DCP provides objectives and controls for various residential development types, including dwelling houses, secondary dwellings, attached and semi-detached dwellings, alterations and additions, and other residential structures like garages and carports.
The aim is to achieve a high standard of design and improve the environmental amenity and liveability of the residential areas within the Marrickville Local Government Area (LGA).
Key Sections:
4.1: Low Density Residential Development.
4.2: Multi Dwelling Housing and Residential Flat Buildings.
4.3: Boarding Houses.
Note: The Marrickville Development Control Plan (MDCP) 2011 provides more detailed residential standards than the Marrickville Local Environmental Plan (MLEP) 2011. In cases of inconsistency between the MDCP and the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, the SEPP prevails. For developments on a heritage item site or within a heritage conservation area, applicants must also comply with Part 8 (Heritage) of the DCP.
4.1 Low Density Residential Development
This section applies to new dwelling houses, attached and semi-detached dwellings, secondary dwellings, and alterations and additions to existing dwellings. It also covers garages, carports, and other residential structures.
4.1.4 Good Urban Design Practice
New developments and alterations should incorporate good urban design principles, including:
Considering site and adjoining development characteristics through a site and context analysis.
Maintaining established setbacks and enhancing streetscape character.
Ensuring appropriate scale for the site.
Using complementary materials and finishes.
Orientating dwellings and open spaces for good solar access, energy efficiency, and environmental friendliness.
Ensuring building entries are visible and address the street.
Fitting in with local landscaping.
Considering private open space quality and its relation to the dwelling's layout.
Planning for acoustic and visual privacy.
Using design techniques that promote safety and discourage crime.
4.1.5 Streetscape and Design
Objectives: To ensure new development complements the visual cohesiveness of streetscapes and to encourage contemporary designs that respond positively to the locality's character.
Controls:
New dwellings must address the principal street frontage and complement the existing development pattern.
Facades must interpret and translate positive characteristics of the locality, including massing, roof shape, verandahs, and window details.
Facades must be divided into bays or units appropriate to the scale of the building and adjoining development.
Alterations for noise and vibration reduction should not detract from the building's streetscape value.
Existing sandstone kerb and guttering and brick footpaths from the depression era must be protected and maintained.
4.1.6 Built Form and Character
Floor Space Ratio (FSR) and Height:
Objectives: Ensure development scale enhances streetscapes , alterations to period buildings are sympathetic , and there is adequate on-site area for landscaping and open space.
Controls:
Maximum FSR and height must be consistent with the MLEP 2011 maps.
Applicants must demonstrate acceptable bulk and mass considering overshadowing, privacy, setbacks, parking, landscaping, views, trees, and lot characteristics.
A new detached secondary dwelling, even a converted garage, is limited to a maximum of two storeys.
Building Setbacks:
Objectives: Provide adequate separation for privacy, solar access, and air circulation ; integrate new development with established setbacks; and maintain gardens and vegetation.
Controls (Attached, Dwelling Houses, Semi-detached):
Front Setback: Must be consistent with the setback of adjoining development or the dominant setback on the street. On corner lots, it should reflect the consistent secondary boundary setback.
Side Setback: Less than 8m lot width is at Council's discretion ; for lots 8m and over, setbacks are 900mm (one storey), 1.5m (two storeys), and 2.5m (three storeys).
Rear Setback: Must maintain the predominant first-storey rear building line where visible , or be considered on merit with a focus on amenity and open space. For terrace housing with rear lane access, maintain capacity for off-street parking.
Controls (Secondary Dwellings):
Conversion: Existing building setbacks must have a minimal impact on the streetscape, adjoining properties, solar access, and heritage.
New, Detached: Must be located behind the principal dwelling's front building line. Side setback is a minimum of 1.5m from boundaries for detached secondary dwellings at the rear. Rear setback is the same as for other attached dwellings. If built as a loft over a garage, it can be built to the rear boundary.
Separation Distance: A minimum of 4m between dwellings if the secondary dwelling is at the rear , and 1.8m if at the side.
Height: Max two storeys to protect amenity from overshadowing and privacy loss.
Site Coverage:
Objectives: Ensure site coverage is consistent with neighborhood character and allows adequate space for outdoor recreation, landscaping, and stormwater management.
Controls: Maximum site coverage based on allotment area:
0-300sqm: On Merit.
>300-350sqm: 60%.
>350-400sqm: 55%.
>400-500sqm: 50%.
>500-700sqm: 45%.
>700sqm: 40%.
4.1.7 Car Parking
Objectives: Maintain kerbside parking and streetscape character , ensure parking structures are well-designed and not dominant , and prioritize parking at the rear or off laneways.
Controls:
Parking structures must be designed for safety and efficiency , be compatible with the dwelling's design , and not detract from the streetscape.
Priority is given to car parking at the rear of the site with rear lane access , or at the side behind the front building alignment.
Garages and carports should not be higher than 3m (flat roof) or 3.6m (pitched roof).
Parking structures forward of the building line are not permitted. Hardstand areas may be considered in limited circumstances if they are integrated into the landscape and do not significantly affect the garden or fence.
Elevated Sites: Garages are not permitted forward of the building line or below a dwelling house on elevated sites , unless an existing garage is characteristic of the area.
Garage Doors: Must be set back at least 200mm from the wall face , be timber or metal in a simple design , and not encroach over a public path.
Carports: Must be a single, simple posted design that does not dominate the building or streetscape.
Driveways: New vehicle crossings are generally not permitted to preserve on-street parking and pedestrian safety. Large expanses of concrete are not permitted.
Loft Structures over Garages: Acceptable at the rear if they comply with height, FSR, landscaping, and parking requirements, and have minimal adverse impact on amenity and character.
4.1.8 Dormer Windows
Controls:
Dormer windows are permitted on the front or side roof plane if they suit the building's style and age.
They must be positioned to minimize interruption of skyline views of chimneys and other original roof features.
Number: One dormer is permitted for a Victorian single-storey, single-fronted dwelling. Two are permitted for a 'double-fronted' dwelling.
Victorian Dormers: Must be vertically proportioned (1.6:1 to 2:1 height-to-width ratio), have the same roof pitch as the main roof, be subordinate in size, and be positioned 300mm below the ridge.
Federation Skillion Dormers: Must have a lesser roof pitch than the main roof, not exceed 2200mm in width or 1200mm in height, and be set at least 300mm below the ridge line.
Dormers must not dominate the roof plane or appear as a second storey.
They must not incorporate doors or balconies.
Roof height and pitch in heritage conservation areas are not to be altered to accommodate dormers.
4.1.9 Additional Controls for Contemporary Dwellings
Controls:
First-floor additions in single-storey streetscapes must maintain the perceived scale of the streetscape by disguising the upper floor within the roof form or setting it back from the principal street frontage.
Skylights and solar panels are not permitted on the front roof plane and must be set back beyond the front third of the side roof plane.
On terraces, skylights and solar panels are only permitted on the rear roof plane.
Materials such as extensive glass sheeting, glass blocks, circular render, rough textured render, and painting of original unpainted masonry are not permitted.
4.1.11 Additional Controls for Residential Period Buildings
Objectives: Retain or reinstate front gardens and features , retain building facades and roof forms , retain exceptional rear features , and accommodate contemporary additions while retaining significant components of the building.
Controls:
Alterations at the front should minimize impacts , and demolition of significant period features is not permitted.
Finishes not typical of the period are not permitted at the front.
Rear and side additions must be subordinate to the main body of the building when viewed from the street.
Additions to semi-detached pairs must not compromise symmetry or inhibit potential additions to the adjoining property.
Verandahs: Original verandahs must not be enclosed and should be restored if they are enclosed.
Balconies: Original balconies must not be enclosed.
Materials: Unsmpathetic materials such as extensive glass sheeting, rough textured render, profiled metal sheeting, wire fencing and fibrous cement sheeting are not permitted.
Paint: The use of fluorescent or primary colors is not permitted. The painting, rendering, or bagging of original unpainted brickwork or sandstone is not permitted.
4.2 Multi Dwelling Housing and Residential Flat Buildings
This section provides controls for medium and high-density residential development, including villas, townhouses, and apartment blocks.
4.2.2 Good Urban Design Practice
Development should consider the site and adjoining development through a site and context analysis.
New development should maintain setbacks and enhance streetscape character.
Scale should be appropriate for the site.
Dwellings should be accessible to people with disabilities.
Entries should address the street and be clearly visible.
Driveways and garages should not dominate the street view.
Acoustic and visual privacy should be planned for.
Communal open space and children's play facilities should be included.
4.2.3 General Controls
Dwelling Mix: New developments with six or more dwellings must provide a mix of dwelling types: Studio (5-20%), 1 bedroom (10-40%), 2 bedroom (40-75%), and 3+ bedrooms (10-45%).
Adaptable Dwellings: Every new multi-dwelling or residential flat building must provide one adaptable dwelling for every five dwellings or part thereof.
Kerbs and Footpaths: Existing sandstone kerb and guttering and depression-era brick footpaths must be respected and protected.
4.2.4 Built Form and Character
FSR and Site Coverage:
Objectives: Ensure FSR and site coverage are compatible with the locality's character and allow for adequate landscaping and open space.
Controls: Maximum FSR is consistent with Inner West LEP 2022 maps. Maximum site coverage is detailed in Table 1.
Building Heights:
Controls: Maximum height must be consistent with the Inner West LEP 2022 Height of Buildings Map. Applicants must refer to the map and precinct statement for any site-specific controls.
Building Setbacks:
Objectives: Integrate development with established setbacks , maintain neighbor amenity , and ensure adequate separation for privacy and views.
Controls (Multi Dwelling Housing):
Front: Minimum 6m (can be reduced to 4.5m on corner lots at Council's discretion ).
Side: Minimum 4m (no driveway) and 7m (with driveway).
Rear: Minimum 4m (no driveway) and 7m (with driveway).
Controls (Residential Flat Buildings):
Front: Minimum 9m (11m for buildings over three storeys ).
Side/Rear: Minimum 3m (one-storey, wall height < 3m), 3.5m (one-storey > 3m), 4m (two storeys), and 4.5m (three storeys).
4.2.5 Streetscape, General Appearance, and Materials
Facade Design: Must be sensitive to the site's characteristics , address the principal street frontage , and enhance character by interpreting massing, roof shape, balconies, and windows.
Bulk and Scale: New development should transition sympathetically in scale with older buildings. Continuous wrap-around balconies are not desirable. The enclosure of balconies or verandahs is not permitted.
Materials: Face brick is preferred where common in the area. Extensive glass, reflective cladding, and rough textured render are not permitted.
4.2.6 Parking and Access
Controls: Parking structures must not be located in front of the building line. Vehicular access must be at least 6m from a street intersection.
4.2.7 Ceiling Heights
Controls: Minimum ceiling heights are 3.3m for ground floor street-fronting dwellings , 2.7m for all habitable rooms on all floors , and 2.4m for non-habitable rooms (2.25m permitted).
4.2.10 Period Residential Flat Buildings
Characteristics: These buildings are typically Inter-War (c1920-c1940) and post-WWII (c1940-c1960). They are often two or three storeys, rectangular in form, and have a central entry and stair.
Design Guidelines: Additions to the street elevation are not permitted. Dormers are generally not characteristic of these buildings. Existing landscaped front gardens must not be paved for parking. Original verandahs and balconies must not be enclosed. Face brick must not be rendered or painted.
4.3 Boarding Houses
This section outlines controls for boarding houses, which provide accommodation for low-income households.
4.3.3 Planning Context
Controls: Development applications for boarding houses in residential zones will be assessed in accordance with the relevant controls for low-density residential development (Section 4.1) or multi-dwelling housing/residential flat buildings (Section 4.2).
Access, Solar Access, and Parking: These are detailed in other sections of the DCP. Parking rates are lower than for residential flat buildings to reflect expected lower car ownership rates.
4.3.3.1 Character and Amenity
Control: The design must be compatible with the local area's character and have no negative impacts on amenity.
4.3.3.2 Boarding House Capacity
Control: Resident numbers are determined by the gross floor area of the boarding room (excluding private kitchen/bathroom). A room less than 16m² is for 1 lodger; a room over 16m² is for 2 lodgers.
4.3.3.4 Management
Control: On-site manager accommodation is required based on the number of lodgers: 1 manager for 20-39 lodgers, 2 for 40-79, and 3 for 80+.
A private open space of at least 8m² with a minimum dimension of 2.5m must be provided for each manager's accommodation.
One off-street parking space is required per manager.
4.3.3.5 Boarding Rooms
Objectives: Rooms should be adequate in size and facilities to accommodate residents' needs.
Controls:
Minimum area: 12m² for a 1-person room , and 16m² for a 2-person room.
Maximum room size: 25m².
Minimum ceiling height: 2700mm.
Maximum occupation: Two adults per share room.
Rooms must be able to accommodate beds, storage, and circulation space.
Kitchenettes (max 5m²) and en-suite bathrooms (min 3m², max 4m²) can be included.
Habitable rooms must have access to natural ventilation and light from an external window or adequate light well.
Private open space, if provided, has a maximum area of 6m² and a minimum dimension of 2m.
4.3.3.6 Communal Rooms and Facilities
Objectives: Facilitate communal living and provide a variety of spaces for residents.
Controls:
A boarding house with five or more rooms must have at least one communal living room of at least 12m².
The communal living room must be available 24/7 and accommodate at least 50% of residents at capacity (2m² per resident).
At least one communal living room must receive a minimum of 3 hours of sunlight between 9 am and 3 pm in mid-winter.
4.3.3.8 Landscaped Area and Common Open Space
Control: At least one area of communal open space must receive a minimum of 3 hours of direct sunlight between 9 am and 3 pm in mid-winter.
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