We noted two instances this week of development applications in Sydney and Melbourne being lodged without any provision for car spaces, highlighting the increasing attitude by Councils that car ownership is a luxury, not a necessity.
According to an article in the Australian Financial Review on October 5th, research by the City of Sydney Council found that one in three household across the entire its local government area do not have cars – including suburbs such as Glebe, Rosebery and Rushcutters Bay. In the CBD, only 11 per cent of households had two or more cars.
The new City of Sydney draft local environment plan slashes the maximum car allowance in the CBD from two car spaces per two-bedroom unit, to 41 car spaces for a 100-unit development comprising 70 one-bedroom apartments and studios and 30 apartments with two/three bedrooms.
Making up for reduced parking, developers are required to provide car-share spaces for car hire companies, and a floor space bonus for dedicated bike storage and change rooms, and counting reduced parking spaces towards a higher green-star rating.
In Sydney, a developer has lodged an application to build a block of 27 apartments with no parking for residents or visitors. The Oakland Property Group believes that eliminating all car parking would cut the cost of the apartments by about $70,000, making it affordable for young people to move into an area that would otherwise be out of their price range.
Meanwhile in Melbourne, the developer First Delta Group is now building up to 40 per cent of its apartments without any car parking, claiming that it makes the apartments up to $60,000 cheaper.
We are curious to know what impact this kind of movement will have on the road system for those people who still feel that they can’t live without their car.