Council refuses Patonga Hotel proposal

The proposed redevelopment of the Patonga Hotel has been refused by the Central Coast Council.

Council chief Mr Rob Noble has written to the proponent's architects, CKDS Architecture, informing them that the DA for alterations and additions to the existing hotel and takeaway shop at 8 to 10 Patonga Dve has been refused.

In his letter, Mr Noble listed seven reasons for Council's refusal.

"The proposal provides inadequate car parking for the proposed development and is not in accordance with the provisions of Gosford Development Control Plan (DCP) 2013," Mr Noble said in his letter.

"The proposal has provided insufficient information on the parking penetration of the proposed use or in relation to available car parking in the area," the letter said.

"The proposal would result in unacceptable parking and traffic impacts on surrounding residential areas, particularly during peak times," he said.

"The proposal would adversely impact on the amenity of the area through increased traffic generation and car parking congestions.

"The proposal exceeds the allowed Floor Space Ratio for the land under Gosford Local Environmental Plan 2014 and for which inadequate car parking is provided and in these circumstances a clause 4.6 variation to the provision would not be supported.

"The scale and intensity of the proposed restaurant and wedding reception is, and associated impacts, is inconsistent with the character of the area and the objectives of the B1 Neighbourhood Centre Zone."

Finally, Mr Noble said: "Approval would not be in the public interest."

The applicant now has six months to ask for a review of the decision and/or appeal to the Land and Environment Court.

Mr Ross Trembath, chairman of the Patonga Community Working Group which had campaigned against the proposal, said: "The way in which Council addressed the difficult task of weighing up the merit of the proposal within the fragile Patonga environment will not be lost on the people who would be most affected by it."

A report written by Council's Department of Environment and Planning to assess the application said it had proposed adding a restaurant and wedding reception facility on the first floor of the existing cafe building without providing any car parking, relying instead on on-street car parking in the vicinity of the Hotel.

The report said the application had been the subject of a large number of objections from the local community, with 83 submissions and a petition with 89 signatures.

"The key issues raised in submissions were the increased intensity of the use, impacts on local character, non-compliance with planning controls, noise and amenity impacts on adjoining properties, inadequate car parking, traffic generation, pedestrian safety and the permissibility of wedding receptions," the report said.

According to the report, the Parking Report submitted in support of the application relied on parking surveys carried out over two days in August 2002 and observations made on October 25 last year.

"Since the application was lodged the applicant has made several changes to the proposal to reduce impacts," the report said.

"These changes will reduce some of the intensity of the proposal, however on balance, the lack of car parking for the proposal, and lack of supporting information to determine parking impacts relevant to the proposed development means that Council is unable to satisfy itself that the proposal will not have an adverse impact on car parking in the Patonga area, including on surrounding residential streets.

"Additionally, the intensity of the expansion has potential to adversely impact on the amenity and character of the local area.

"Based on these concerns the application is recommended for refusal," the report concluded.

There have been a number of previous approvals applying to both buildings on the site.

The hotel building (including two residential dwellings) was approved in March 2000 (DA22677) and there have been several modifications and alterations since then.

In September 2003, Gosford Council approved a modification (Part 2) to relocate the ground floor dwelling to the first floor and convert that area for dining use.

This modification was supported with an offer of $20,000 from the applicant in lieu of a shortfall of six parking spaces arising from the proposal.

In March 2010, Council consented to a modification (Part 9) to the hotel for the removal of five on-site car parking spaces and a loading area, and the conversion of this area to beer garden seating.

"Council's assessment at the time noted that the proposal resulted in a shortfall of 18 car spaces being for the five spaces lost and a further 13 spaces for the additional beer garden/ dining area.

"The applicant did not agree with the extent of the shortfall, based on decreased demand from patrons travelling by boat, ferry or on foot, and based on the parking report submitted at the time.

"Following consideration by Council and a number of section 82A reviews the Council agreed with an offer from the applicant for a Voluntary Planning Agreement for $75,000 to be applied to car parking or foreshore works in and between the town centre area and the Dark Corner boat ramp, in lieu of the five lost car parking spaces," the staff report said.

The refused development application, lodged in December 2015, proposed to replace the hotel kitchen area with storage, cool rooms and cafe area; extend the ground floor hotel area approximately 2.5m to the east and in part 2.6m to the south, for reconfigured dining area and relocated toilets; provide a covered area of approximately 94 square metres over existing outdoor hotel dining areas on part of the front elevation; provide a small stage inside the hotel; extend the first floor verandah on the hotel on the front elevation; extend the first floor of the hotel by 6.5m to the east to accommodate new toilets to serve the proposed restaurant/ wedding reception area; demolish most of the seafood cafe building and first floor residence, and provide a new two- storey building with an expanded kitchen/ storage area at the rear and expanded internal seating area at the front on the ground level, the report said.

"Council's assessment has identified a number of concerns with the proposal, which primarily relate to the proposed use of the first floor of the takeway cafe building as a restaurant and for wedding receptions, the lack of car parking as required under GDCP 2013 and the impacts of the use on the character and amenity of the local area.

"While the alterations and additions to the hotel and ground level takeaway store will have a lesser impact, overall the scale of the proposal is out of keeping with the desired future character of the area and the objectives of the B1 Local Neighbourhood zone.

"Accordingly, the application is recommended for refusal pursuant to Section 80 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979."

Letter, 28 Nov 2016

Rob Noble, Central Coast Council

Statement, 29 Nov 2016

Ross Trembath, Patonga Community Working Group

Assessment report, 24 Nov 2016

Scott Cox, Central Coast Council