A report to go before Wagga City Council's next meeting on Monday showed that in order to accommodate a population of 100,000 people, 14,000 more homes need to be built. 

More than 1700 hectares would be required at a density pattern of eight dwellings per hectare, which only equates to 3500 more dwellings, and there is only 426 hectares of land in the urban area, according to the Wagga Spatial Plan 2013. 

Developer Daniel Donebus said council has been proactive around planning for higher density living in the CBD and opening up land on the outskirts of Wagga, despite the time taken for subdivisions. 

"There are future plans for greater density in the city's existing residential areas and people within the industry are looking for opportunities to meet the demand," Mr Donebus said. 

"The 100,000 population expectation is going forward, however there's quite a bit of background work before that comes to fruition, such as infrastructure to support these kinds of developments." 

Mr Donebus said an ageing population and entering a modern world are the major factors driving demand for higher density living options. 

"I think we have to recognise Wagga is a hub for the surrounding district majorly by our access to medical services," he said. 

"We might have thought that people want a four-bedroom home on a quarter-acre block, but as people retire and move off the land; there's a diverse population of people looking at Wagga as an option. 

"People are looking for city-living, with no commute and prepared to look at apartment options, while retirees are looking for low-maintenance spaces that is close to shops and the medical facilities." 

As Wagga has always been entitled to having space, Mr Donebus said it is time the city becomes "responsible" for better use of land. 

"Land is a fine resource and rather than spreading Wagga out, part of the solution to future needs is to ensure that this higher density inner-city is available to those who want it," he said. 

"Planners are looking at how we can meet these needs." 

The Riverside development, to be located behind Romano's Hotel, could be Wagga's next high-rise and there is a proposal is to remove the height limit by amending the Wagga Local Environment Plan. 

Fitzpatricks Real Estate agent Greg Howick said this is a "positive move" as previous controls were "really quite restrictive" and he predicted that this will "flow on" to other sites. 

"We're excited about the positive response from council and it's great news for CBD developments in the area," Mr Howick said. 

"We need to build up and while people do want four-bedroom, double garages, there is support for multi-level apartments, evident by our database of interest.

"These really appeal to empty-nesters and baby boomers; and there's growth among young professions, who don't want to look after a garden and can just shut their doors and head down to Sydney for the weekend." 

Council is commencing a CBD Master Plan that will consider height limits across the rest of the city to ensure residential opportunities are maximised. 

"The aim is to reinvigorate the precinct and capture new business and service opportunities supported by the growing numbers of residents and visitors," said director corporate services Natalie Te Pohe, from WCC. 

"It will focus on improving the overall urban quality and include additional opportunities for residential accommodation.

"A review of the height limitation in the CBD will be undertaken and form part of the overall Master Plan."

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Council recognised that urban infill and development within proximity to the CBD is "critical" to providing an alternate mode of housing to support growth. 

"Council can facilitate higher density development through supportive land use planning controls in areas of desired intensification," Ms Te Pohe said. 

However, developer Debbie Cox said while there is a "short-term land shortage", there is still plenty of land to be subdivided.

"We don't get a lot of calls for high-rise and very little interest for two-storey developments," she said. 

"I think land sizes are good enough to sustain four-bedroom homes in the new suburbs and people still want the larger, family sized blocks.

"I hope we don't have to build up and the blocks don't need to be any smaller than what they are as there is a lot of land that can be subdivided." 

Previously, local builder Wayne Carter said there was an "urgency" for council to rezone more land for Wagga to reach a population of 100,000. 

“We’re building about 370 homes a year and with our population expected to increase by another 35,000 people to hit the growth target, we’ll need to be building 600 homes a year,” Mr Carter said. 

“We’re flat-out already and there’s urgency for more land; we don’t need it tomorrow, we needed it yesterday. 

“We’ve got a lot of catching up to do and with no land it will hurt us financially and economically.”