Wagga City Council could scrap some planning controls on tall buildings in its push for the "southern capital of NSW" to house a population of 100,000 people by 2038.
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Council will consider removing the requirement for individual building developments in the central business district to pass a formal planning amendment process for height increases.
The changes are expected to form part of Wagga's "CBD masterplan", a long-term strategy council staff will start preparing in June.
Council director of regional activation Michael Keys said the masterplan would consider whether the current 25-metre height limit was "still relevant" as a blanket rule across the entire CBD.
Mr Keys anticipates the plan will remove the current requirement for developers to undergo a formal application process to amend the Local Environment Plan on individual sites in the CBD.
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Height has been a source of contention for some Central residents, meaning council will have to balance the need for higher density living against concerns Wagga will lose the heritage feel of the country town the city once was.
Mr Keys said the masterplan would review all planning controls to encourage redevelopment "in the right locations and with the right outcomes, while still respecting what people love about where they live".
The city's tallest building is Wagga Base Hospital with a height of 32 metres, with at least three other multi-storey redevelopments already planned for the CBD.
Wagga developer Daniel Donebus, whose company Damasa is behind plans for a $180 million, 32 metre high overhaul of the Morgan, Murray and Forsyth streets block, believes the city will benefit from "properly considered intensification" to "complement heritage residential streets".
"I think it's important for all of us to focus on where we all want to, as a community, see the growth happen, and that it's important to understand the facts of what the decision making is based on," he said.
Jenny McKinnon, the lead Greens candidate for the 2021 council election, said she supported higher density living close to Baylis and potentially Fitzamurice streets.
However, she said she was concerned about the Morgan Street block proposal because of pushback from "upset" Central residents.
Catie McLeod
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
