The intended outcomes as a result of the council-led planning proposal are as follows:

• protect existing employment floorspace by maintaining a minimum required FSR for employment uses or equivalent to the existing employment use on the site, whichever is greater,
• require a proportion of new residential developments above a certain yield to deliver affordable housing,
• provide incentive height and FSR to deliver community facilities on certain sites, 3% affordable housing in the mixed-use zone and 4% in the R4 high density residential zone,
• facilitate employment growth by requiring certain mixed-use sites to deliver a minimum of 50% employment generating uses, and
• introduce a commercial core zone.

The rationale for introducing a commercial core zone is to elevate Bankstown City Centre as a major CBD in Sydney’s southwest. This will apply to land around Bankstown Station and the future Metro line, and is bound by Chapel Road, Rickard Road, Jacob Street, The Mall/Featherstone Street, Restwell Street, Greenfield Parade, Griffith Park and Marion Street.

Clause 6.12 of the Canterbury-Bankstown LEP will be amended to introduce a ‘no net loss of employment floorspace’ to apply to the city centre at the recommendation of the Economic and Land Use Study. For sites that have more than the minimum employment floor space requirement within existing development, any future DA will be required to accommodate the equivalent quantum of employment floor space as a minimum.

FSR and height controls will also change dramatically. The intensification strategy is to allow sites within 400 metres of the station to be developed into 18 – 25 x storey towers. Sites with a land area of at least 1500 square metres can support towers more than 50 metres.