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City of Sydney Capacity Study 2008

Overview

The City of Sydney Capacity Study 2008 analyses the additional capacity of properties across the City.  This study for the first time covers the expanded City of Sydney LGA post-amalgamation with South Sydney and the boundary adjustment to include Glebe, Forest Lodge and part of Annandale (from Leichhardt Council).  The study was reported for noting by Council and the Central Sydney Planning Committee in February 2009 and will be used to inform the planning controls in the current review of the City Plan.

The City was divided into eleven (11) areas for this study.  This made the analysis of the data from the Floor Space and Employment Survey manageable and recognises the diverse urban character within the City, such as Central Sydney being distinct to Green Square, Moore Park and Paddington, Glebe and Forest Lodge.  Capacity calculations were made for each area in Part 5 and discussion on the aggregated calculations were in Part 6 of the study.

Why do the Capacity Study?

The Capacity Study is useful as it indicates where there is a gap between the current supply of floor space and the current planning controls.  This allows the City to determine if the current planning controls, particularly floor space ratio, are sufficient to cater for foreseeable demands in the supply of floor space; and whether changes to the current planning controls are necessary.  Capacity Studies have been undertaken in 1996 and 2001 for Central Sydney (pre-amalgamation) to find out the supply and capacity under the respective planning controls at those times.

The Capacity Study will also assist in finding out how well the City is placed in relation to the targets for residential dwellings and workforce set out in the State Government’s Metropolitan Strategy (City of Cities 2005), the Draft Sydney City Subregional Strategy as well as Council’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision.

Defining Capacity

For the purposes of this study, the additional capacity means the difference between the existing floor space observed on a property by the latest Floor Space and Employment Survey and the maximum potential floor space that may be achieved under the current Floor Space Ratio controls.  The additional capacity is expressed as Gross Floor Area as defined within the relevant planning instrument applying to the property.

Additional capacity is not a guarantee that the property can be developed to the maximum as other planning controls will also affect the final built form – such as building height, setbacks, parking, character, and heritage, amongst others.  Any figures provided in this study only indicate the general potential for a property or an area.

What gets Counted?

Firstly, not all properties were included within the calculations for the capacity study.  Planning controls such as zoning, or other legal impediments meant that a property was not seen to be developable in the foreseeable future.

The following types of properties were excluded from calculating capacity:

  1. Parks and Open Space, such as Hyde Park, Sydney Park, and Martin Place
  2. Heritage Items (not heritage conservation areas), such as QVB, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and the Victoria Barracks at Paddington
  3. Strata-titled properties, such as World Square, Finger Wharf, and many apartment blocks
  4. Properties not subject to the planning controls of the City of Sydney, such as Barangaroo, the Redfern-Waterloo Authority strategic sites, Market City, and Darling Harbour
  5. Properties that were zoned Special Uses and did not have a Floor Space Ratio Control under the relevant planning instrument, such as Sydney University, schools or hospitals
  6. Properties within Central Sydney that were developed in the last 20 to 25 years, such as the Citigroup tower, KENS, Governor Macquarie and Governor Phillip towers, and Sydney Central Plaza
  7. Properties within Central Sydney that are isolated and could not reasonably be redeveloped independently because of other impediments surrounding them (such as strata-titled properties or heritage items).


If a property was not subject to any of the criteria above, it was considered to have development potential and the additional capacity was calculated accordingly.

Secondly, a property may be considered as having development potential but it does not have any additional capacity.  This situation occurs where the floor space on a property already is greater than that allowed under the current planning instrument.  In such cases the additional capacity for that property is zero (0) as the subject property cannot take or absorb capacity from other properties (negative capacity).

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Last Updated: Friday 2 October, 2009

Please Note:
While care is taken to ensure accuracy, the City of Sydney cannot guarantee that information expressed here is correct and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use. The City of Sydney makes no warranty or undertaking, whether expressed or implied, nor does it assume any legal liability, whether direct or indirect.