The scale of a proposed 124-unit apartment complex has been deemed "inappropriate" for Toronto and the development refused approval for failing to meet a range of planning controls.
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The $35 million mixed-use development, proposed for a site on Cary Street next to McDonalds, was knocked back by the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel earlier this month.
The panel gave almost a dozens reasons for the determination and concluded that approving the proposal in its current form "would not be in the public interest".
The panel said the request to exceed the site's various height limits - including by 10 metres on the Cary Street side - was "not well founded" and did not demonstrate that compliance with the standard was unreasonable.
It said the visual impact and proposed height of more than 20 metres on Cary Street was "inappropriate".
The proposal did not adequately address traffic impacts on surrounding streets and did not meet the visitor parking requirements.
North-facing apartments would have been subjected to noise and odour impacts from the McDonalds drive-thru lane, which the proposal did not alleviate.
The fast-food franchise, which applied in October to vary the outlet's operating hours to stay open until midnight each day, said in its submission it supported the development but wanted it to have mitigation measures in place for future residents like glazing and wall and door specifications.
Lake Macquarie council had recommended the development be approved with deferred commencement, subject to conditions of consent being met, but the panel said the "number of unresolved issues" and "substantial design changes required" were "beyond the capacity of a deferred commencement".
The council had argued Arnott Avenue, at the site's east, was not wide enough to support the traffic movements in and out of the basement car park and and needed widening to 16 metres.
"Arnott Avenue is narrow and was designed for a low traffic volume environment," the council said.
The DA was lodged by Toronto Investments No.1 Pty Ltd in March, 2018.
Director Nick Vranus said the refusal was a blow as the plans had been revised over three years in consultation with design experts and council.
He said the community had raised "not many objections" about the six-storey complex and it would have filled a dormant site in the Toronto town centre.
An economic impact statement, supported by council, suggested construction would have generated $81 million and 186 overall jobs for the economy.
The ongoing operation of the commercial floor space below the apartments would have also employed an estimated 60 people.
Mr Vranus said the company was yet to decide on whether it would return with revised plans.
