Saturday 25 July, SOS Mona Vale hosted a community forum bringing together Pittwater's advocates, former Pittwater Council experts, a local councillor, the Pittwater MP, and residents united in pushing back against the gross overdevelopment now bearing down on Mona Vale village. Convened by Mona Vale resident John David, SOS Mona Vale is a grassroots organisation growing rapidly as residents respond to a surge of tower blocks green-lit for developers chasing profit.  Protect Pittwater supports SOS Mona Vale and Simon Dunn, President of Protect Pittwater was one of the guest speakers.

This housing development spree is the result of the NSW Planning System Reform Act 2025, a bill hastily introduced by Premier Chris Minns and supported by the Liberal party late last year. It represents neither ‘planning’ or ‘reform’ and instead outsources the housing crisis to developers without regard for infrastructure capacity or community input.

The legislation is designed to fast-track the approvals pathway that hands developers the keys to Pittwater's character. Under the new rules high-storey apartment towers are being pushed through with little regard for the surrounding urban environment and those deemed 'State Significant Development' proposals side-step environmental agencies, the very ones tasked with protecting Pittwater's flood-and bushfire-prone landscape.

In other words, the state government has outsourced the housing affordability crisis to private developers rather than working with local communities and local council to plan for genuine need. Developers don't absorb costs — they pass them on. The result won't be affordability but a steady eviction of young families, low-income households and local workers from a region that was once a mixed-economy community.

What Residents and Advocates Spoke About

The affordable housing ‘sunset clause’ con: Residents query the affordable housing quotas attached to these approvals - after 15 years the property reverts to full market rate. In exchange for this temporary, expiring commitment, communities are expected to accept 29-metre towers in zones that were originally low-rise. Once built, those towers don't expire.

Building in harm's way: The forum heard serious concern about developments being approved in flood-and-fire-prone zones; wholesale construction will only intensify flooding risk in a region that is familiar with dangerous flooding. Pittwater's roads are already at capacity - residents asked the question nobody in government seems willing to answer: how exactly are people meant to evacuate safely during a flood or bushfire, with such an influx of extra traffic adding to the usual choke points?

Developer pressure on ordinary homeowners: Since the new rules were announced, residents report being approached and pressured by developers to sell. It was also noted that developers are including, in their State Significant Development proposals, provisions to build towers over the homes of two-storey owners who haven't yet agreed to sell, banking on the fact that once those owners realise they have no power to stop it, they'll sell out too.

Who really pays the price: Perhaps the sharpest concern raised was about the impact of this bill on the next gen, the cost of fixing what this policy breaks, long after the developers have moved on. And in a region where housing prices keep climbing, residents were blunt: calling this a ‘low-to-medium rise’ housing policy is a furphy. It is high-rise, high-impact development.

Next Steps
The full forum was filmed. SOS Mona Vale will be sending the footage directly to the Premier of NSW and to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully.

If you care about the future of Pittwater, or your own village community anywhere in NSW, take action because what happens in Mona Vale won't stay in Mona Vale.

Write your objections to Paul Scully, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and  Premier Chris Minns
Join SOS Mona Vale
Further reading Pittwater Online News Issue 656
To review NSW State Significant Proposals click here.  Apply Northern Beaches filter