Port Stephens council has approved a beachfront development despite "62 pages" of community objections and a split vote by councilors.
The $4.7m development proposed eight apartments, each with ground level access, to replace a historic beachfront cottage on Soldiers Point Road.
Residents and councillors have both raised concerns that the complex is a residential flat "contrived" to fit under the classification of multi-dwelling housing.
An eleventh-hour bid by Cr Giacomo Arnott to have the application refused outright was voted down 4-5.
Councillors then split along the same lines minutes later to approve the development on the council officer's recommendation, voting 5-4.
Cr Arnott's alternate motion sought refusal on seven grounds under section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, arguing council was "not convinced" the development had sufficient ground-level access to meet the multi-dwelling housing definition.
He also queried whether a requested height variation was appropriate given its bulk.
Cr Arnott raised doubts over koala habitat and compensatory planting requirements, and argued approval would not be in the public interest.
He noted every councillor had read the roughly 63 pages of objections submitted, and that not one supportive submission had been received.
He said the developer had likely had the chance to redesign the plan to meet the rules but hadn't, and that he was "very disappointed" the two sides hadn't reached a compromise given the scale of objection.
When the original motion to approve the plan was put forward, Cr Roz Armstrong spoke against it.
Her central concern remained whether the proposal genuinely met the multi-dwelling housing definition, arguing it shared features more typical of an apartment building.
She said those included a consolidated car park with car stackers, a shared lift and lobby, strata subdivision and access arrangements she said appeared "contrived" to fit the definition.
"Council must be satisfied ... that each dwelling genuinely has independent access at ground level ... I have not been convinced," Cr Armstrong said.
She also doubted replacement trees on the dune frontage could reach maturity, and questioned whether the height variation was justified.
"I am not supporting this," she said.
No other councillors spoke on the motion.
The Newcastle Herald reported in February that the application had drawn opposition over the loss of a 1930s cottage and mature trees, including two large blackbutts, in what residents described as an important koala corridor.
Neighbour and planning lawyer Ian Woodward had argued the units were unlikely to ease the housing crisis, warning they were more likely to become holiday lets than homes for key workers.
He has also raised concerns over transparency of the application process with design alterations not made available to the public online, noting access to view the files relied on a formal request.
The Soldiers Point application also prompted a separate push from Cr Arnott for more transparency in the council's development assessment process.
Cr Arnott's motion would have directed the general manager to amend the council's community participation plan so that final and amended plans going to a council vote were made available online, even without a formal re-exhibition.
Staff cautioned the change could be short-lived given a statewide community participation plan already on exhibition.
The motion was defeated 6-3
Two items on council's development plans for Salamander Bay adjacent to the Mambo Wetlands were pulled from Tuesday's meeting after a late notification from Heritage NSW landed just hours before councillors sat down.
Mayor Leah Anderson moved to defer discussion on the future development footprint of council-owned land at 155 Salamander Way and 10 Central Avenue, Salamander Bay.
The council had been informed in the afternoon of an Aboriginal Place nomination covering the Mambo Wetlands.
Cr Anderson said the general manager needed time to review the notification and advise councillors before any decision was made.
Cr Roz Armstrong, who seconded the deferral, pushed back on any suggestion the timing looked like a last-minute delay tactic.
A separate agenda item, a report responding to a 725-signature petition opposing the sale and development of council land around Salamander Bay Shopping Centre, was deferred immediately after on the basis that it dealt with the same site and issues.
Both deferral motions were carried unanimously.
