Measures to address urban heat, reduce car usage and increase street trees all feature in a new draft development control plan in Newcastle open for public feedback.
City of Newcastle has undertaken "the most comprehensive review" of its Development Control Plan 2012 since it was created, lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said. The review recommended updates to planning and design guidelines across the city.
A new urban heat section includes requirements of cool facades such as green walls for larger development in the city centre, Wickham, renewal corridors and local centres and passive design such as insulation, wider eaves, light coloured roof tops and building orientation to utilise winds, ventilation and solar access to reduce heat impacts.
Labor councillor Elizabeth Adamczyk said every city was dealing with the impacts and risks of urban heat.
"These are social risks, these are individual household and citywide economic risks," she said.
"We will be making our properties safe and climate ready because everyone deserves a healthy home to live in."
The traffic and parking changes relate to bicycle storage, car share parking for ride sharing and more end of trip facilities for nonresidential development. A new control also aims to limit vehicle access points for development in smaller local centres and areas of high pedestrian and cyclist movement.
Another new section aims to support ageing in place and people with mobility needs. Cr Adamczyk said this would also address the increase in people working from home.
Greens councillor Charlotte McCabe was critical the changes did not include a requirement for "all-electric buildings" and instead recommend new buildings "should not" include gas cooktops, gas ovens, or gas internal space heating systems in order to improve indoor air quality.
"It's now well demonstrated that gas inside houses has serious health concerns particularly around childhood asthma and different forms of cancer," she said. "It also as a huge impact for people struggling with cost of living.
"We're not able to set standards that are higher than the current NSW standards.
"The strongest wording that we've been able to include in our DCP tonight to put on exhibition is that gas cook tops, gas ovens or gas internal space heating systems 'should not' be in any residential development and frankly I just feel that it should not is not sending a clear enough signal.
"I don't feel confident that developers will take that up just of their own accord."
The draft DCP (2023) will go on public exhibition on September 28.
