Six residents gave deputations against the proposal from Satterley, which will be considered by the council before being sent to the WA Planning Commission, over concerns about safety, noise, traffic congestion, the environment and quality of life for residents.
The structure plan is for an estimated 1646 residential lots, a primary school site, a district open space and parks on about 132 hectares of land.
Upper Swan resident Kerry Rowe, who said she had lived in the same house her whole life, spoke at the forum and said the development would completely change the life residents had built for themselves there.
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READ NOW“The applicant says quality of life will be good because we will have a school, but that does not add to my quality,” she said.
“Currently we have 20 vehicles a day driving down our street and under the plan there will be around 1900 – that does not add to my livability in the area.”
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Ben Datson said aside from traffic and lack of privacy, there were also plans for a bridge to be built at the entrance of his property.
He said the plan had left him indecisive about whether he should stay or move.
“It doesn’t make sense that this has got to this stage,” he said.
“We’ve had no consultation about this apart from a letter saying that the land had changed to urban. I’ve spent my whole life fighting to provide a life for myself and my family and now it’s in jeopardy. We’re on the edge of our seats and haven’t been given any answers.”
The proposed structure plan received 49 objections out of a total of 60 submissions during its advertising period, with traffic volumes and bushfire risk being highlighted as key issues.
Councillor David McDonnell raised questions over the impact on the endangered western swamp tortoise, which has a habitat nearby, and transport issues.
He said the proposal should be deferred until further work could be done.
“The Department of Transport has said they aren’t doing anything else, which means you’re going to have 95 to 100 per cent of people from this development jumping in their cars,” he said.
“You’ve had no discussions with the PTA.”
Project director Amy Nancarrow said the western swamp tortoise had not been considered in the proposed structure plan.
“It was not identified as an issue relevant to the land,” she said.
She said the development would take roughly 10 years to complete.
“We will be having conversations with the PTA… a lot of planning has gone into this,” she said.
The council is scheduled to vote on the proposal tonight.