By ANNA USHER

Mosman residents are being asked to make a decision that will shape their suburb for generations, and they have until Monday, 19 May to do it.

The question is blunt: do you want shorter buildings spread across a larger footprint, or taller towers concentrated into a narrower corridor?

The answer will determine what the Mosman Masterplan looks like.

“There is no right or wrong choice,” the masterplan booklet states plainly. “It depends on what matters most for Mosman.”

Both masterplan options concentrate growth along the Military Road and Spit Road corridor and at Spit Junction. Both protect the scenic protection area. Both largely exclude Heritage Conservation Areas. Both require genuine community benefits -parks, pedestrian links, affordable housing – as conditions of any development.

The difference is fundamental.

Option 1 – Low and wide.

Growth is spread across 13% of the LGA (85 hectares).

Option 1 features building heights from 3 to 20 storeys and covers more streets. Its broader footprint means transitions to surrounding neighbourhoods are more gradual, spreading growth across a larger area.

Option 2 – High and narrow.

Growth is squeezed into 9% of the LGA (60 hectares).

Option 2 allows taller buildings up to 28 storeys, concentrated within a narrower corridor. This leaves more of Mosman untouched but results in sharper changes where the corridor meets residential areas.

Why does it have to be one or the other?

The uncomfortable reality is that Mosman must plan for growth regardless of which option residents choose.

Under the NSW Government’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy (LMR), 27 per cent of the entire LGA (180 hectares) is earmarked for development.

The masterplan exists because Mosman Council fought to secure an alternative. The State agreed, on one condition. Any masterplan must deliver the same number of homes. Mosman must plan for around 4,700 new dwellings. There is no way around the number.

That means the choice is not between growth and no growth. It is between how that growth is shaped, where it is concentrated, and whether residents have had a genuine say in designing it.

How the options compare with the LMR

While the consultation is still open, five Mosman properties have already been declared State Significant Developments – a status that bypasses council entirely and hands approval to the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority, a three-member panel established in December 2024 to fast-track major housing projects.

Mayor Ann Marie Kimber has described the pace as staggering.

“The State Government set Mosman a five-year housing target of 500 dwellings,” she told Mosman Collective when the Military Road site was declared. “Yet under the new LMR controls, more than 250 dwellings were proposed in just one week – over half the target already.”

“Our schools, health services, transport systems, traffic flow, open green spaces and stormwater infrastructure are not equipped to accommodate such rapid change.”

The master plan also examines four council-owned sites where growth could directly serve community needs.

• The Civic Precinct could be redeveloped with a new library, an enhanced village green, increased parking, and the mixed-use redevelopment of the Council Chambers.
• The Bowling Club site could see expanded public access and recreational use for a growing population.
• The Depot on Ourimbah Road and the Stanton Road site are both flagged for residential development, including affordable housing in perpetuity.

Visit yourvoicemosman.com.au/masterplan to read the full document and submit your view.

Submissions close Monday, 19 May 2026.

Which option do you prefer, and why? Let us know. Email [email protected]