Tag: Level 33

Akuna St Development. When progress pushes people out of town

Image Illawarra Mercury 

When the Akuna Street developments go ahead, Kiama’s main car park, the one locals and shoppers rely on, will effectively vanish. In its place will come a major construction site that could choke the town centre for years.

Parking gone. Roads blocked. Dust, noise, and heavy vehicles moving through streets never built for this level of traffic.

It is hard to imagine anyone choosing to shop in Kiama under those conditions when there are easier, quieter, and more accessible options just up or down the highway. I already avoid the CBD unless I absolutely have to, and I know I am not the only one.

Kiama Council had a duty to plan for this before selling off our main parking area. They could have created alternative parking, staged the development, or at the very least communicated a clear plan to manage the disruption. None of this has happened yet.

For years, the car park served locals, shop owners, and visitors alike. It was more than a slab of asphalt, it was what made the heart of Kiama accessible. Selling it without a real plan for what comes next feels like a decision made with eyes firmly on developers, not on residents.

We were told the Akuna Street sale would help Council fix its financial mess. It was sold as the big solution, the quick cash injection that would ease the debt burden and set the books straight.

But nearly 20 percent of the 28 million dollar sale price has already disappeared in legal settlements and court costs before a single wall has gone up. That is not revitalisation, that is reaction.

This is what short term thinking looks like.
It is selling off an asset before you have a plan for what replaces it.
It is banking on one deal to fix years of mismanagement.
It is hoping that a private development will save a public balance sheet.
And it is assuming that the community will carry the cost quietly, in lost parking, lost access, and lost trust.

If Council had thought long term, it would have staged this project, planned alternative parking, and protected the town’s economic heartbeat during construction. Instead, we face years of disruption for a payoff that might never reach the people who actually live here.

This development is also  a prime example of what happens when the  leadership culture is fixated on the PIO and financial manoeuvring above all else, instead of focusing on what really matters to residents, liveability, services, and sensible planning.

Progress is not about shiny buildings or quick financial fixes. It is about protecting the fabric of a town while it grows, making sure people can still live, work, and shop here without feeling pushed out.

Right now, Kiama’s future is being built on lost parking spaces, lost patience, and almost one fifth of the sale price already gone in litigation. The question is no longer whether this project will revitalise Kiama, but whether Kiama can survive the cost of Council’s short term thinking.

You cannot build a thriving town on empty streets.

Thanks to everyone who has shared questions and comments on this issue. I have added extra detail as I received more information to help answer those and keep the community in the loop.

Read my follow up blog Kiama Is Sleepwalking Into a CBD Meltdown. Here’s How We Could Stop It.

Read previous blog posts here and here

#KiamaCouncil #AkunaStreet #KiamaPlanning #CommunityFirst #PublicTrust #LocalBusiness #RatepayerRights #ParkingCrisis #ShortTermThinking #TownCentre #CivicAccountability #Kiama

When the Big Decisions Hit Home: Why Kiama Needs a Stronger Voice

Watch WIN News and local experts and the community’s thoughts here

Johnny Greer is a local who always has his finger on the pulse and recently brought the latest very scary development on the Akuna St Kiama proposal by Level 33 who own the land in question to the community’s attention. See cut and paste of his Facebook post above

In September I wrote a blog post about the Level 33  current ( as of September  2025)  DA proposal that was going to the Land and Environment Court in December See here to get your head around how this mess evolved

Note this dot point in the article

  • 14 August 2024: The Federal Court matter Nicolas Daoud v Kiama Municipal Council was finalised. Under a Deed of Release, Council paid Daoud a settlement of $1 million. Council also disclosed legal costs of $3.73 million (excluding settlement), bringing the total cost of the case to $4.73 million, equal to 16.9 percent of the $28 million sale price (Kiama Council, Agenda of 20 November 2024, Item 14.1 p.146 and Item 15.8 p.604).

Yes you read it right we are still in the Land and Environment Court – what is it going to cost this time.?  We cant afford to have working CCTV cameras but we can employ barrister after barrister.

Now to the big picture

After months of watching the decisions being made for Kiama and reading the growing frustration on social media, I’ve been thinking about what a strong Community-Led Democracy would actually look like here.

Many of these decisions aren’t local at all. They’re being shaped by people in Sydney working to meet targets, not by the people who live with the consequences. When planning becomes about numbers instead of neighbourhoods, it’s no wonder people feel ignored.

That’s why the idea of Community-Led Democracy matters more than ever. It’s about making sure decisions about Kiama are informed by the people who call it home, not handed down from somewhere else.

It’s easy to say we need a stronger voice in local democracy, but what would that take? Who would have the time, energy, and expertise to lead it?

Because this kind of engagement takes work. It needs people who understand that politics isn’t shouting from the sidelines; it’s the art of the possible. It means knowing where power sits, which levers matter, and which ones are simply there to wear you down.

A strong Community-Led Democracy would have residents who understand planning laws and how they shape what gets built and what doesn’t. It would have people who can connect the dots between local, state, and federal systems, who know when to push, when to partner, and when to walk away from a dead end.

It would need leaders who see consultation as the start of the process, not the box you tick at the end. It would need transparency that isn’t forced by public pressure but offered as standard practice.

And maybe most of all, it would need a council that recognises the value of the crowd, that understands the collective intelligence sitting in our community is its greatest asset, not a threat to be managed.

I’m curious. What do you think a strong Community-Led Democracy looks like in Kiama? Who are the people who could lead it, and how might the rest of us support them?

If this sparks a thought, I invite you to revisit my earlier post  “When Advocacy Turns Dangerous: The Moment You Can’t Stay Silent” because real democracy often begins with the courage to question, even when it’s inconvenient.

Please Note: I believe elected councillors are essential. What I’m advocating for is a stronger partnership between council and community, not a replacement.

#Kiama #CommunityVoice #LocalDemocracy #CivicEngagement #PlanningMatters #Accountability #AkunaStreet #Level33 #CommunityLedDemocracy

Get the Lowdown on Kiama Council’s Akuna Street Dilemma and How We Got Here?

Kiama Council is again facing the courts over the Akuna Street site, with mediation between Council and developer Level 33 collapsing in August. A three-day Land and Environment Court hearing is now scheduled for 10–12 December 2025.

This is no ordinary block. It is the largest redevelopment parcel in Kiama’s town centre, sold to Level 33 for $28 million in 2022. For years, it has been a decaying eyesore, attracting vandalism and complaints. What gets built here will set the tone for the town centre for decades.

Many will remember that this is not the first time Akuna Street has been at the centre of developer disputes.

From Daoud to Level 33, a site with history

  • 2016 to 2018: Developer Nicolas Daoud, trading under Traders in Purple, pursued a mixed-use proposal including a supermarket and apartments. When Council refused a final extension to secure approval, the sale collapsed.

  • 28 June 2022: Council ran a new selective tender process for the Akuna Street land. Both Level 33 and Traders in Purple (led by Charlie Dowd) put in bids. An alternate motion to negotiate with Traders in Purple was debated but lost. The tender was awarded to Level 33 Property Group Pty Ltd with settlement terms of 42 days (Kiama Council, Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting, 28 June 2022, Item 20.1, pp. 36–37).

  • July 2022: Within weeks of that decision, Nicolas Daoud’s company filed Federal Court proceedings against Council, alleging breach of contract and misleading conduct.

  • Late 2022: Level 33 completed the purchase of the Akuna Street site for $28 million.

  • 14 August 2024: The Federal Court matter Nicolas Daoud v Kiama Municipal Council was finalised. Under a Deed of Release, Council paid Daoud a settlement of $1 million. Council also disclosed legal costs of $3.73 million (excluding settlement), bringing the total cost of the case to $4.73 million, equal to 16.9 percent of the $28 million sale price (Kiama Council, Agenda of 20 November 2024, Item 14.1 p.146 and Item 15.8 p.604).

Why the DA is stuck

The state government planning panel has already said Level 33’s design does not fit the site rules. The main problems are simple. The building is too big, too bulky, and it blocks views.

Council’s Director of Strategies and Communities has been clear on this point. The design is not in step with what Kiama has agreed should be built in the town centre.

Could this have been avoided?

Looking back, there are two lessons.

  1. With Daoud and Traders in Purple:
    Clearer timelines, a stronger dispute-resolution process, and more transparency could have avoided the Federal Court. Instead, councillors were left making rescission and tender decisions midstream, which frustrated both sides.

  2. With Level 33:
    A design-led settlement, shaped by independent review and supported by a planning agreement for things like streetscape, laneways, and heritage, could still produce a better outcome. Mediation is designed for compromise. If used well, it could save years of delay and large legal bills.

What a VPA could do for Akuna Street

A Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) is a tool that lets Council and a developer agree on public benefits as part of a development approval.

A VPA can include:

  • Streetscape works, laneways, and public spaces

  • Contributions to affordable housing or community facilities

  • Heritage protection or conservation works

  • Design commitments that go beyond the bare minimum rules

Why it matters here:

  • When Council sold Akuna Street to Level 33, there was no chance to negotiate a VPA, because VPAs can only be tied to development approvals, not land sales.

  • Now that a DA is on the table, a VPA could still be used to settle the dispute and guarantee public benefits.

The win–win would look like this:

  • Council secures design improvements and commitments to protect views and heritage.

  • Level 33 gains certainty of approval without the risk of court.

  • The community finally sees the site cleaned up and used, with a development that gives something back.

The bigger picture

There has been talk of Kiama as a possible Transport Oriented Development (TOD) site, with six-storey buildings near the station. But here is the reality.

  • Kiama is not on the official TOD station list. The mapping covers Sydney, the Hunter, the Central Coast, and some Illawarra stations, but not Kiama.

  • Train service is a barrier. With only one train an hour south of Kiama, the service falls well short of what TOD is meant to be built around.

  • Community concerns remain. Without upgrades to the rail line, higher-density housing risks creating congestion and frustration rather than better liveability.

So for now, the rules that matter are Kiama’s own Local Environmental Plan and Development Control Plan, which set expectations for height, scale, and streetscape.

The six-storey question

In November 2023, Council approved Local Environmental Plan amendments that raised height limits in parts of the CBD. This means six-storey buildings are now possible in selected locations.

On top of this, the NSW Government’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy, which took effect in February 2025, encourages mid-rise housing near transport hubs. On paper, Kiama fits.

But in practice:

  • Land is limited. Only a small amount of R3-zoned land is available within 800 metres of the station.

  • Lot size rules apply. Kiama’s Development Control Plan requires a minimum lot width of 25 metres for residential flat buildings.

  • Costs are high. Construction expenses, compliance reforms after the Opal Tower, and levies that can take up 40 percent of costs make apartments hard to deliver in most regional towns.

  • Community concerns are strong. Overshadowing, traffic, and loss of character remain front of mind.

That is why analysts say Kiama, Byron Bay, and possibly Shell Cove are among the very few regional towns where six-storey projects might actually happen. High land values in these places make it viable where others cannot.

The upshot is that six storeys may be allowed on paper, but the real opportunities are narrow. Without land assembly, high-quality design, and community support, most sites will not reach that height.

Where to from here?

The worst outcome would be to let the Court decide in December, which would leave the community with little say in the outcome.

The best outcome would be for Council and Level 33 to come back to the table, work towards a design that fits Kiama’s principles on size and scale, and guarantee public benefits through a planning agreement. That is the common-sense path.

But here is what we cannot ignore. By November 2024, Council had already spent $4.73 million on the Daoud litigation. That is close to 17 percent of the $28 million sale price. Nearly one-sixth of the community’s return on this land has already been whittled away in legal costs and settlement payments, before a single brick has been laid.

This raises serious questions:

  • How much more are ratepayers willing to lose on court battles?

  • Why is a developer pushing ahead when both Council and the State have concerns about compliance?

  • Should Council bring in independent negotiators to prevent more losses and protect the community’s interests?

The community deserves straight answers  and a future for Akuna Street that does not drain our finances any further.

Thanks to everyone who shared questions and comments on this post. I’ve added extra detail to help answer those and keep the community in the loop.

#KiamaCouncil #AkunaStreet #Level33 #TradersInPurple #KiamaPlanning #CommunityVoice #LandAndEnvironmentCourt #BulkAndScale #ViewSharing #SixStoreys #KiamaDevelopment #PlanningTransparency #IndependentNegotiators