Alterations and additions in Sutherland Shire: LEP 2015, DA or CDC

Alterations and additions to a house in Sutherland Shire are assessed by Sutherland Shire Council against Sutherland Shire Local Environmental Plan 2015, which sets height and floor space ratio by map and, unusually for a Sydney council, sets a minimum landscaped area by map under clause 6.14, and against Sutherland Shire Development Control Plan 2015, whose Dwelling Houses chapter carries the setbacks, privacy and design controls. Many additions can instead be approved as complying development under the Housing Code in the Codes SEPP or under the council’s own complying development code in Schedule 3 of the LEP, but the landscaped area and the foreshore, bushfire and flood mapping across the Shire decide which path is open. This guide is for home owners in Sutherland, Miranda, Caringbah, Cronulla, Engadine, Menai, Gymea, Jannali and Como who want to know which controls apply to a first-floor addition or rear extension and whether a DA is unavoidable.

Who this is for: home owners in Sutherland Shire planning a first-floor addition, rear extension or major renovation who want to check the LEP 2015 landscaped area, FSR and height controls, understand the DCP 2015 dwelling house chapter and decide between a DA and a CDC before engaging a designer.

When is a DA needed for alterations and additions in Sutherland Shire?

Three pathways exist. Minor works are exempt development under the Codes SEPP. Alterations and additions that meet every standard of the Housing Code in Part 3 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 can be certified as complying development by the council or a registered certifier; the code applies to lots of at least 200 square metres and 6 metres wide in the R1 to R4 and RU5 zones and excludes heritage items and conservation areas, land reserved for public purposes, environmentally sensitive land, some bushfire and flood prone land and high aircraft noise areas. Sutherland Shire LEP 2015 also carries its own complying development code in Schedule 3, with standards for new dwelling houses and alterations and additions including a maximum floor space ratio, a maximum height, a landscaped area of at least 45 per cent of the site, stormwater drainage by gravity to a public or inter-allotment system and additional standards for flood control lots and bushfire prone land.

Everything else needs a DA assessed under section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 with a statement of environmental effects. In the Shire the common DA triggers are foreshore land around the Georges River, Port Hacking and Woronora River (clause 6.2 of the LEP limits development in the foreshore area), bushfire prone land on the Royal National Park and Heathcote edges, flood control lots, heritage conservation areas, and designs that cannot meet the landscaped area or height standards. Our DA or CDC pathway advice tests the exclusions before drawings are commissioned.

What does clause 6.14 landscaped area require?

Clause 6.14 Landscaped areas in certain residential, employment, conservation and waterway zones is the control that most often decides an addition. Its objectives are to retain or provide vegetation that contributes to biodiversity and the Shire’s tree canopy, to minimise urban run-off by maximising permeable area and to minimise visual impact. Subclause (3) provides that the minimum percentage of the site that is to consist of landscaped areas is the percentage shown on the Landscape Area Map. Subclause (4) allows consent even though the landscaped area is up to 5 per cent less than the map figure where there is a tree on the site protected under Part 2.3 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 and the council is satisfied the tree contributes to local character, is indigenous or threatened, or is botanically rare. Subclause (4A) allows consent for relevant development below the map percentage where the development will not reduce the existing landscaped area and the council is satisfied that tree canopy is maintained or enhanced, the landscaped area is protected and landscape quality is not adversely affected.

How do the height and FSR maps apply to an addition?

Clause 4.3(2) applies the Height of Buildings Map, with subclause (2A) fixing 9 metres for a dwelling house in Zone R4 and subclause (2C) fixing 5.4 metres for the rear dwelling of a dual occupancy on a single-frontage lot in R2, C3 and C4. Clause 4.4(2) applies the Floor Space Ratio Map and clause 4.5 defines FSR as gross floor area over site area; the map figures vary by locality and should be read on the NSW Planning Portal. Both standards apply to the whole building after the works: the existing gross floor area plus the addition must sit within the FSR, and the new roof must sit within the height measured from existing ground level, which on the sloping lots of Gymea Bay, Como and Bundeena can catch a modest first floor at the downhill end. Where either figure is exceeded, a clause 4.6 variation request is lodged with the DA, and clause 4.6(3) requires the applicant to demonstrate that compliance is unreasonable or unnecessary and that there are sufficient environmental planning grounds.

What does Sutherland Shire DCP 2015 require for dwelling houses?

Sutherland Shire DCP 2015 is arranged by development type (Dwelling Houses, Secondary Dwellings, Dual Occupancy, Multi Dwelling Housing and so on) with cross-cutting chapters for Foreshore and Waterway Development, Traffic and Parking, Environmental Topics and Specifications. The council’s DCP page records that the traffic, parking and bicycle provisions were updated in April 2026, the stormwater and flooding provisions in May 2026 and the Special Entertainment Precinct provisions in September 2026, so the version date matters when the SEE quotes a control. The Dwelling Houses chapter sets front, side and rear setbacks by zone and lot type, wall height and storey limits, privacy controls for first-floor windows and balconies, solar access to neighbours, cut and fill, and the landscaped area calculation that feeds clause 6.14. The numeric figures vary by zone and are not reproduced here; read the current chapter for the lot’s zone and confirm each figure before design.

From idea to lodgement: the sequence for a Shire addition

1. Obtain the section 10.7(2) and (5) certificate and read the Landscape Area, Height of Buildings and Floor Space Ratio Map figures, plus the foreshore, bushfire, flood and heritage notations, on the NSW Planning Portal.
2. Commission a detail and level survey with the existing landscaped area, gross floor area and ground levels measured, so the position against clauses 6.14, 4.3 and 4.4 is known before design.
3. Decide the pathway: Housing Code CDC, LEP Schedule 3 CDC or DA, based on the exclusions and whether the design can meet the fixed standards.
4. Design to the current Dwelling Houses chapter of DCP 2015, with upper floor setbacks, privacy screens and the landscaped area calculation shown on the plans.
5. Prepare the BASIX certificate (required for alterations and additions over $50,000), stormwater plan, shadow diagrams and any bushfire, flood or arborist reports, then write the SEE with LEP and DCP compliance tables and any clause 4.6 request and lodge on the NSW Planning Portal.

Definitions

Landscaped area

The part of a site used for growing plants, grasses and trees, excluding buildings, driveways, paving and hard surfaces, required by clause 6.14 of Sutherland Shire LEP 2015 to be at least the percentage on the Landscape Area Map.

Landscape Area Map

The LEP map that assigns a minimum landscaped area percentage to each residential, employment, conservation and waterway lot in the Shire.

Alterations and additions

Works that change or extend an existing dwelling without replacing it; assessed on the whole building’s height, floor space and landscaped area after the works.

Complying development certificate (CDC)

A combined planning and building approval for development that meets every standard in the Codes SEPP or the LEP’s Schedule 3, issued without a DA.

URBA prepares statements of environmental effects and pathway advice for alterations and additions across Sutherland Shire, testing clause 6.14, the height and FSR maps and the DCP dwelling house chapter before a designer draws a line. See our town planner for Sydney page and our SEE service, or request a fee proposal for your renovation.