Another zombie DA has come to light, one which might dash any hope of another entrance to Katoomba, one councillor fears.
The 12-year-old approved DA is for three buildings containing 60 flats and 14 offices behind Gearins pub in Goldsmith Place.
If built, it would stymie any chance of adding extra lanes to Yeaman Bridge or building a second bridge to ease the chaos that is often experienced getting into and out of town, according to Liberal Cr Kevin Schreiber.
Cr Schreiber, who is campaigning to stop developers sitting on DAs for years, said: "Everyone knows there's a problem getting into and out of Katoomba. The state government and council should buy this site and build a second entrance."
The site, which has been fenced but remains just a weed-infested vacant block, would also be the perfect place for tourist buses to park, dropping passengers off at the station to walk under the tunnel and into town, he said.
"It would get the buses out of the main street and leave the passengers right on the doorstep."
Cr Schreiber also criticised the appearance of the proposed mixed residential-commercial development, which includes 120 parking spaces.
"It's a disgraceful design for the entrance to Katoomba, to one of our most prestigious towns in the Mountains," he said.
Cr Schreiber said that developers should be limited in how long they can leave a site vacant.
"It's been 12 years. They should be given three years to do something then another two years to complete it."
The DA is one of several so-called zombie DAs that have recently come back to life many years after being approved.
They include the 30-year-old croc park DA on the highway at Wentworth Falls and a 20-year-old DA for a 120-bed hotel in Katoomba near the golf course.
The Goldsmith Place DA was approved by a vote of 7-4 in May 2007, with current councillors Chris Van der Kley and Daniel Myles amongst its supporters, along with Jim Angel, Adam Searle and Terri Hamilton.
Cr Myles, despite voting in favour, declared it "ugly" and worried about laundry.
An amendment was passed to allow council's environment planning working party to be told about how restrictions on drying washing on balconies was to be enforced.
Cr Schreiber said he thought the DA would be unlikely to be approved today because of height issues and difficulties with having so many vehicles entering and exiting the site from the very narrow Goldsmith Place between Gearins and the commuter carpark.
