Blaxland Chamber of Commerce has slammed the Blaxland master plan's finalisation target of 2037 as "too far away", among a host of other concerns with Blue Mountains City Council's proposed changes.
The master plan, which ended its public exhibition last month, is a comprehensive plan for upgrading and remodelling Blaxland's streetscape.
Proposed features include an open central piazza with cafes, pedestrian friendly laneways, relocation of a new community centre, and more.
In a statement to the public, Blaxland Chamber implored locals to make their voices heard on several key issues, including high rise buildings, shop-top housing availability, and the speed at which the project is completed.
"I want an improved Blaxland as soon as possible; 2037 is simply too far away," said Chamber President Bernie Fehon.
"I don't want Blaxland to look like a Western Sydney suburb with High Rise."
Mr Fehon said that the allowable floor area ratio needs to be increased from 1:1 to 3:1, which would allow buildings of up to three storeys on each commercial lot.
Mr Fehon also said Blaxland Chamber supported the improvements shown in the master plan's images, the vision for public spaces, and the three-storey limit with an exemption where community benefit is demonstrated.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill has responded to the Chamber's concerns about timelines, saying the comments are "just not correct".
"I met with the Chamber before Christmas and told them that the 2037 date was incorrect, and it is disappointing that they are still making statements to that effect," Cr Greenhill said.
"I am keen to get started and this is clear from the short term actions (2024-2026) included in the Master Plan. These include a public domain plan and completion of the necessary planning processes and design work to get the revitalisation of Blaxland going."
The Chamber, on the other hand, maintains that the Master Plan that was on public exhibition showed targets of 2027-2037 in the Medium timeframe, and 2037 onwards in the Long timeframe (p68-69).
The Blaxland master plan has also been under public scrutiny due to its proposal to remove Blaxland's palm trees and replace them with native trees.
Despite support expressed for keeping the Canary Island date palms in letters sent to the Gazette, seventy per cent of respondents to the master plan supported replacing the trees.
While public exhibition for the master plan has closed, details of the plan can still be viewed at https://yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/blaxland.
