Council guide / Ku-ring-gai
Deep garden lots, strict tree canopy protections, heritage conservation areas and steep bushland margins shape residential building here. This guide explains how Ku-ring-gai planning controls work before you design a new home or addition.
LIME / North Ryde / Completed 2023
01 / The proposition
We are builders for homeowners across the Ku-ring-gai Council area, where spacious residential allotments, heritage estates and sandstone valleys present distinct architectural and construction briefs. Ku-ring-gai Local Environmental Plan 2015 and Ku-ring-gai Development Control Plan govern residential work across these northern suburbs. Station precincts carry higher housing densities, while the surrounding residential streets remain predominantly detached homes.
Census data from 2021 shows standalone houses make up 68.6% of all occupied private dwellings across the municipality, above the NSW figure of 65.6%. Flats and apartments account for 27.1%, concentrated around the railway stations. Semi-detached homes and terraces represent just 3.9%. Work here centres on custom homes, substantial extensions and architectural renovations tailored to leafy settings.
Our practice delivers turnkey architectural residences, substantial additions and alterations, collaborating either from initial concept or alongside external design practices.
Initial property checks
First, verify the local government boundary. Part of Wahroonga lies in Hornsby Shire and part of Roseville lies in Willoughby City, so the planning certificate must be confirmed before planning. Second, establish whether your property sits within one of the 46 heritage conservation areas or contains a heritage item. Third, examine slope and tree canopy: extensive bushfire prone land on valley margins and strict tree replenishment rules guide where you can build and how stormwater must drain.
While our portfolio does not currently include a completed build within Ku-ring-gai itself, our nearby residences in neighbouring North Ryde, East Ryde and Eastwood show the residential finishes and detailing we deliver.
Select a pin or drag to explore
Map data: Esri, HERE, Garmin · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Darling Point · residential
Five apartments arranged around Sydney Harbour views, with two basement levels. Completed in 2021, with architecture and interiors by Xpace.
Statutory planning controls
Ku-ring-gai applies specific low density residential controls, sliding scale floor space ratios, mandatory tree canopy targets and tight heritage protections across its residential zones.
Rather than a flat density number across the zone, the local plan sets floor space ratio in Zone R2 using a mathematical formula based on site area. Sites up to 800 square metres allow a maximum floor space ratio of 0.40:1, tapering downward on larger parcels to 0.30:1 for land exceeding 1,700 square metres. Most low density land we sampled on the planning map carries a 9.5 metre height limit.
The local plan schedules 46 conservation areas across the railway corridor and established neighbourhoods. In these areas, complying development for new houses and major additions is excluded. Where an area has a single storey character, additions must stay at or below the existing roof ridge. Excavation, including new basements, is not permitted on heritage item sites.
NSW bushfire prone land mapping covers about half the council area, concentrated on valley edges beside national parks. Parcels designated BAL-40 or Flame Zone (BAL-FZ) cannot proceed via complying development, requiring a formal development application with asset protection zones, radiant heat shielding and non-combustible construction.
For properties sloping away from the street without a drainage easement, council permits pump-out systems only in exceptional cases. Designs usually combine an absorption trench draining no more than 30% of the site, on-site detention where required and the rainwater tank council makes mandatory.
How a Ku-ring-gai project runs
Building among established trees and sloping ground requires thorough investigation early. We coordinate environmental, structural and council checks at the outset so construction proceeds smoothly.
We review title boundaries, zoning, heritage schedules and council overlays for bushfire attack levels, tree preservation zones and overland flow.
Proposed envelopes are tested against minimum building setbacks and tree root protection areas. We ensure the design achieves required deep soil and canopy tree numbers.
We survey rock levels and slopes. For properties falling away from the street, on-site detention, absorption systems and overland flow paths are engineered to satisfy council discharge limits.
Access along tree-lined streets, environmental controls on sloping terrain and protection of neighbouring properties are scheduled into the construction budget and program.
Service options
Clients typically engage our team either for full end to end project delivery or to build from already consented architectural drawings.
Our integrated team manages your project from preliminary concepts and arborist surveys through development approvals and final construction. This provides unified accountability for meeting council heritage, tree canopy and envelope controls within your budget.
If you already have architectural drawings or planning consent, we review the documentation for construction efficiency, site drainage and bushfire compliance, providing a clear contract price and program.
Explore our work
![[ LIME ]](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/d6zothxp/production/7c3fb2b225b1662e7593eabc6af8b7b86b3f0258-8192x5464.jpg?w=3072&q=82&auto=format)
North Ryde, NSW
Completed 2023
A contemporary double-brick residence in North Ryde, completed in 2023. Architecture, interiors and facade are by SHORE. North Ryde is about 3.5 kilometres from Lindfield in a straight line between the calculated centres of the two suburb areas.
![[ ELIPSE ]](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/d6zothxp/production/b54bf6945d75e18e0ea3b2bc2b55c0b190d969c7-2048x1365.png?w=2048&q=82&auto=format)
East Ryde, NSW
Completed 2024
A curved contemporary home in East Ryde completed in 2024. Architecture, interiors and facade are by SHORE. East Ryde is about 4.1 kilometres from Lindfield in a straight line between the calculated centres of the two suburb areas.
![[ ASH ]](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/d6zothxp/production/5e87df3f1eeb7e8e5b85363cd3f69e8be9afc56d-2048x1366.jpg?w=2048&q=82&auto=format)
Eastwood, NSW
Completed 2022
A sculptural duplex in Eastwood completed in 2022. SHORE handled the interiors and facade and built both residences. Eastwood is about 4.6 kilometres from South Turramurra in a straight line between the calculated centres of the two suburb areas.
17 suburbs
Our service coverage encompasses all 17 snapshot localities administered by this municipality: East Killara, East Lindfield, Gordon, Killara, Lindfield, North Turramurra, North Wahroonga, Pymble, Roseville, Roseville Chase, South Turramurra, St Ives, St Ives Chase, Turramurra, Wahroonga, Warrawee and West Pymble.
Roseville and Wahroonga cross into neighbouring council boundaries. Tell us the property location and we will verify the applicable planning controls before preliminary design commences.
Questions to bring early
Ku-ring-gai's local plan leaves dual occupancies out of Zone R2, so they rely on the State's low and mid rise housing chapter. It allows a pair with consent on R2 land unless the site is bushfire prone or holds a heritage item. Ku-ring-gai LEP 2015 then requires a lot of at least 1,015 square metres. A lawfully built pair may be subdivided if each lot is at least 507.5 square metres with one home. Near Pymble and Wahroonga stations, State standards can allow smaller lots. Within heritage conservation areas or near heritage items, the development control plan restricts dual occupancies to a single storey appearance with any upper floor concealed within the roof form.
In conservation areas with a single storey character, council generally does not permit first floor additions to contributory homes. Attic rooms behind the main roof may be allowed and additions must stay at or below the existing ridge. External materials such as face brick and sandstone must not be rendered or painted.
With about half the council area mapped as bushfire prone, properties near bushland valleys require a formal bushfire assessment. Land rated up to BAL-29 may use complying development if all code standards are satisfied but BAL-40 and Flame Zone sites require a development application. Higher ratings require non-combustible exterior walling, metal window mesh, toughened glazing and dedicated asset protection zones.
Where a lot falls away from the road and lacks an easement over downhill properties, council enforces Location D drainage rules. Mechanical pump-out systems to the street are strictly restricted to rare situations with engineer justification. Where no drainage easement can be obtained, an absorption trench draining no more than 30% of the site is the usual alternative, with on-site detention where required.
Project consultation
