The City of Parramatta Council is proposing to push ahead with an ambitious scheme to make property developers help subsidise the $1 billion in infrastructure needed for the fast-growing area.
The scheme would return to the council about half the value of rezoned land above certain thresholds in the central business district, which will continue to be subject to significant high-rise development.
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"Infrastructure is a critical component of any great city and we have to plan for the future to ensure our needs are met," said the council's administrator, Amanda Chadwick.
The proposal, mooted by the former Parramatta Council last year, had been resisted by developer groups who said it could undermine investment in the region.
But Ms Chadwick released on Friday a peer review of the proposed "Planning Uplift Value Share" scheme, which largely endorsed the idea. She also released documents detailing the need for the funds created by the scheme.
Under the scheme, up to 50 per cent of the value created for certain rezoned residential developments would be returned to the council.
Similar schemes have been applied elsewhere in Sydney, at development sites such as Green Square in the City of Sydney council area, and at Macquarie Park in the City of Ryde.
The novelty of the Parramatta proposal, however, is that it would apply across the whole Parramatta CBD. It would apply only to residential developments, in order to promote commercial or job-creating developments in the area. It would not apply to developers seeking to build within existing planning controls.
Separate analysis has identified the need for about $1 billion in local infrastructure to complement the rapid development of Parramatta's CBD. Some of the projects identified include a new civic centre in Parramatta Square, to include a new library and meeting space; a flood mitigation program for the Parramatta River; $60 million for a new swimming pool and leisure centre; as well as extensive street-works.
Tim Williams, the chief executive of advocacy group Committee for Sydney, said Parramatta's plan represented "some deep thinking about the infrastructure required support growth".
"It's got a good economic and planning basis," Dr Williams said. "We don't do this enough. We have historically let areas grow and there hasn't been enough infrastructure behind the plan."
However Chris Johnson, the chief executive of developer lobby the Urban Taskforce, said the proposal was "worrying" in that it appeared to treat the planning system as an income generator.
"Parramatta's misusing the planning system to generate funds for infrastructure, and basically the rules are being manipulated to sell floor space," Mr Johnson said.
On Parramatta's analysis, it would face a funding gap of up to $549 million without the value-sharing scheme. But the scheme could reduce that funding gap to as low as $26 million, it said.
Submissions on the funding scheme are open until Friday, March 24.