Reference Data · New South Wales
Shellharbour City DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.
4 controls for low-density residential — dwelling houses, taken from Shellharbour Development Control Plan (in effect 26 June 2013; current version as amended by Amendment 5, effective 10 July 2025). As at 2026-08-05.
NSW has no statewide dwelling setback or site-coverage standard. The LEP sets zone, height and FSR; the numbers that shape a build sit in each council's DCP. Below are the 4 controls Shellharbour City publishes numerically. Anything its DCP assesses on merit rather than a fixed number is simply absent from this table — it is not a zero, and it is not a permission.
Shellharbour City — published dwelling controls
| Control | Published value | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | 4.5 m | Table 3.1 (Cl 3.2), front/primary building line: single-storey component of a single dwelling = 4.5m; two-storey component = 6.0m; garages = 5.0m (5.5m where a stacked space sits in front); open carports = 5.0m. Eaves, gutters, decks, balconies, porticos, verandahs, pergolas may encroach up to 1.0m. Varied (lower) building lines apply on named streets — Shell Cove Rd, Barrack Point (Table 3.5); Little Lake Cres, Warilla (Table 3.6); and Shell Cove Stage 6F lots (3.0m). Value shown is the standard single-storey dwelling primary building line. |
| Secondary street setback | 2.4 m | — |
| Side setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Rear setback | 3 m | — |
Source: Shellharbour Development Control Plan (in effect 26 June 2013; current version as amended by Amendment 5, effective 10 July 2025). Clauses: Chapter 3 Residential Development — Cl 3.2 Building lines & boundary setbacks (Table 3.1 front, Table 3.2 secondary, Table 3.3 side, Table 3.4 rear); Cl 3.8 Private open space (Cl 3.8.13); Cl 3.3.29 front-setback landscaping; Chapter 20.15 Single Dwellings landscaping. Open the source DCP.
Qualifications that change how these read
- Shellharbour DCP structures residential controls by development type, not by zone; the single-dwelling setback figures above apply across residential zones (incl. R2 Low Density Residential). Cl 3.5 confirms R2/R3 zoning.
- NO site coverage / building-footprint % control exists for dwelling houses in the DCP — bulk is governed only by building height (Cl 3.1) plus the LEP height/lot-size standards. site_coverage fields null.
- NO numeric landscaped-area or deep-soil control for single dwellings: Cl 20.15 (Single Dwellings) is advice only. The 33% front-setback landscaping (Cl 3.3.29) sits under the Multi-dwelling housing subheading and the 1.5m frontage landscape bed (Cl 20.16) under Dual occupancy/Multi dwelling — neither is stated for a single dwelling house. landscaped fields null.
- NO private-open-space minimum stated for a single dwelling house: the 40 sqm min (with 4m x 5m principal POS, Cl 3.8.13) explicitly applies to dual occupancy and multi dwelling housing only. pos_min_sqm null.
- Side setback 0.9m is the single-storey component; two-storey component = 1.2m (Table 3.3). Where no garage/carport is proposed, one side must be 2.7m for vehicle access.
- Rear 3.0m is ground floor; first floor 6.0m; a single-storey component may encroach to a minimum 900mm rear setback over a maximum 8m length (Table 3.4).
- min_boundary_setback_m left null — the DCP states no separate blanket 'minimum boundary setback'; the minimum boundary distance is captured by the side (0.9m single-storey) and rear (0.9m single-storey encroachment) figures.
- Current DCP confirmed from document front matter: commenced 26 June 2013, amendments 1–5, latest Amendment 5 effective 10 July 2025 (Council resolution 23 June 2025). CDN and S3 hosts ban Zyte (520); PDF retrieved via direct curl download (33MB) then pdftotext -layout.
How this was compiled, and how far to trust it
These values were machine-extracted from the source DCP and have not been independently re-checked. Treat them as screening grade: good enough to compare councils and to know which questions to ask, not a substitute for reading the clause before you rely on it. This is a different and lower tier of confidence than our Victorian zone schedules, which are read and verified from the source planning scheme by a person. We do not present the two as equivalent.
A council's DCP can be amended at any time and this page reflects the document as at 2026-08-05. Where a control is absent above, the DCP either sets no number or assesses that parameter on merit.
This information is provided for research and preliminary screening only. It does not constitute professional planning, legal or architectural advice. Always verify with Shellharbour City before making decisions.
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