Thoughts of Marys Mount Road and adjoining residential development were uppermost in Deputy Mayor Peter Walker's mind at Tuesday night's council meeting.

"We look at Marys Mount and how those houses back on to the road and it's not the best outcome," he said.

"We've said for ages what it tends to make it look like."

Some have likened the road to a bowling alley.

The subject arose as councillors were discussing a 20-lot subdivision on Lot 10, Lansdowne Street. Herb Schuster and Bruce Makin and their company, Simgrow Pty Ltd, have been trying to develop the land, near the former Goulburn Drive-in site for about 30 years.

On Tuesday, councillors endorsed a planning proposal which would rezone an outer portion of the site from B6 enterprise corridor to RU5 large lot residential, with a minimum block size of 1000 square metres.

The proposal will be sent to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment for a gateway determination, before being placed on public exhibition.

The decision almost wraps up a long running saga over the property's zoning. Last year, people who bought into the estate's stage one 17-lot subdivision found they couldn't build homes due to the land's B6 enterprise corridor zoning. While homes were originally permitted in this zone, the council "inadvertently" struck this out in a 2017 DA modification.

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In December, the council reached a compromise, rezoning the land residential as part of a planning proposal. This allowed buyers to move forward with DAs when the State Government signed off on it several months ago.

At the same time, they deferred the rezoning of the outer block, bordering Lansdowne and Robinson Streets. This was due to the fact neighbouring industrial business owners had raised concerns about potential land use conflict. In essence, they feared residents would object to industrial noise opposite.

On Tuesday, councillors also moved forward on this portion, with another planning proposal.

But not all aspects were sitting comfortably with Mayor Bob Kirk. While he agreed with the rezoning, he questioned the need for fencing all around the subdivision. A draft Development Control Plan (DCP) details several measures to block out industrial noise, including a 2.1 metre high timber fence fronting Lansdowne Street. It also proposes internal timber boundary fencing "of no less than 1.8 metres high."

Cr Kirk asked councillors whether they were comfortable placing the DCP on public exhibition with these inclusions.

"It has fencing all the way around. Is that the outcome we want for the five or six blocks facing Lansdowne Street? Is that an outcome anyone wants?" he asked.

"I know this was arrived at due to the issues surrounding noise but is this the best (we can achieve)?"

Cr Kirk pointed out that other residents living further along Robinson and Lansdowne Streets, also opposite industrial premises, were not required to have the same fencing to deal with noise.

He won support to defer the DCP's public exhibition until after councillors discussed the matter in a briefing session.

Cr Peter Walker didn't object but said sometimes compromise was necessary.

"The look might not be the best but sometimes we need to put ugly forward to meet the purpose," he said, referring to noise abatement.

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The briefing session, which will also examine housing setbacks, is not expected to delay the rezoning process.

Kingsdale Consulting director Robert Mowle told councillors during open forum that the owners had no objection to the fencing. However, he challenged planners' conclusion that there was "a high volume" of heavy traffic along Lansdowne Street during daylight hours. He said a traffic count taken in February showed that trucks represented less than five per cent of all traffic on the thoroughfare.

Moreover, an assessment showed that noise in the area was less than 60 decibels (dBa). In comparison, a flushing toilet generated 75dBa and taking a shower - 65dBa.

Mr Mowle said the owners had worked hard to address council noise and traffic issues, including moving the estate's entrance from Lansdowne Street to Robinson Street.

After the meeting, Mr Schuster said he was pleased with the decision.

"I must admit, I can understand the council's position and I thank them for what they've done," he said.

He told The Post that while he didn't object to the fence's height along Lansdowne Street, he preferred aluminium, not timber, which he argued was longer lasting and could be made to look attractive. In contrast, the estate's internal fences should be timber.

Mr Schuster said the 17 lots in stage one sold within three days.

"I have a lot of people waiting to buy lots in stage two but we can't move on them until we get approval," he said.

"Some of these people are working at the new brewery. Goulburn wants to move out towards Crookwell and Taralga (Roads) and that's great, but you can't help natural growth along the highway. Not everyone wants to live out in the bush."

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