Home builders in St Ives
Ku-ring-gai Council · Ku-ring-gai Local Environmental Plan 2015 · Upper North Shore Knockdown rebuild
- Council
- Ku-ring-gai Council
- Planning scheme
- Ku-ring-gai Local Environmental Plan 2015
- Overlays mapped here
- Heritage — Item - General · Heritage — Conservation Area - General
- Residential zones mapped
- R2 Low Density Residential
R3 Medium Density Residential
R4 High Density Residential - Heritage items mapped
- 136
- Minimum lot size
- 900-999 m² minimum (most common of 2 minimum-lot-size bands mapped in the suburb)
- Typical height limit
- 9.5m
- Floor space ratio
- 0.3:1
- Land reserved for acquisition
- Classified Road · Infrastructure · Public Recreation
- Acid sulfate soils
- Mapped in this suburb
Planning data from NSW ePlanning Spatial Viewer (CC BY 4.0), read 2026-09-14. Suburb-level, not a report on your block — check your address on the NSW Planning Portal.
Worth knowing before you budget
- Building height
The most common maximum building height mapped here is 9.5m (262 of 296 mapped parcels). Other controls that apply to a meaningful number of parcels run up to 17.5m — generally centres and larger sites, not a house block.
- Floor space ratio
A floor space ratio of 0.3:1 applies to most of the mapped parcels here (265 of 382). On an 800 m² block that is about 240 m² of floor area, every level counted.
- Land reserved for acquisition
Parts of St Ives are reserved for future public acquisition — classified road, infrastructure, public recreation. A reservation is mapped to specific land, so whether it touches your block has to be checked at the address.
Builders serving St Ives
None yet — tell us what you're building and we'll go and find one.
What building in St Ives actually involves
St Ives is the least heritage-constrained suburb on this stretch — 129 mapped heritage items against roughly 300 in each of Turramurra and Pymble. That is a material difference and it is the first thing worth knowing if you are comparing suburbs.
Fewer heritage items, different constraint
What St Ives has instead is bush. The suburb backs onto Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, and proximity to bushland brings vegetation controls and, for many blocks, bushfire considerations that the more built-out suburbs to the south do not carry to the same degree.
Zoning and lot size
Low, medium and high density residential zones are all mapped in St Ives, with the higher density concentrated around the shopping village and Mona Vale Road. Minimum lot size controls apply, most commonly in the 900 to 999 square metre band.
What this means for a builder
If your block is near the park boundary, bushfire construction requirements and asset protection zones become design inputs rather than afterthoughts. A builder who has built on the bush interface will raise this before quoting.
Local landmarks in St Ives
- Dalrymple Hay Nature Reserve
- Green Toad Tea Garden
- Pymble Golf Course
- Huntleys Forest
- Bead Forest
- Browns Forest
- Spurwood Forest
- Hassall Park
Questions about building in St Ives
Is St Ives easier to build in than Turramurra or Pymble?
On heritage, generally yes — 129 mapped items against roughly 300 in each. But blocks near the national park pick up bushfire and vegetation considerations those suburbs carry less of. The constraint moves rather than disappears.
Does backing onto the national park affect my build?
It can significantly. Proximity to bushland brings vegetation controls and bushfire construction requirements, including asset protection zones. Get the bushfire assessment early — it is a design input, not a compliance step at the end.
What zoning applies in St Ives?
Low, medium and high density residential zones are all mapped, with higher density concentrated around the shopping village and Mona Vale Road. Which applies to your block is address-specific.
Can I subdivide?
It depends on the minimum lot size mapped for your address — most commonly 900 to 999 square metres in St Ives. Check the specific address rather than the suburb pattern.
Is St Ives bushfire prone?
If your block is at or near the bush interface, almost certainly. It determines the construction standard, and the standard changes the build price. Do not leave it to the end.