Development of 10 storeys and over in Bay Street, Brighton-Le-Sands would be feasible 'in principle', a Bayside Council study has found.

Developers would need heights of about 10 storeys up to 20 storeys to make future development economically feasible in Bay Street and Brighton-Le-Sands, according to a Bayside Council report.

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The findings are contained in the Brighton-Le-Sands and Bay Street Feasibility Study update which went to the Bayside Planning and Environment Committee this week.

The study area extends from The Grand Parade to the east, Sellwood Street and Brighton Parade to the north, President Avenue to the south, and George Street to the west.

This includes the Brighton-Le-Sands Town Centre and beachfront to the east, transitional residential areas along the Bay Street corridor, and areas approaching the Rockdale Town Centre to the west.

The studies are preliminary and it will be up to the decision of the full council whether or not to proceed to drafting a master plan for the area.

Last year the council resolved that a transport study and an economic feasibility study be prepared before deciding whether to proceed to a full master plan for the area.

The transport study confirmed that additional growth can be supported within the study area.

The economic feasibility study found that development in the area is feasible in principle.

The study chose 11 sites in the study area and ran them through a process similar to what a developer would use to value a property.

Analysis indicates that commercially viable development would require building heights of around 10 storeys in higher viability areas and 20 storeys in lower viability areas.

There are some locations in the study area where even those heights will not produce feasible development.

If the council decides to proceed with a master plan it would go out for early community engagement before the draft masterplan came back to the council for consideration and then go out for further community engagement.

The council report recommended that: 1, the council notes the Transport Study and Economic Feasibility Study.

2, That Council endorses proceeding with the comprehensive masterplan for Brighton-Le-Sands and Bay Street.

3, That Council notes the next phase of the approved project plan is to release a Request for Tender to secure design resources and to undertake early engagement with the community.

Councillor Liz Barlow moved that the council accept part one of the recommendation and to just note items two and three.

She was supported by Cr Peter Strong who said he did not support 20-storey apartment blocks in Brighton-Le-Sands.

"Developers want height to make profit. The community wants character, sunlight and amenity," he said.

"I'm opposing the idea that developer feasibility should dedicate the future of our foreshore. Brighton should be shaped by the people and not by a spreadsheet," he said.

But the committee chair, Cr Scott Morrissey moved the original recommendation.

"From day one, the community will have their say and there will be for and against but we need both voices," he said.

"Development is inevitable in Sydney. Development is inevitable particularly in Bayside despite the prices that people need to pay to acquire those properties.

"But it's whether we do this in a planned and structured way or whether we do it in an unstructured unplanned ad hoc way.

"A master plan will publicise our appetite for what we think is reasonable and fair. This is not a planning proposal. We are not rezoning. There is no development application.

"This is a plan for what the future of that area may look like. Twenty storeys is not a recommendation. It's an economic reality."

Cr Barlow's motion was lost, which means the original recommendation will go to the next full council meeting for consideration.