What’s permitted in E2 Commercial Centre
Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012 · as at 19 August 2026 · City of Sydney
This comes straight from the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) that applies to this exact address, not a general state guide.
The land use table
These are the planning scheme’s official terms. A close match tells you the rule for that term; whether your project counts as that term is a judgement call.
Permitted with consent 28
Development Application (DA)
- Amusement centres
- Artisan food and drink industries
- Backpackers’ accommodation
- Centre-based child care facilities
- Commercial premises
- Community facilities
- Entertainment facilities
- Function centres
- Horticulture
- Hotel or motel accommodation
- Information and education facilities
- Light industries
- Local distribution premises
- Medical centres
- Mortuaries
- Oyster aquaculture
- Passenger transport facilities
- Places of public worship
- Recreation areas
- Recreation facilities (indoor)
- Recreation facilities (outdoor)
- Registered clubs
- Respite day care centres
- Restricted premises
- Tank-based aquaculture
- Vehicle repair stations
- Veterinary hospitals
- Waste or resource transfer stations
Prohibited 45
- Agriculture
- Air transport facilities
- Airstrips
- Animal boarding or training establishments
- Boat building and repair facilities
- Boat launching ramps
- Boat sheds
- Camping grounds
- Caravan parks
- Cemeteries
- Charter and tourism boating facilities
- Correctional centres
- Crematoria
- Depots
- Eco-tourist facilities
- Environmental protection works
- Exhibition homes
- Exhibition villages
- Extractive industries
- Farm buildings
- Forestry
- Freight transport facilities
- Heavy industrial storage establishments
- Helipads
- Highway service centres
- Home-based child care
- Home occupations (sex services)
- Industrial retail outlets
- Industries
- Jetties
- Port facilities
- Recreation facilities (major)
- Residential accommodation
- Rural industries
- Sewerage systems
- Sex services premises
- Storage premises
- Tourist and visitor accommodation
- Transport depots
- Truck depots
- Vehicle body repair workshops
- Waste or resource management facilities
- Water recreation structures
- Water supply systems
- Wholesale supplies
Anything not named below is treated as “Permitted with consent”. That is not the same as being on the list.
Objectives of this zone
- To strengthen the role of the commercial centre as the centre of business, retail, community and cultural activity.
- To encourage investment in commercial development that generates employment opportunities and economic growth.
- To encourage development that has a high level of accessibility and amenity, particularly for pedestrians.
- To enable residential development only if it is consistent with the Council’s strategic planning for residential development in the area.
- To ensure that new development provides diverse and active street frontages to attract pedestrian traffic and to contribute to vibrant, diverse and functional streets and public spaces.
- To provide a wide range of retail, business, office, entertainment, community and other suitable land uses that serve the needs of the local and wider community.
- To maximise public transport patronage and encourage walking and cycling.
Some state-level housing and precinct policies sit above council rules and can override them — those aren’t included here.
A council’s LEP can also grant extra permitted uses of its own on top of the standard list — those aren’t included here either.
Check a property in Sydney
This page is the table for the zone. Search an address to see whether this zone actually covers the lot, or open the Sydney zoning map.
Other zones in Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012
Building rules
Frequently asked questions
Does this E2 Commercial Centre table apply to my property in Sydney?
Only if this zone and this planning scheme apply to the land. Search your address — that is what names both.
Can I assume my project is one of the terms listed for E2 Commercial Centre?
No. The list uses the planning scheme’s official names. Whether your project counts as one of those names is a judgement call — that’s what a planner is for.
If a use is not listed in E2 Commercial Centre, is it prohibited in Sydney?
Not by itself. Unlisted uses follow this zone’s fallback (“Permitted with consent”). That is different from being named on the list.
Sources
General guidance only — not planning advice. This is the land use table from Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, sourced 19 August 2026. It does not decide what your project is, and overlays can still change what you need to apply for.
Talk to a town planner in Sydney
This page covers the general rules. A qualified town planner can tell you what applies to your actual block — the zone, the overlays and the approval path — before you spend money on drawings.
- Qualified, practising town planners
- Advice on your property, not a generic rule
- No cost, no obligation