But Cr Ben Blain said Warrnambool had seen exceptional growth, was running short of housing stock and it was exciting to see investment in the city.

The development, at 70 Younger Street, was approved at Monday's council meeting with 42 conditions attached but objector Frank Beattie said he was disappointed with the decision.

Cr Richard Ziegeler said planning laws did not protect neighbours who had never envisaged this kind of development happening in their area.

"Twenty houses on that lot is far too dense for the nature of that neighbourhood," he said.

"It may be legal, and it might comply with all the planning laws but it's not right in my opinion."

Cr Ziegeler said the law was on the side of the developer in this case, and the neighbours would feel "fairly powerless" if the council allowed it to go through.

"A developer whose clever can likely factor in VCAT costs into his development if it doesn't go through," he said.

"The only defence that a neighbour has is a sympathetic council and I for one have sympathy and I will vote against the damage that such a development will do to the neighbourhood."

Cr Max Taylor said he had never seen an application with so many conditions - 42 in total - but he had no objection to the project if the developer was prepared to comply with them.

Cr Debbie Arnott said the concerns raised by seven surrounding property owners were valid but she voted in favor of the development.

Objections to the development included concerns about drainage, flooding, removal of native vegetation, the character of the neighbourhood and traffic impact.

"I personally struggle with the number of dwellings on the block, but the blocks have been deemed to be on an average larger than the surrounding estates," she said.

"The developer has been able to demonstrate the 20 lots will work and the stormwater generated will be contained in the site."

Cr Blain said Warrnambool had seen some exceptional growth over the past year, especially with COVID.

"The inward migration that we've seen to our wonderful city has been amazing," he said.

"One of the biggest things is we are running short of housing stock. So this is exciting to see there is more housing and people are prepared to invest here in Warrnambool.

"Look, I understand the concerns of the residents with the 20-lot development but it does fit in with the town planning guidelines."

Cr Blain said there would be earthworks to mitigate the flooding risks to the site.

"It's good to see investment in the town and I'm happy to support," he said,

Cr Otha Akoch said the density of the population in the subdivison, that was squeezed between the Merri River and the ocean, was not be suitable. He said 10 or 12 houses would have been better.

He said with each block likely to attract two to four cars each, that meant up to 80 extra cars in a small area accessed by just one street.

"It is absolutely difficult now and it will be more difficult in future," he said.

Cr Angie Paspaliaris raised concerns about the size of most of the blocks in the development, the increased traffic in the area and need for the council to invest in footpaths.

"From a personal point of view, just because a planning application ticks all the appropriate boxes, does not mean that it is ideal," she said.

While acknowledging that it was privately owned land, Cr Paspaliaris asked whether the council and broader public valued lovely large properties such as the one at 70 Younger Street that broke up the infill of established housing areas.

"I certainly do value that," she said.

Cr Paspaliaris said that overall she was not opposed to some progress but would prefer fewer lots on the site.

Mayor Vicki Jellie said the future development of footpaths and traffic management near the golf club entrance would need to be looked at, and conditions imposed by the council needed to be adhered to.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

CORONAVIRUS STORIES:

We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we aim to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.