The Eurobodalla Shire Council approved plans to develop 50 lots back in 1984, and the plans have expanded in the last 37 years to include 71 lots.

The most recent modification to the DA was lodged in May this year, and is on public exhibition until Friday, July 16.

In a letter with the DA, a surveyor from Rygate and West, the applicants, said the land remains zoned for low-density residential purposes, but has lost some commercial and open space zoning.

"Our proposed plan reflects these historical zone changes together with the topography of the site, and now includes on additional lot and a drainage reserve in that section of the land previously zoned commercial," the letter reads.

"The rest of the area remains as a single large lot as originally approved. We have also reduced the lot sizes to be more in keeping with current standards and the surrounding development, which increases the overall lot yield to 71 residential lots, one residue lot ... and a public reserve which still links the two sections of Monash Avenue together.

"The eastern section of the subdivision still provides a public reserve similar to the 1984 proposal."

If approved, the subdivision would see houses built in the land between the eastern and western ends of Monash Avenue, Tuross Head, between the Tuross Head Country Club and Coila Lake.

In response to the DA, a petition has popped up on the website change.org titled 'community petition against development at Lake Coila adjacent to endangered saltmarsh'.

The petition already has more than 1100 signatures in just over two weeks.

Started by a group called 'Concerned about Coila' the petition states the subdivision would threaten one of the "last green spaces on the Tuross/Coila isthmus".

"This endangered and fragile ecosystem was approved for development in 1983 (sic) without modern environmental or cultural studies to assess its impact," the petition states.

"The development has lain dormant for more than 35 years and whilst the world has advanced its views on the impact of humans on our environment, our council and governments have not.

"Part of the lake area immediately adjacent to the DA zone is a delicate saltmarsh ecosystem listed as an endangered ecological community under the NSW threatened species Act in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia and as a State Environmental Planning Policy 14 Wetland.

"It is a most significant habitat, containing the endangered plant species Wilsonia Rotundifolia of which there are only a few known populations left in NSW.

"Coila is one of only four incredibly unique ecosystems in NSW."

The petition also criticized the lack of a cultural study for the application, the planned removal of trees to create a bushfire asset protection zone, and the planned usage of Chauvel Crescent as a through road and an emergency route.

However, Rygate and West defended the lack of an environmental study, stating the approval still applied from 1984.

"We are of the view that the current approval implies the right to clean the land for subdivision so the resulting lots are fit for their intended purpose, and Council have in the past conveyed this to us in regard to historical consents," the letter reads.

In signing the petition, the local community has made their feelings very clear about the plans.

"The Eurobodalla Shire Council needs to do due diligence with regard to developments," Ed Radclyffe said.

"Current cultural and environmental assessments must be applied. The necessary standards of today's developments are vastly different to those of the early 1980s."

Douglas Brown said it "would be unconscionable to allow such a large waterfront development in such an environmentally, socially, and culturally sensitive area without modern and thorough environmental and cultural assessments".

If you would like your say on the development, submission can be lodged through the Eurobodalla Shire Council's website.