An additional 60,000 people are expected to move to the area, with 10,000 houses planned for south Lake Macquarie and 16,000 houses in north Wyong.

Hundreds of hectares of land have been set aside for industrial estates at Morisset, Warnervale and Doyalson to provide jobs for the influx of people.

Concerns have been raised that developments will mimic the sprawl of western Sydney and the northern Central Coast suburbs of Warnervale, Hamlyn Terrace and Blue Haven.

Southlakes Business Chamber and Community Alliance town co-ordinator Rosmairi Okeno said developers had a responsibility to improve subdivision designs.

"We'd like to see designs that are different from the western suburbs of Sydney," she said.

"In some developments, the block sizes are so small and the houses so big, you could literally hand the loo paper through the window to the next house."

Councils were under pressure from the NSW Government to increase housing density to reach population targets, senior planning officials said.

That policy, along with market demand, had led to expanses of new "cookie-cutter" suburbs characterised by so-called McMansions built on small blocks with tiny backyards, few trees and poor community infrastructure.

There are hopes that Lake Macquarie City Council will avoid the mistakes of its southern neighbours in Wyong, where some claim poor planning has created a distasteful urban landscape.

Lake Macquarie City Council integrated planning manager Sharon Pope said the council generally aimed to increase housing density around railway lines and town centres.

Ms Pope said the council was planning to retain the rural character of suburbs such as Wyee by ensuring new subdivisions include larger blocks.

There is debate in the property industry about how to achieve affordable housing without increasing housing density.