It seems one man's gleaming superyacht is another man's visual pollution.

As Sydney grapples with the very first-world problem of where to park the mega-yacht, the residents of Waverton are girding their loins for a fight over what they say is an unsightly blight on the historic Berrys Bay on the lower North Shore.

Berrys Bay Marina Company has lodged a development application with North Sydney Council for a marina that residents say will cover over 50 per cent more water area than any previous use of the bay, including during its industrial heyday in the 1930s.

"This proposal would have a major impact on Sydney Harbour and Berrys Bay and on residents," said Bruce Donald, a member of the Waverton precinct committee and a resident of 40 years.

"It would undermine the quiet charm of this treasured recreational area enjoyed by the people of Sydney and visitors."

At the moment, the only moorings for superyachts are at Rozelle, with a few spots for visiting large vessels in Campbells Cove at the Rocks and at a few wharves at Darling Harbour.

The proposal at Berrys Bay is for an 84-berth marina, mainly for larger boats, with an additional 70 boats stored in a drystacker on land.

The marina will have two berths for 45-metre vessels (that's nearly as long as an Olympic swimming pool),  seven berths for boats up to 35 metres and 34 for 25-metre craft.

Mr Donald said residents have "actively encouraged appropriate scale development" of the waterfront industrial land in Berrys Bay.

But he said the proposal "was massive overdevelopment" that would have "a degrading visual impact on the bay".

The managing director of Berrys Bay Marina company, Russell McCart, rejected this characterisation.

"There has been a huge amount of compromise from the proposal that made us the preferred tenderer," he said pointing to his company's efforts to preserve old buildings and turn one area to park.

He said the bay had been used for industrial maritime purposes for more than 100 years and when the NSW government put the site up for tender a decade ago it did so for continuing maritime use.

Berrys Bay residents are holding a public meeting on Sunday and appear to have the support of the Friends of Sydney Harbour, led by  environmental campaigner Ian Kiernan. North Sydney Council will make a recommendation on the development in a few weeks and it will then go to a Joint Regional Planning Panel for final decision.

Throughout Sydney Harbour there is intense pressure to extend marinas.

The number of recreational vessels registered in NSW is growing at about 3 per cent a year.

A 2013 study by Transport for NSW found there were 17,400 registered recreational vessels in Sydney Harbour  but only 9850 storage spaces . The study concluded that the balance were sitting on trailers in the garage or on the street.

Vessel numbers are predicted to rise by 5000 to  22,400 by 2021, while industry feedback suggests there is particularly strong growth in the size of boats, adding to the pressure to build more marinas.

The recent addition of drystackers around Sydney Harbour might help with the smaller craft, but parking the superyacht remains a challenge.

A marina extension at Rose Bay was rejected by Woollahra Council in 2013 while plans for extending the tiny Elizabeth Bay marina were halted after the NSW government revoked a lease granted to interests associated with the Obeid family.  But others have gone ahead including extensions to the marinas at the Spit, Clontarf and at San Souci. New marinas are planned as part redevelopment of Homebush Bay on the Parramatta River and at Cockatoo Island.

Mr Donald said the locals had been campaigning for more than two decades to win back the magnificent Carradah Park, formerly the BP Site and to develop the enormously successful Coal Loader Centre.

"We have actively encouraged appropriate scale development of the waterfront industrial land in Berrys Bay. However any redevelopment must be consistent with the iconic status of Berrys Bay as Sydney Harbour foreshore and part of the natural and heritage status of Waverton Peninsula," he said.