Woden council is calling on the ACT government to commit to providing community facilities in the town centre if it wants the new masterplan to succeed.
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Under draft changes to the territory plan, building heights are set to reach 28 storeys.
The council says residents of the area will need access to services like sporting and education facilities if the town centre is to become, as the government's tagline declares, "a better place to work, live, shop and socialise".
Woden Valley Community Council president Fiona Carrick said the community was calling for a light rail line through Woden to Mawson, a long-term cemetery solution elsewhere, and among other facilities, an indoor sports hub and CIT.
A roundtable community discussion was held on Thursday to plan for the future of Woden and while Ms Carrick said the ideas were promising, there were no tangible outcomes.
"My concern is that rather than planning Woden and funding amenity for people who live in the high rise towers and the surrounding suburbs, I fear it will be a dormant district where we sleep, and go elsewhere to work, learn and play," Ms Carrick said.
About 50 people attended, including developers, property and business owners, residents and ministers.
Member for Murrumbidgee Chris Steel said the aim was to help stakeholders work together to drive urban renewal.
"We discussed how we can make sure when developments come up, they're not just put up as individual developments, that they're considered within the whole precinct and how they affect the whole precinct," he said.
"Everyone was in agreement that we want to make Woden a place for people, with great spaces and great community facilities."
"Woden needs an increase in residential and mixed use development, moving away from a reliance on the public service as that role diminishes."
But, he said the variations needed to be set in stone before stakeholders decided it was worth their while.
"Businesses and developers need certainty in order to invest in Woden and start generating urban renewal," Mr Steel said.
Ms Carrick said without the designation of specific sites for community facilities in the plan, or funding for a long-term solution of the cemetery further south, the plan for Woden might never come to fruition.
"I do fear that we will have people living here in high rise buildings that will require a car to access active community facilities like a sports centre and CIT, because you can't catch the tram everywhere," she said.
