He has also defended his decision to start work on the site without approval, saying he believed the project would get the green light and he was just reacting to the community's desire for some local shops to be finally opened in the Molonglo Valley.

"People used to pass by every day and ask, 'When is it going to be finished?'," he said.

"I've done many projects in Canberra. I've never broken the law. I thought I was doing the right thing."

Mr Cervo had hoped to have the Coombs centre open by this winter but has had his development application for the project knocked back twice by the Environment and Planning Directorate and a stop-work order placed over the site in January by Access Canberra until approvals were given.

In response, another developer, Capital Estates Developments, is planning to open a shopping centre at neighbouring Denman Prospect by late 2017 rather than 2019, as it originally proposed.

Mr Cervo's past projects have included the shops at Manuka on the site of the old Woolworths and the Cervo Village townhouses in Kambah.

He has released updated artist's impressions of his proposals for the Coombs shops, saying he believes once people see them, they will like them.

The renderings were included in an amended development application to the directorate, which included taking out some carparks and adding more outside dining and landscaping.

The amended application was also knocked back by the directorate in February.

The revised plans also included changed colour scheme, elevations, floorplans, carpark layout and lighting plan as well as a new noise management plan. A tree artwork was included as a nod to the 2003 bushfires that devastated the area.

Mr Cervo said he also had to comply with the necessary size of the supermarket and provide enough carparks.

"We believe we have enough landscaping there but you've got to have so many carparks there," he said

However, the directorate was not convinced it should approve the plans.

It found that the revised design "does not contribute positively to the streetscape" and the "small changes to the outside dining areas do not make any significant difference to the interactions with Fred Daly Avenue". Among its other concerns was noise between the centre and units planned for next-door.

Mr Cervo said there was an 11-metre buffer between the two buildings. He said the laneway would only be used for deliveries.

A third development application is likely to be submitted "within weeks", which will alter the facade slightly. Mr Cervo said he was keen to meet with planning officials and the two individuals who objected to his original plans to mediate some kind of solution.

He did not want the matter to end up in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

"That is going to cost a lot of money and cause delays to the situation," he said.

Mr Cervo bought the site for what was billed as the first shopping centre for the Molonglo Valley for $2.7 million in March, 2015.

He said he wanted more specific direction from the directorate about how to get his plans over the line.

In the meantime, he continued to pay interest on the loan he secured for the land.

Mr Cervo said he also wanted to see a change to the planning system in which people who objected to a project had to put up a bond. Their money would only be returned if their complaints were upheld long-term, otherwise the bond went to the developer.

"The system, I think, now is very unfair," he said.