Development Application For Material Change Of Use For A Service And Utility Type 3 (Tower) At Davis Road, Cootharaba (MCU15/0061)

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION FOR MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE FOR A SERVICE AND UTILITY TYPE 3 (TOWER) AT DAVIS ROAD, COOTHARABA (MCU15/0061)

Document information

Author	Development Planner, Jack Lewis
Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index	ECM / Application / MCU15/0061

Attachments	1.	Proposal Plans
2. 	Photomontages

APPLICATION DETAILS
Applicant	NBN Co
Proposal	Development Permit for Material Change of Use - Service & Utility Type 3 (Tower)
Properly Made Date	30 June 2015
Information Request Date	14 July 2015
Information Response Date	3 August 2015
Decision Due Date	5 November 2015
Number of Submissions	1 Properly Made Submission

PROPERTY DETAILS
Property Address	Davis Rd COOTHARABA  QLD  4565
RP Description	Lot 1 SP277246
Land Area	300m2
Existing Use of Land	Vacant

STATUTORY DETAILS
SEQRP Designation	Regional Landscape & Rural Production
Locality	Boreen Point, Kin Kin & Cootharaba
Zone	Rural
Overlays	Biodiversity Overlay – Environmental Protection Area Natural Hazards – Medium Bushfire Hazard
Assessment Type	Impact
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Development Planner to the Planning & Organisation Committee Meeting dated 13 October 2015 regarding Application No. MCU15/0061 for a Development Permit for Material Change of Use for Service & Utility Type 3 (Tower) situated at Davis Road, Cootharaba and:
A.	Approve the application in accordance with the following conditions:
PLANNING
When Conditions must be Complied With
Unless otherwise stated, all conditions of this Decision Notice must be complied with prior to the use commencing, and then compliance maintained at all times while the use continues.
Approved Plans
Development undertaken in accordance with this approval must generally comply with the approved plans of development. The approved plans are listed in the following table unless otherwise amended by these conditions.
Plan No.	Rev.	Plan/Document Name	Date
4GYM-51-25-DAVD-C1	06	Site Specific Notes and Antenna Table drawn by Aurecon	12/05/2015
4GYM-51-25-DAVD-C2	06	Overall Site Plan drawn by Aurecon	12/05/2015
4GYM-51-25-DAVD-C3	06	Site Setout Plan drawn by Aurecon	12/05/2015
4GYM-51-25-DAVD-C4	06	Site Elevation and Details drawn by Aurecon	12/05/2015
Development authorised by this approval must be undertaken generally in accordance with the Approved Plans listed within this Decision Notice.
Building Height
The maximum height of the structure must not exceed 41 metres above the finished ground level and the natural ground surface.
Certification must be submitted to Council from a Licensed Surveyor which certifies that the monopole structure does not exceed the maximum height requirement of this Decision Notice.
No lights are permitted to be attached to the telecommunications facility, except where required for aircraft hazard lighting purposes or similar.
Existing Vegetation
Existing vegetation within the lease area located outside of the 100m2 compound and driveway access area shall be maintained and allowed to grow to full form.
Health and Safety
The development must not, at any time during the life of the development, result in human exposure to environmental electromagnetic emissions exceeding the current regulations, standards and/or recommendations of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA). The carrier of the infrastructure must provide, at any time upon request by Council, written certification to demonstrate compliance with this condition.  The written certification must assume:
a maximum number of users over the lifetime of any pole or other supporting structure
full power usage
a maximum down tilt of antennae.
Warning information signs and security fencing must be provided on the site to prevent unauthorised entry.  Fencing must be camouflaged through the use of colours, materials and screening vegetation to blend the fence into the visual landscape.
Colours and Finishes
The monopole and associated panels must be finished in colours that blend in visually into the landscape.
Cessation of Use
The telecommunications facility must be removed from the site upon cessation of the use.
B.	Find the following are sufficient grounds to justify the decision despite the conflict with the Planning Scheme:
The telecommunications facility will provide coverage for the NBN fixed wireless network, allowing for the delivery of higher speed data to rural residential households in the Cootharaba area; and
The proposal will not significantly impact on the visual or residential amenity of the locality as it is to be located near existing infrastructure, and is screened by existing vegetation.

REPORT
PROPOSAL
The application seeks a Development Permit for Material Change of Use for a telecommunications tower associated with the establishment of the fixed wireless network infrastructure of the National Broadband Network (NBN). Fixed wireless is a network of base station facilities proposed to provide fast internet service to the majority of rural and rural residential properties. Since 2013, there have been 8 other NBN towers approved in the Noosa Shire, with several already constructed and operational.

The base stations communicate directly with antennas fixed to individual premises (dwellings or businesses) to deliver wireless broadband access. The proposed tower is designed to serve approximately 275 rural residential properties in the Cootharaba area.

The proposal is for a 41 metre high monopole located within a 300m2 lands lease on Davis Road, Cootharaba. The lands lease has recently been created within the 210m wide Davis Road reserve, near the existing Cootharaba Rural Fire Service (RFS) Station. The infrastructure includes transmission equipment and outdoor cabinets within a 100m2 compound. The locality plan is shown in Figure 1 below, and the detailed proposal plans included as Attachment 1.

Figure.1 Locality plan of Davis Road, Cootharaba.
site details
Background
On 5 July 2015, the Department of Natural Resources & Mines (DNRM) created the 300m2 lands lease over the subject development site.
Site Description
The proposed tower is located 65m east of the formed/bitumen section of Davis Road and 120m south of Cootharaba Road. The site is adjacent to existing electricity infrastructure and accessible via an existing access track. The proposed facility will utilise existing access and power infrastructure, in conjunction with mature vegetation screening that will surround the facility to the east, south and west (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 – Location of proposed facility (red arrow) looking south east from the Davis Road reserve.
Surrounding Land Uses
Surrounding the site are large rural residential and agricultural grazing properties. The closest houses to the tower are located 150m to the north east (640 Cootharaba Rd), 270m to the south east (23 Davis Rd), and 170m to the west (612 Cootharaba Rd). The Cootharaba Rural Fire Service Station is also located approximately 100m to the west of the site.
Instruments for Statutory Assessment
Under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 the application must be assessed against each of the following statutory planning instruments to the extent they are relevant to the development:
State Planning Policies;
the South East Queensland Regional Plan;
State Planning Regulatory Provisions; and
the Planning Scheme for the local government area.
Of these, the statutory planning instruments relevant to this application are discussed in the sections that follow.
State and Other Statutory Instruments
The site is located within the Regional Landscape and Rural Production Area of the SEQ Regional Plan. The proposal is consistent with the regional policies and regulatory provisions of the SEQ Regional Plan.
Statutory Instruments – Planning Scheme
The subject site is located in the Boreen Point, Kin Kin & Cootharaba Locality. The site is within the Davis Road reserve and in accordance with Part 2.10.1 of The Noosa Plan, if a road is not shown as being covered by a zone, the land has the same zoning as the adjoining land. The surrounding lots are all zoned Rural and the subject site therefore also takes on the Rural zoning.
The proposed use is identified as an inconsistent use within the Rural zone and is required to follow an impact assessable application process. While the whole of the planning scheme is applicable, the following codes and policies are most relevant to the application:
Mary River Catchment Locality Code
Planning Scheme Policy 23 – Telecommunication Towers
Infrastructure Uses Code

The pertinent issues arising out of the assessment are discussed below.

Mary River Catchment Locality Code
The Locality Code seeks for new development to not significantly impact on the existing visual amenity of the area. The proposed 41m high tower is surrounded by existing mature vegetation (up to 30m in height) and is more than 150m away from the closest house.

The applicant has produced photomontages using a cherry picker to represent the visual impacts of the tower from the closest residential houses to the east of the site and the Davis Rd bitumen formation as indicated in Attachment 2. The photomontages show that only the top portion of the tower will be visible from the closest residential dwellings, with the majority of the tower screened by the existing vegetation. It is considered that the proposed location does not detract from the existing scenic amenity of the area and is consistent with the visual amenity Outcomes of the code.

Planning Scheme Policy 23 - Telecommunication Towers
Section 3.2 & 3.4 of the Policy outlines matters for consideration when assessing proposals for towers. The most applicable points associated with the assessment of this proposal are:

3.2 a) 	Loss of vegetation on steep slopes or ridgelines; or

3.2 b) 	Visual scarring or the degradation of views or vistas from the major road network; or

3.2 c) 	Alteration to key landform and landscape characters such that they become dominated by the facility; or

3.4 d) 	Be positioned to minimise clutter of multiple facilities.

The proposed tower is located on relatively flat land and requires the removal of approximately 15 trees associated with the lease area and driveway. The tower will not be readily seen from the major road network and the existing vegetation assists in screening the base of the tower. The height of the tower also allows future co-location opportunities with other telecommunication providers, consistent with the outcomes of the Policy.

Infrastructure Uses Code
The Code includes requirements around two central themes - Health & Safety and Visual Amenity.

Health & Safety
The Specific Outcomes of the Code require the development to avoid unacceptable risks to the environment or to personal and public safety. The applicant has provided a summary of the maximum cumulative radiofrequency (RF) and electromagnetic energy (EME) levels at ground level emitted from the proposed tower, assuming full power usage. The summary indicates the proposed tower will emit a maximum EME level from the tower, which is 0.098% of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s (ARPANSA) regulated acceptable maximum radiation public exposure limits.

Taking a precautionary approach to the sensitive issue concerning health and safety over time, certification is to be provided by the telecommunications carrier upon request.  The certification must demonstrate annual compliance with the Health & Safety requirements compared to ARPANSA regulations.

Visual Amenity
The Code seeks for the tower to be below 25m height in the Rural zone. The proposed tower is 41m high, with the applicant indicating the height is required to provide appropriate coverage to the surrounding properties.

The tower will be sited amongst mature vegetation, near existing electricity infrastructure and setback more than 150m from the closest residential dwelling. As demonstrated by the photomontages of the tower from the neighbouring residential dwellings and the Davis Road carriageway (See Attachment 2), the proposal is considered to be visually integrated with its setting and existing infrastructure so as not to dominate views from surrounding areas.

Conditions are recommended for the development to be finished with suitable muted tones, no lights to be attached and existing vegetation to be kept around the perimeter of the lease area, which would assist in screening the tower.
Overlay Provisions
The Biodiversity and Natural Hazards Overlay codes are applicable to this application:
Natural Hazards Overlay (Medium Bushfire Hazard Area)
The proposed development is a non-habitable structure, which will not result in an increase in the number of people living, working or congregating in the mapped bushfire or landslide hazard areas, thus meeting the outcomes of the Natural Hazards Overlay.
Biodiversity Overlay (Environmental Enhancement)
The proposed facility has been located within a section of the Davis Road reserve mapped as being Environmental Enhancement Area. Although the subject site is mapped by the overlay, the location of the facility has been sited within a previously disturbed area of the Davis Road reserve, adjacent to an existing clearing for aerial power lines and access.

The development will occupy a relatively small footprint within the site and will involve only minor vegetation clearing of ‘least concern’ vegetation (approximately 15 trees) and requires only minor excavation works during the construction of the facility. The applicant includes a flora and fauna survey within a 100m buffer of the proposed clearing, which concludes that the site does not include any rare and/or endangered species and has been impacted by previous clearing.

Council’s Environment Officer agrees with the consultant report and indicates that the proposal minimises the total footprint within which all structures and driveways are contained. For these reasons, the proposal is considered to comply with the Overall Outcomes of the Biodiversity Overlay Code.
cONSULTATION
IDAS Referral Agencies
Not applicable
Other Referrals
The application was forwarded to the following internal Council specialists:
Environment Officer
Development Engineering Officer

The specialist comments are included as part of this report.
Public Notification
The application was publicly notified for 15 business days in accordance with the Sustainable Planning Act 2009. One (1) properly made submission was received. The following table provides a summary and assessment of the issues raised by submitters.

Issues	Comments
Electromagnetic radiation from the tower will cause cancer.	The summary indicates the proposed tower will emit a maximum EME level from the tower, which is 0.098% of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s (ARPANSA) regulated acceptable maximum radiation public exposure limits.
conclusion
The proposed development is for a 41m high tower to be erected within the Davis Road reserve, Cootharaba for the establishment of the fixed wireless network infrastructure of the National Broadband Network (NBN). The site is located within the Rural zone and the proposed Infrastructure use as a Service & Utility Type 3 Tower is identified as an inconsistent use within the zone.

Despite the inconsistency with the zone, the application has been assessed against the provisions of The Noosa Plan and does not raise any significant planning concerns. The tower does not pose an unacceptable risk to public safety. The proposed location is set amongst existing vegetation and is an acceptable distance away from neighbouring properties and the major road network, so as not to be visually dominant or obtrusive.

Whilst the proposed use raises a conflict with the Boreen Point, Kin Kin & Cootharaba Locality Code, it is considered that the following grounds are sufficient to support the proposal:

The telecommunications facility will provide coverage for the NBN fixed wireless network, allowing for the delivery of higher speed data to rural residential households in the Cootharaba area; and
The proposal will not significantly impact on the visual or residential amenity of the locality as it is to be located near existing infrastructure, and is screened by existing vegetation.
The application is, therefore, recommended for approval, subject to conditions.

Departments/Sections Consulted:

	Community Services	x	Planning & Infrastructure
	Disaster Management & Public Order		Building & Plumbing Services
	Waste & Environmental Health		DA Planning
	Community Facilities		Strategic Land Use Planning
	Cultural Facilities		Asset Design & Investigations
			Asset Planning
			Civil Operations
			Environment
	Executive Office		Corporate Services
	Community Engagement		Finance
	Customer Service		ICT
	Executive Support		Procurement & Fleet
	Governance		Property & Facilities
	Human Resources		Revenue Services

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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT	13 OCTOBER 2015

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Subject Site

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