2019-09-12 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                         12 SEPTEMBER 2019


Protecting the residential amenity of residential neighbourhoods is an important issue raised by
many people and Council’s planning framework seeks to achieve this, over considerations of
economic return from short term letting. Further, the residential amenity of each and every
community within the Shire is of equal value.

For these reasons, it is recommended the Short Stay Area Maps and any reference to them be
removed from the draft planning scheme and a different approach be pursued for managing short
term letting of dwellings where the host is not in residence, (remembering that where the host is in
residence and they let out only rooms within their home it is likely to be a home based business
and not subject to these considerations).

To date, the short term letting of a whole house has not been regulated through the planning
scheme. Legal advice has been obtained that indicates that everybody who has commenced this
use ( short term letting) and can demonstrate a consistent use over a reasonable time period will
enjoy existing use rights (which tie to the property and not the owner). This already represents a
large number of properties offering this option for guests (potentially in excess of 2,000 - 2500),
and most of the submitters objecting to a restriction on short term letting will fall into this category
and have existing use rights and therefore will not require planning approval under the New Noosa
Plan.

In light of the new use definition of Short Term Accommodation in the draft Plan and the quantity
of existing short term accommodation available and those that will have existing use rights, it is
proposed that new short term letting of whole houses or units, where the owner is not in residence,
should require approval under the New Noosa Plan once finalised and gazetted.

A separate report to Council also recommends the adoption of a local law to manage operational
aspects of short term accommodation such as those to do with noise, overcrowding and car
parking. However whether the land use is appropriate or not moving forward, still needs to be
addressed in the planning scheme.

It is recommended that where the use is a new use of short term accommodation, that it be
assessable development in all residential zones and subject to the following levels of assessment:

 ZONE                                                                           PROPOSED LEVEL
                                                                                OF ASSESSMENT
 Low density residential zone:        Consistent                                Impact
 Medium density residential zone:     Consistent                                Impact
 High density residential zone:       Consistent (except for where located
                                      adjacent to or over the road from the     Impact
                                      Major Centre Zone)
 Tourist accommodation zone:          Consistent                                Code
 Rural residential zone:              Consistent                                Impact
 Rural zone:                          Consistent                                Code if > 4ha or
                                                                                Impact if < 4ha

The exception to this would be where a property is the principal place of residence for local
residents and they choose to make their home available to short term guests on no more than 4
occasions a year and for no more than a total of 60 nights in a year. Example: A resident goes
away for the Christmas holidays and lets their property out for a couple of weeks, or over a long
weekend. Under these circumstances, the use would be accepted development, with no planning
application required. This scenario is common and many of the submitters are captured in this
scenario, where no planning application is required.




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