2016-09-06 - Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

Page 79 of 118

Consequently there will be a significant element of subjectiveness about an assessment of a
planning scheme’s performance, and particularly with respect to the community’s sense of its
success.

Is Noosa Shire a successful place?     There are many factors that lend support to a positive
response to that question. Residents do enjoy living here and while there is considerable churn of
the population, this mainly occurs for reasons associated with personal or employment issues
rather than Noosa not being a nice place to live. Tourism continues to be a strong economic driver
with visitor numbers and feedback indicating that Noosa is a desirable place to visit. Noosa Shire
has an abundance of open space and natural landscaping in and around places where people live
and there is a strong attachment by the Noosa community to the local environment, particularly the
Noosa River system, Noosa National Park and the beaches. Noosa Shire was the first UNESCO
declared Biosphere Reserve in Queensland in recognition of Noosa’s outstanding natural
environment and the community’s stewardship towards its protection and maintenance. Buildings
and infrastructure are designed to reflect the lifestyle opportunities present in the coastal areas, the
towns and the hinterland.  Planning schemes over the years have steered both general land use
outcomes and the details of development such as built form and landscaping.

It is important then to direct the review towards the purpose intended by the Act which is to enable
Council to make a decision about whether to amend or replace The Noosa Plan or maintain it as is.

The assessments referred to above and in the attached tables addressing achievement of the
Desired Environmental Outcomes do not give a conclusive view about a need to replace The
Noosa Plan. However, there are other factors that support preparing a new planning scheme as
follows:-
1. The Noosa Plan was prepared under the Integrated Planning Act which has been superseded
    not once but twice and so the legislation upon which it was drafted is now substantially
    outdated.
2.  Sunshine Coast Regional Council was required to prepare a new planning scheme for the
    whole of the Sunshine Coast including Noosa Shire. The preparation of a draft scheme and
    community consultation raised expectations amongst the Noosa community of a new planning
    scheme. Following de-amalgamation the draft planning scheme was not progressed for Noosa
    Shire. But the opportunity remains to build on that initial effort.
3. The last time Noosa Council engaged with its community in a substantial way about future
    planning and development was in 2004 with the draft Noosa Plan.         There has been a
    significant turnover of Noosa’s population during that period.
4. Amendments to a planning scheme can only deal with specific issues and any major re-drafting
    of policies is not practical.
5.  Significant policy issues have emerged since the drafting of The Noosa Plan relating to housing
    needs, activity centres, use of industrial land, opportunities for the farming community and
    climate change.
6. A new SEQ Regional Plan will be finalised prior to completion of drafting of a new planning
    scheme. That new Plan will provide an updated regional policy context for Noosa Shire.

4.     Recommendation

Noosa Council resolve to make a new planning scheme.

The Noosa Plan 2006 — Ten Year Review                                                    Page 4

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