2020-02-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                     11 FEBRUARY 2020


 Summary of Matters Raised                               Comments
                                                         an extension to an approved tower up to 5 metres
                                                         (once only), additional panels up to 2.8m long and
                                                         antennas up to 3m high (from the structure/tower).
                                                         This means that should the tower be approved at a
                                                         height of 25 metres (plus 1 metre of antennae), the
                                                         provider could increase the tower by an additional 5
                                                         metres, antennae height by another 2 metres, which
                                                         increases the overall height of the structure, by
                                                         potentially another 7 metres.       This matter is
                                                         considered relevant to the impact assessment of the
                                                         application.
    Allowing towers on private land will set a town    Noosa Plan has no jurisdiction over agreements
      planning precedent.                                between landowners and the telecommunications
                                                         providers for lease areas required to provide legal
                                                         right of access to private property. The provider has
                                                         landowner agreement to lease an area of land on
                                                         the property to facilitate the proposed tower should
                                                         Council approve the application.
    Studies of magnetic radiation from these towers    Fixed wireless links use Radio frequency (RF) and
      have not been proven 100% that they do not         electromagnetic energy (EME) to communicate
      harm health. Not confident about the radiation     between NBN base stations to small rooftop
      level assessment.                                  installations on premises. Emissions are regulated
                                                         by the Australian Communications and Media
                                                         Authority (ACMA). The ACMA requires NBN base
                                                         stations to comply with exposure limits in the
                                                         ARPANSA RF Standard. This standard is based on
                                                         scientific research that demonstrates the level at
                                                         which harmful effects occur and sets limits, below
                                                         the identified harmful levels, based on international
                                                         guidelines.
                                                         The Environmental EME report provided for the
                                                         subject tower showed the maximum EME level is
                                                         equivalent to 0.31% of the public exposure limit,
                                                         where 100% is considered safe (322 times below the
                                                         safety standard).
    Should the tower be approved, suggest that         With regard to the road, the number of vehicles
      developer seal the road up to the subject site     using the road during construction and maintenance
      and compensate residents whose view is             would temporarily increase, but generally the use
      compromised.                                       does not attract an increase in daily vehicle trips.
                                                         With regard to views to the tower from the residential
                                                         premise on the subject site, this matter would be
                                                         addressed between the developer and the affected
                                                         landowners.
    Further submission maintains that an alternative   Visual impact assessment of the tower from 298
      siting could be achieved if the applicant sought   Tablelands Road was not included in the applicant’s
      to engage with the local landowners.               VIA(as amended). Mention of the property is
    The resulting impact of the proposed NBN tower     included in an overview of views from the north and
      to be built at 244 Tablelands Road would create    Woondum         National Park but no specific
      a clear high modification to the visual amenity    assessment undertaken.
      from 298 Tablelands Road.                          Council’s independent visual consultant assessed
                                                         the property as having a moderate adverse visual
    The applicant’s assessment conflicts with the
                                                         impact as a result of the 25 metre tower. Council
      methodology of assessing levels of scenic
                                                         officers consider that the neighbourhood sensitivity
      amenity impacts as set out by SEQ Regional
                                                         of this site may be even higher considering the
      Landscape Strategy Advisory Committee and
      Darryl Low Choy.


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