2015-06-23 Planning & Organisation Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                   23 JUNE 2015


Assessment of Changes
In considering the request for the change under section 374 of the Sustainable Planning Act
2009, Council must have regard to the information included within the request and the
provisions of The Noosa Plan. The existing uses are all identified as consistent uses for the
site and the proposed change to the floor area mix raises no concerns apart from carparking.
During the assessment of the consolidated application (07/0012), Council raised concerns
about future car parking problems for the site. This was due to there being an undersupply of
carparking compared to assessed demand because of the education use car parking rates
adopted by older approvals (1 space per 20m2). Accordingly, the applicant agreed to
increase the rate of car parking on site to 1 space per 10m2 of use area for the additional
education component of the development.
Beard Traffic Engineering was engaged by Council to comment on the requested changes
and the corresponding carparking survey. Council’s consultant acknowledges that, while
some of the courses offered by CQU are almost fully online and others partially online, the
use of individual carparking surveys as a predictor of future parking demand are almost
meaningless. This is because courses or online content change, depending on the
specialised nature of the university and the courses offered at different times, with no
potential for effective monitoring or enforcement. Therefore, in these circumstances, it is
better to require parking provisions based on the use area parameters.
At the previously nominated rates, Beard Traffic Engineering advises the current
development could be reasonably assessed as:

                                        Parking         Rates Parking                 Spaces
                                        Previously Applied    Required
Office – 1,141m2                        1:20                       57 spaces
Medical – 1,869m2                       1:20                       94 spaces
Education – 800m2                       1:20                       40 spaces (prior approval)
Education – 1,923m2                     1:10                       192 spaces
Retail – 321m2                          1:16.7                     19 spaces
TOTAL                                   6,054m2                    402 spaces

Beard Traffic Engineering also advises if the development is assessed generally as a mixed
use development, the design peak parking could be assessed as low as 303 spaces at an
average of 1 space per 20m2.
Based on these figures, the applicant’s proposal of 315 on-site parking spaces is
substantially below the normal design standard whereby the design peak parking demand is
only exceeded by the actual parking demand for 10 or 20 hours per year. The consultant
considers that it could be reasonably expected that the proposed onsite carparking provision
would be exceeded by the actual parking demand for between 50 and 70 hours per
year. The frequency of exceedance could be much higher if course structures change in the
future to include more student contact hours.
Given the site’s location with little on street car parking available for any overflow car
parking, officers are not agreeable to the proposed change.
Current Offsite Impacts
During the application process, Council staff discovered the applicant had constructed a
gravel parking area and shed within the adjacent Lake Doonella Park Reserve without
approval from Council. This parking area is about 1,215m2 in area and approximately 110m
in length by 12m in width. The land is located to the immediate south behind existing building
B and is owned by the State, with Noosa Council being Trustee of the land for Park and
Recreation Purposes.


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