MCU22/0039 – APPLICATION FOR MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE - RELOCATABLE HOME PARK (COMMUNITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING - 32 DWELLINGS) AT 55 AND 70 CARPENTERS RD, COOROY (Referred from Planning and Environment Committee dated 8 August 2023 - Item 5.2) · Report

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                          14 AUGUST 2023


                                   Lot 1 – Council owned vacant land


  STATUTORY DETAILS

  SEQRP Designation                Urban Footprint

  Zone                             Lot 2 – Rural Residential
                                   Lot 1 – Low Impact Industry

  Precinct                         Not applicable

  Local Plan Area                  Cooroy Local Plan Area (Lot 1 only)

  Overlays                         Biodiversity, Waterways and Wetlands Overlay
                                   Bushfire Hazard Overlay
                                   Flood Hazard Overly
                                   Landslide Hazard Overlay

  Assessment Type                  Impact

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report reviews an application for a Relocatable Home Park of 32 dwellings at 55 and 70
Carpenters Road, Cooroy. The proposed dwellings are located on 55 Carpenters Road and range
in size from 1 bedroom to 2 bedrooms with a floor area of 38m2 and 52m2, with the existing 4
bedroom dwelling converted to a Community Facility. The application has also been lodged over 70
Carpenters Road which is Council owned land, as access is proposed via this lot’s existing access
handle. While referred to as a road, this ‘roadway’ is unsealed and not dedicated as road reserve
and links to Council industrial land at the end of Jarrah Street.

The applicant advises the proposal is intended to provide accommodation for essential and key
workers, families, individuals suffering from domestic violence, and single women over 50 who have
been identified to be some of the most affected groups within the community by the housing
crisis. The applicant details two tenure options for the development, including sale of the
development to Coast2bay or titling of the units and sale to not-for-profit community housing
providers and indicates that conditions can be imposed in this regard.

The proposed development raises significant conflicts with the Noosa Plan 2020, which the applicant
acknowledges, but submits there are relevant matters to support approval of the application. These
are listed in the report but are primarily focused around the current housing crisis and the need to
provide housing opportunities for disadvantaged and low-income earning groups within the
community.

While mindful of this need, and that suitable land remains limited in Noosa Shire, assessment
concludes that the subject land is not suitable for the proposed development and is at odds with
many actions of the Noosa Housing Strategy 2022. The land is not well located being more than
400m from the town centre, school and public transport, adjoins industrial land whilst the site is not
currently serviced by the required infrastructure.

The proposal has not been designed to integrate with the surrounding settlement pattern or the
adjoining community and is a high intensity urban development out of character with the existing and
planned development for the area.

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                           14 AUGUST 2023



The applicant has also not sufficiently demonstrated how they will achieve and retain the site for
affordable housing as defined in the scheme with the proposed ‘10 plus 10 year’ time frame providing
a limited period for the affordable housing to be used on the site.

Many residents in the surrounding rural residential area have also written individual letters of
objection to the development given its proposed density, as the development would not have been
reasonably expected when residents chose to settle in this area, many choosing a larger property
for its separation afforded from neighbours and its natural setting. While a large number of letters in
support for the proposed development have also been received by Council, these are largely
proforma style, with many of these coming from outside of Cooroy or the Shire.

The detailed assessment of the development application has concluded that despite the proposal’s
purported benefits, these benefits do not outweigh the significant conflicts identified with the Noosa
Plan 2020 and Noosa Housing Strategy 2022 and therefore the application is recommended to be
refused.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Acting Coordinator Planning to the Planning & Environment
Committee Meeting dated 8 August 2023 regarding Application No. MCU22/0039 for a Development
Permit for Material Change of Use – Relocatable Home Park (Community & Affordable Housing),
situated at 55 & 70 Carpenters Rd Cooroy and:

A.   Refuse the application for the following reasons:

1. The proposed development is contrary to Section 3.2.2 of the Strategic Intent and Sections
3.3.1(b), (f) and 3.3.3 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (k) of the Strategic Outcomes of the Noosa Plan
2020 as:
     a. The proposed development is located outside the Urban Boundary, intrudes into a rural
        residential area, and does not integrate well with the existing settlement pattern and the
        broader urban areas of the Cooroy community.
     b. The land is not suited or designated for the proposed housing form.
     c. The land is located in the vicinity of industrial land uses and industrial zoned land that has
        the potential to impact the amenity of residents.
     d. The proposed development is likely to inhibit the development and future use of 70
        Carpenters Road and land zoned Low Impact Industry in Jarrah Street due to potential
        reverse amenity impacts.
     e. The proposed development will need to provide its own infrastructure and is located outside
        the Priority Infrastructure Area.

2. The proposed development is contrary to Overall Outcomes 2(b), (j), (l), (p), and PO14 of the
Local Plan Code for Cooroy which details that development is to be limited to land within the urban
boundary. The site is located outside the urban boundary and does not respond or integrate well
with Cooroy’s country town feel, with attached housing planned close to the town centre and low to
medium density semi-attached housing dispersed through existing residential neighbourhoods.

3. The proposal is contrary to the Rural Residential Zone Code as the development will not result
in a high level of amenity for residents and it does not achieve the zoning intent for houses on larger
lots.

4.   The proposal is contrary to the Overall Outcomes 2(c), (d), (f), (g) and (h) and PO1, AO1.1,
AO1.2, AO1.3, AO1.4, PO4, AO4, PO6, PO7 and PO9 of the Special Residential Zone Code as:

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GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                           14 AUGUST 2023


     a. The proposal does not have reasonable access to a variety of essential services and
        facilities, including retail, commercial, social and medical facilities and public transport.
     b. The proposal is not located so as to avoid conflicts with surrounding land uses.
     c. The proposal is of a high density that is not compatible with the zoning intent and the
        preferred character of the area.
        The proposal is of a design, layout and intensity that will not integrate with the broader
        neighbourhood and allow residents to interact with the wider community.
     d. The proposed development is not appropriately sited and designed in a manner that is
        compatible with the developed character of the area.


5.   The proposal does not meet PO6 of the Driveways and Parking Code as the proposal provides
no car parking for likely visitors to the development.

6.    The proposal has not demonstrated that safe and satisfactory roadway configuration is
achievable to the site from the Carpenters Road and Mary Street/ Jarrah Street roundabout.

7.    The proposal does not meet PO6 of the Bushfire Hazard Overlay Code as it has not been
demonstrated that an efficient and safe evacuation route is available to residents and that emergency
vehicles can access the site.

8.   The proposal is not consistent with actions A5.3.1 to A5.3.6, A5.6.2, A5.6.3, and A5.7.2 of the
Noosa Housing Strategy 2022 as:
     a. The land is not located within the urban boundary and is more than 400m from the town
        centre, school and public transport.
     b. The land is located where it would have a reverse amenity impact on industrial business and
        land committed for industrial purposes.
     c. The proposal is not well integrated within the community and is clustered in an isolated area.

9.     The proposal is unlikely to satisfactorily deliver the social outcomes sought as:
     a. The land is not suited for the proposed development it has poor accessibility, adjoins
        industrial land and is not well connected to services.
     b. The proposal has not been designed to integrate well with the neighbourhood and within the
        community with driveways extending around the permitter of the site and the density not
        consistent with the surrounding character.
     c. The applicant has provided no clear mechanisms that can be conditioned through a
        development approval to achieve the proposed social/affordable housing outcomes.
10.    The applicant has not demonstrated that the proposed development will not interfere with
koala habitat mapped by the state as being Core Koala Habitat Area or that the works in this area
are considered exempt works.

B.   Note the report is provided in accordance with Section 63(5) of the Planning Act 2016.