2014-09-16 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                16 September 2014


In regard to lot size, Outcome O1 of the Code states:
       O1 Lots have the appropriate area and dimensions to provide for—
       a) the intended use and, if not intended to be used by the Council or State for
       community infrastructure, conservation purposes or public utilities including road
       widening are not less than the minimum sizes specified in Table 14-68; and
       b) if for residential development—
               i) a house site area of not less than that specified in Table 14-69; and
               ii) if not within a sewerage service area, an effluent disposal area;
Table 14-68 lists a minimum lot size for the Detached House Zone within the Mary River
Catchment Locality of 2,000m2 or 1,000m2 if connected to sewerage reticulation. This
suggests that the additional 1,000m2 lot area is required to allow for onsite effluent disposal.
Cooran is not sewered and the applicant acknowledges that proposed Lot 1, at 1,176m2,
does not meet the required 2,000m2 minimum and submits the following in support of the
proposal:
Proposed Lot 1 includes an area of 1164m2 which is deemed to be appropriate given that
the lot already contains everything that it requires for detached housing including a House,
an Effluent Disposal System, a clothes drying area, recreational space, a driveway and a
parking area. It contains an average width of 25m.
This Lot is not connected to a sewerage reticulation system however it contains an effluent
disposal system that is already in operation and does not require any additional area.
Proposed Lot 1 includes 1164m2 of area which is greater than the area of the detached
housing Lots on Edward Street which each include an area of less than 868m2 and are
similar to Proposed Lot 1 because they also include an effluent disposal system. Proposed
Lot 1 does not include any physical constraints and the lot is able to be fully utilised.
The applicant’s contention that proposed Lot 1 is suitably sized for the detached housing use
is generally supported. The development differs from standard subdivision proposals in that
a newly constructed house and advanced on-site effluent treatment system has already
been constructed on the lot - removing the uncertainty about future development. The
applicant provided a Field Service Report dated 5 May 2014 confirming the performance of
the existing effluent system. Council’s Senior Plumbing Inspector reviewed the Report and
the application material and advises:
The Sewerage treatment system installed is “H20 Pure Plus” Advanced Secondary System
with nutrient reduction, installed in 2010 and one of the better systems available on the
market. The Land Application disposal area for the lot is an above ground sprinkler system
comprising of 270m2 of turfed area. In the unlikely event of a total failure of the land
application area, a 100% reserve area is set aside (See Figure 3 below). The constraint of
Land Application area is that the area can only be used for the disposal of treated effluent.
Given that the proposed lot would be 1,176m2, and that the dwelling and land application
area would occupy approximately 540m2 of land, then there will be approximately 636m2 of
useable land remaining, Plumbing Services has no objection to the proposal.
Further discussions with Council’s Manager of Building and Plumbing indicate the installed
system is of a very high standard and it is highly unlikely that the reserve area will ever be
needed. A reserve area is no longer a Council requirement of approvals for these systems
due to their standards. The additional 1,000m2 area included in The Noosa Plan when
drafted 10 years ago was reflective of requirements at that time. Council’s manager advises
that advances in some current systems now provide for application areas significantly less
than the 270m2 area required on this site.




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