Boreen Point IRR_MCU13-0053

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facility on the neighbours at 81 Lake Flat Road without increasing any visual impacts on the
neighbours at 63 Lake Flat Road.

SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES

This application requests to modify the siting of the proposed telecommunications facility at 153 Lake
Flat Road, Boreen Point. It is requested that the previous proposed drawings submitted to Council be
dismissed and the attached drawings be assessed.

The proposed telecommunications facility was originally proposed to be located in the south eastern
corner of the property and approximately 225 m from the closest residential dwelling at 81 Lake Flat
Road. NBN Co wishes to relocate the proposed facility approximately 200 m north of the original
location and approximately 335 m from the residential dwelling at 81 Lake Flat Road. Please refer to
Attachment A - Revised Drawings (Rev 4). We note that the height of the proposed facility does not
change and that the access is still proposed off Lake Flat Road.

Please note that with the proposed redesign, the EME estimations have altered slightly. Please find
attached in Attachment B – Revised ARPANSA EME Report. The maximum predicted RF EME
levels for the proposed equipment is 0.06% of the ACMA mandated exposure limit and is more than
1,600 times below the Government standard.

RELEVANT LEGISLATION

This application is made in accordance with Section 350 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA).

350       Meaning of minor change

      (1) A minor change in relation to an application, is any of the following changes to the
          application –

          a. A change that merely corrects a mistake about the name of address of the application or
             owner, or the address or other property details of the land to which the application applies,
             if the assessment manager is satisfied the change would not adversely affect the ability of
             a person to assess the changed application;

          b. A change of applicant, if the assessment manager is satisfied the change would not
             adversely affect the ability of a person to assess the changed application;

          c.   A change that merely corrects a spelling or grammatical error;

          d. A change that –

               i.      Does not result in a substantially different development; and

               ii.     Does not require the application to be referred to any additional referral agencies;
                       and

               iii.    Does not change the type of development approval sought; and

               iv.     Does not require impact assessment for any part of the changed application, if the
                       original application did not involve impact assessment.

      (2) In deciding whether a change is a minor change under subsection (1)(d), the planning
          instruments or law in force at the time the change was made apply (the applicable law).

      (3) Application of the applicable law does not stop a change mentioned in subsection (1)(d)(ii) or
          (iv) from being a minor change only because the applicable law, if applied to the application as
          originally made, would require referral to any additional referral agencies or involve impact
          assessment.

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In respect to Section 350 of the SPA, and specifically Section 350(1)(d)(i) of what constitutes a
substantially different development, it is appropriate to have regard to the guidelines made by the
Chief Executive under Section 760 of the SPA (Statutory Guideline 06/09).

An assessment of the proposed changes against the criteria in Statutory Guideline 06/09 is included in
Table 1 below.
TABLE 1 – ASSESSMENT OF CHANGES AGAINST THE SUSTAINABLE PLANNING ACT 2009

 Substantially Different           Comment
 Development Criteria
 Involves a new use with           No new uses are proposed. The proposed change involves a
 different   or     additional     relocation of the proposed facility within the same property. It is
 impacts.                          considered the additional 110 m setback from the closest residential
                                   dwelling will provide significant screening to the facility when viewed
                                   from 81 Lake Flat Road, Boreen Point. It is considered that this
                                   change reduces the overall visual impact of the proposal and
                                   therefore constitutes a more favourable development (refer to
                                   Photomontage 1 (original location) compared to Photomontage 3
                                   (alternative location) attached as Attachment C). No substantially
                                   different or additional impacts are anticipated as a result
 Results in the application        No new parcels of land have been introduced.
 applying to a new parcel of
 land.
 Dramatically changes the          The monopole design of the telecommunications facility is proposed
 built form in terms of scale,     to be retained. No change is proposed to the height of the facility.
 bulk and appearance.
 Changes the ability of the        No changes are proposed to the way in which the proposal will
 proposal to operate as            operate. The development will continue to operate as a
 intended.       For    example,   telecommunications facility.
 reducing the size of a retail
 complex may reduce the
 capacity of the complex to
 service        the     intended
 catchment.
 Removes a component that          As outlined above, the development will retain all the key attributes
 is integral to the operation of   of the telecommunications facility. No components considered
 the development.                  integral to its operation will be removed.
 Significantly      impacts   on   No changes to access, car parking and road works are proposed as
 traffic flow and the transport    part of this application. Access will still be obtained via Lake Flat
 network, such as increasing       Road.
 traffic to the site.

 Introduces new impacts or         No new impacts are introduced as outlined by the comments above.
 increases the severity of         The revised design reduces the visual impact of the proposal.
 known impacts.
 Removes the incentive or          No incentives or offsets are being removed.
 offset component that would
 have balanced the negative
 impact of the development.
 Impacts on infrastructure         The proposal does not affect the provision of infrastructure required
 provision from a location or      by the original application.
 demand.

We regard the proposed amendments as a minor change to the existing development application
under Section 250 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 on the following grounds:
   • The amendments do not adversely affect the ability of a person to assess the changed
       application;
   • The amendments do not result in a substantially different development;

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    •   The amendments do not require the application to be referred to any additional referral
        agencies;
    •   The amendments do not change the type of development approval sought;
    •   The original application required Impact Assessment. The minor change does not affect the
        level of assessment;
    •   The amendments do not cause the subject development to become a prohibited development.
    •   The application has not yet been publicly notified therefore will not require public notification to
        be rerun.

2. Please provide a photomontage of the proposed monopole from the detached houses
   situated at 63 & 81 Lake Flat Rd (lot 21 & 31 SP149578) looking towards the proposed
   monopole.

Response

Two photomontages (Photomontage 1 and Photomontage 2) were prepared to illustrate how the
original proposed facility would appear from the driveways of 63 and 81 Lake Flat Road (lot 21 & 31
SP149578). These photomontages were displayed to the public at the Community Information
                             th
Session held on Thursday 24 October 2013.

As demonstrated in Photomontage 2, the proposed facility is not visible from the adjoining driveway or
dwelling at 63 Lake Flat Road, given the existence of mature and dense vegetation that surrounds the
property. In addition the facility in the proposed alternative location will remain screened from this
property.

In response to the concerns of the adjoining landowner at 81 Lake Flat Road after viewing
Photomontage 1 (which illustrates an indicative representation of the facility at the original location),
an alternative location was found on the subject site and a third photomontage has been prepared
showing the proposed facility at the alternative location.

Photomontage 3 demonstrates a view from the driveway of 81 Lake Flat Road, looking north east
towards the alternative location of the proposed facility (which has been setback a further 200 m north
of the existing facility and 335 m north east of the dwelling at 81 Lake Flat Road).

As can be seen in Photomontage 3, when compared to Photomontage 1, the proposed alternative
location significantly reduces the overall visual impact of the proposal by reducing the bulk and any
potential views towards the facility when viewed from 81 Lake Flat Road, Boreen Point and
surrounding areas of Boreen Point. It is considered that this change presents a much more favourable
development outcome for the visual and landscape character of the whole locality, and represents a
direct response to the community feedback received during informal consultation.

It is therefore considered that the proposed facility meets Specific Outcome O39 of the Infrastructure
Uses Code, whereby the proposed facility is considered to successfully visually integrate with the
surrounding landscape.

As further mitigation, it is our recommendation that the monopole is painted ‘pale eucalypt’ in order to
blend with the mature vegetation on site and existing power poles. This is requested to be conditioned
by Council.

Refer to Attachment C - Photomontages.

Reasons for Approval Despite the Conflict with the Scheme
Section 326(1)(b) of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 seeks the assessment manager’s
decision must not conflict with the Planning Scheme, unless there are sufficient grounds to
justify the decision, despite the conflict. The Service & Utility Type 3 use is identified as an
inconsistent use on the proposed site.

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3. Please provide at least three succinct reasons for approval of the proposed development,
   despite this conflict with The Noosa Plan.

Response

Despite conflicts with The Noosa Plan, NBN Co considers Council should approve the proposed
development for the following reasons:

     1. The proposed facility is considered to meet the desired environmental outcomes of The Noosa
        Plan as the installation of the proposed facility will result in the introduction of the National
        Broadband Network into Boreen Point. This will ultimately assist in facilitating opportunities for
        economic, commercial and tourism growth. In addition the provision of reliable broadband
        services will have a significant impact on the availability of good quality communications for
        day-to-day life, in times of emergency and the general public safety of residents. This
        connection is considered particularly important in rural based localities.
     2. The proposed facility will not impact on the scenic views of the Boreen Point locality.
        Specifically, the amended location is offset from the community as much as possible (where
        only three (3) residential dwellings are located within a 500 m radius of the facility). These
        setbacks, in conjunction with the mature vegetation that surrounds the proposed facility will
        further reduce its visual impact on the natural landscape of the locality.
     3. Following consideration of the comments and recommendations of the community that were
        consulted during October 2013, the proposal has been amended by relocating the facility an
        additional 110 m north of the closest adjoining residence (81 Lake Flat Road). This change
        significantly reduces the overall visual impact of the proposal and therefore constitutes a more
        favourable development outcome for the entire community.

Proposed Wireless Infrastructure Catchment Map
Council requires confirmation of the area this tower is to service as part of the proposed NBN
wireless network rollout.

4.   Please provide a map showing the area/houses intended to utilise the proposed wireless
     infrastructure. In addition, include the proposed service area overlayed with topographical
     mapping.

Response

NBN Co proposes to erect two new monopoles, each on the opposite ends (1.15 km apart) of the
large pine plantation property at 153 Lake Flat Rd, Boreen Point (Lot 2 on RP126723). These two
proposed facilities will work in tandem to provide a Fixed Wireless service to the community at Boreen
Point, and parts of Cootharaba.

The Boreen Point facility (the subject of this application MCU13/0053) is designed to provide a service
                                                                                                      th
to the township, and the Boreen Point North facility (MCU13/0052 approved by Council on 29
January 2014) provides a service to parts of Cootharaba. It also acts as the key transmission link for
the Boreen Point facility and another facility further south west at Davis Road, Cootharaba, connecting
them to the broader NBN network.

More than 630 properties, households and businesses, will be serviced either directly or indirectly by
the proposed facilities at Boreen Point.

NBN Co is unable to provide specific coverage maps to show which areas/houses will directly benefit
from this service until the network has been physically built and tested as there may be areas/houses
on the fringe that may alternatively benefit from the satellite service.

Landscaping Plan
A Landscaping Plan is required to be submitted to camouflage any proposed equipment
shelters and the majority of the monopole’s height. Ideally trees will be able to achieve up to
20m+ in mature height, though inclusion of fast growing species is also desirable to achieve
early visual screening.

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5.   Please provide a detailed landscaping plan, indicating vegetation buffers to be established
     at the base of the monopole. The plan shall be drawn up in accordance with The Noosa
     Plan’s Planning Scheme Policy 3 – Landscaping Plants and Guidelines and include
     appropriately selected tree species and understorey plantings to achieve dense visual
     screening of the monopole and associated equipment shelters. Landscape planting details
     and a minimum 12 month maintenance schedule shall also be included.

Response

NBN Co does not consider a landscaping plan is pertinent to the assessment of the application,
especially in the proposed new location. Given the proposed new location is within close proximity to
existing mature vegetation, adequate screening of the facility will be provided. For these reasons, NBN
Co does not consider a landscaping plan or conditions are necessary for this site.

Co-location
Include confirmation that co-location by other network providers will be actively encouraged

6.   Please provide details as to how other telecommunications providers will be facilitated
     and encouraged to co-locate other wireless antennas on the proposed monopole.

Response

NBN Co has established and put in place a number of framework agreements with third party as well
as mobile network operators which outlines the process and procedures in relation to co-location on
NBN Co’s network infrastructure sites. These agreements address operational, commercial and
technical requirements for all incoming site share requests.

7. A Written Undertaking that the facility will be made available for the mounting of other
   communication providers’ antennas and that no restrictive provisions form part of any
   contract, agreements or other documentation associated with the development.

Response

It is a requirement under the Telecommunications Act that all telecommunication providers make their
facilities available for the purposes of collocation. In addition to this, the framework agreement allows
telecommunication provider’s to co-locate their equipment on NBN Co’s facilities and NBN Co is happy
to work with the other mobile carriers to ensure where possible the facilities can be readily accessed
to improve mobile coverage.

NBN Co considers the information above adequately addresses each matter within the information
request.

Should you have any questions regarding any of these matters, please do not hesitate to contact
Claire Harris on 3173 8738 or alternatively by e-mail [email protected] if you require
further information.

Yours Sincerely,




James Irwin
Project Leader

Attachment A: Revised Drawings (Rev 4)                            5 pages
Attachment B: Revised ARPANSA EME Report                          3 pages
Attachment C: Photomontages                                       5 pages