2020-03-16 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT                                                16 MARCH 2020


REPORT
1      Background
A report on this application was presented to the Planning and Environment Committee Meeting
on 11 June 2019 recommending that the application be refused.
The grounds of refusal within the Planning and Environment Meeting report generally related to
the application’s non-compliance with the following:
    Strategic Framework and Desired Environmental Outcomes
    Overall and Specific Outcomes of the Noosaville Locality Code;
    Biodiversity Overlay Code;
    Reconfiguring a Lot Code;
    Stormwater Management; and the
    Draft Noosa Plan.
The item was referred to the General Committee on 17 June 2019 due to the significance of the
application. On 13 June 2019 the applicant stopped the decision making period for 130 business
days to allow for representations to be made by the applicant to Council officers regarding the
application.
On 23 October 2019 an email with an attached letter was received from the applicant, with the
letter raising a number of questions relating to the application and requesting a meeting with
Council officers.
On 13 November a meeting was held between Council officers and the applicant to review the
outstanding issues. At this meeting Council officers reiterated the issues associated with the
grounds of refusal recommended by officers. At the conclusion of the meeting the applicant advised
that they would discuss these concerns with the property owner and seek direction on providing
amended plans.
After a number of follow up calls and emails by Council officers seeking advice on the applicant’s
intention with the application, the applicant advised on 4 March 2020 that they would not be
submitting further information and would like the application decided in its current form.
Given no further details have been provided by the applicant the original report assessing the
application is provided as Attachment 1 for Council’s consideration.
2      Changes to Planning Framework – South East Queensland Koala Conservation
       Strategy 2019 - 2024
The Nature Conservation (Koala) Conservation Plan 2017 was amended by the Nature
Conservation and Other Legislation (Koala Protection) Amendment Regulation 2020 SL No. 9 and
commenced on 7 February 2020. The amendments included changes to the Environmental Offsets
Act 2014, Nature Conservation Act 1992, Planning Regulation 2017 and Vegetation Management
Act 1999. The purpose for these amendments was to bring into effect the South East Queensland
Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2024 and the associated statutory mapping. The new planning
framework implements new clearing restrictions, prohibiting clearing of koala habitat areas (KHA)
within Koala Priority Areas (KPA). The State Government will assume responsibility for assessing
development proposing clearing of koala habitat areas outside Koala Priority Areas, against a new
State code for Development in South East Queensland Koala Habitat Areas. For developments
that don’t involve clearing of koala habitat but are within Koala Priority Areas, the Local
Government is required to assess the proposal against new assessment benchmarks.
Under the new South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2024 mapping, the site
is mapped as a koala habitat area. As such, if an application was lodged today, the mapping
requires any new application to avoid, minimise and mitigate interference with koala habitat. Any
significant residual impact would require the proponent to provide environmental offsets in
accordance the Environmental Offsets Act 2014. The assessment benchmarks which would apply

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