Development Assessment Letter

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                                                                           SUBJECT UNIT




                     Figure 1: Aerial Image of Subject Site (QLD Globe, Accessed September 2020)

A copy of the approved site plan for the development is provided in Figure 2 overleaf.

The site plan illustrates that the units have been designed to address Pacific Avenue although access to
Unit A is provided from Hill Street, which runs along the southern side of the lot.

The site plan also shows that both units are located towards the western site boundary with the private
open space located between both units and the road frontages. The private open space is located behind
a boundary wall which has a maximum height of 1.8m.

The design means that the building separates the private open space from the closest dwelling to Unit
A which is located immediately to the west on Hill Street. It is also relevant to note that there are
significant road verges in front of the site on either side of Pacific Avenue and the Pat Mullins Park, a
public park, on the opposite side of Hill Street. As result of these verges, the private open space of Unit
A is approximately 50m from the properties on the opposite side of Pacific Avenue and is at least 70m
from the closest property on the opposite side of Hill Street. It is also relevant to note that the Hill
Street/Pacific Avenue intersection is a busy junction with traffic using both these collector roads to access
Sunshine Beach from the David Low Way to the north and south.

Finally, given the nature of this proposal it is also relevant to note that Unit A has a single lock up garage
with space for a second vehicle to park in front. The unit also has its own dedicated waste storage area.

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                                         Figure 2: Approved Site Plan




                                    Figure 3: Image of Hill Street Elevation

At a more general level, the built form within the surrounding area comprises a mix of detached housing
and multiple dwellings. Overtime the older housing stock is being replaced by multiple dwelling units in

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accordance with the Council’s objective for the Medium and High density residential zones within
Sunshine Beach. The area includes a mix of properties used for permanent and short term
accommodation. Examples of existing holiday accommodation in close proximity to the site include
Parkshores Holiday Apartments, Sundancer Holiday Apartments, the Courtyards on Hill Street, Sunseeker
Lodge and Jolly Rogers Beach House.


PROPOSAL

This application seeks a Material Change of Use for Short-Term Accommodation within the existing
dwelling unit.

The proposal plans illustrate that the existing dwelling unit comprises two (2) bedrooms. Both bedrooms
are located on the top floor of the dwelling and are provided with individual en-suites. The garage, living
and dining areas are provided on the ground floor of the premises.

Private open space associated with the dwelling unit is located directly adjacent to the frontage of the
site and is directly accessible from the internal living space.

The property will be managed by Team BnB Australia Pty Ltd, an Airbnb management company servicing
Noosa and its surrounding area. A letter from Team BnB is included in the supporting documents lodged
with the application. The letter confirms that Team BnB manage a number of properties in the Noosa
area and are committed to ensuring that all their guests respect the property and surrounding area and
will therefore be enforcing the conditions and Code of Conduct that is proposed by Council as part of
the proposed Short Stay Letting Local Law. Although the local law is not yet is place, Team BnB intend
to enforce the proposed conditions and Code of Conduct which include the following measures:

    •   Having house rules in place that all guests have to accept at time of booking. These include no
        parties / events / schoolies, no loud noise at any time, quiet hours from 9pm, limiting the number
        of guests to 2 per bedroom, limiting the number of cars to the allocated spaces available;

    •   Waste management including professional bin cleaning by a local operator;

    •   Property Management including the upkeep of gardens and pools, and compliance with Pool
        and fire safety;

    •   Management and staff live locally and someone is always available to be contacted, including
        after hours; and

    •   Displaying the required contact person notice to provide details of the contact person for the
        property and confirming that they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are within 20
        minutes travel time of the premises. The notice will include contact details for the property
        manager.

It is envisaged other measures will also be applied to the property to ensure full compliance with the
Local Law and Code of Conduct once these are implemented by Council to ensure that any potential
impacts on the amenity of the local area are managed appropriately. It is also relevant to note that once
the Local Law has been adopted by Council, the owners will need to apply each year to continue to
operate short term accommodation at the property and if three (3) or more offences against the Local
law have been recorded against the property, the approval to operate the short accommodation will not
be renewed. This Local Law will give Council further control over the long term operation of this type of
property and will ensure that it will continue to be managed responsibly in the long term.


STATE PLANNING INTERESTS

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The proposal has been assessed against the relevant Assessment Benchmarks set out in the Planning
Regulation 2017 (the Regulation) which are the SEQ Regional Plan, Part E of the State Planning Policy,
to the extent they are not appropriately integrated into the Planning Scheme and Schedule 10 of the
Planning Regulation 2017.

This assessment has concluded that the proposal does not conflict with either the SEQ Regional Plan or
Part E of the State Planning Policy.

With regard to Schedule 10 of the Regulation, a review of the SARA mapping triggers affecting the site
has identified that it is located within an area mapped as an having “Substantial Potential for Unexploded
Ordnance” and as such, the application requires referral to SARA under Schedule 10, Part 4, Division 3
Table 1 Contaminated land (unexploded ordnance) of the Regulation. However, it should be noted that
the approved application for the duplex, MCU19/0055, was also referred to SARA for exactly the same
matter and the Referral Agency Response (1906-11463 SRA), which was attached to the Decision Notice,
included a condition that required the applicant to:

        “Provide written confirmation to the Department of State Development, Manufacturing,
        Infrastructure and Planning by an approved contractor on the Australian Government,
        Department of Defence, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Panel that the subject site has been
        remediated and cleared of Unexploded Ordnance”.

The condition required that this report be submitted prior to the commencement of works for the
duplex.

Discussions with the landowner have confirmed that the requirements of this condition were complied
with on 3 September 2019 when an Unexploded Ordnance Report prepared by G Tek Australia Pty Ltd
was submitted to SARA. A copy of the G Tek report is included in the supporting documents lodged with
this application.

Given that this referral matter has already been fully addressed, repeating the referral is a pointless
exercise but it is understood that the referral must be undertaken to comply with the requirements of
the legislation. However, as there are no issues for SARA to consider given the history of the site, we
request that the referral fee be waived and that the referral be processed as quickly as possible to avoid
delaying the application unnecessarily.


NOOSA PLAN 2020

Under the Noosa Plan 2020 (the Planning Scheme) the subject site is located within the Coastal
Communities Local Plan Area and forms part of the Medium density residential zone. The site is not
affected by any overlays. An assessment of the applicable provisions in the Planning Scheme is provided
below.

Definition
The proposed development is defined under the Planning Scheme as:

    “ Short-Term Accommodation” –
        (a) means the use of premises for

                i.   providing accommodation of less than three (3) consecutive months to tourists or
                     travellers; or

               ii. a manager’s residence, office, or recreation facilities for the exclusive use of guests,
                   if the use is ancillary to the use in subparagraph (i); but
        (b) does not include a hotel, nature-based tourism, resort complex or tourist park

The proposed development will be established in accordance with the above definition.

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Level of Assessment
Based on the Table of Assessment for the Medium density residential zone, Table 5.5.2, the application
is impact assessable and requires assessment against the whole of the Planning Scheme.

Strategic Framework
The strategic framework sets the policy direction for the Planning Scheme and forms the basis for
ensuring appropriate development occurs in the Planning Scheme area for the life of the Planning
Scheme. The most relevant parts of the Strategic Framework to this application, 3.2.4 & 3.3.3(n) are
discussed below.

Strategic Intent
The Strategic Intent for housing in the Noosa area includes a number of statements but that most
relevant to the application is as follows:

        “Given Noosa Shire's popularity as a destination for visitors accommodation is under increasing
        pressure from both residents and guests. Visitor accommodation areas at Noosa Heads,
        Noosaville and Noosa North Shore are protected for visitors to the exclusion of permanent
        occupants. The limited number of sites available for new resort development is protected for
        this purpose. Conversely, neighbourhoods of permanent residents are protected from influxes
        of short-term visitors whose interests and priorities are not compatible with residential amenity.
        Party houses are restricted from establishing in Noosa Shire”.

This Strategic Intent is supported by Strategic Outcomes 3.3.3(n) which is discussed below.

Strategic Outcomes
Strategic Outcome 3.3.3(n) for Housing Choice in the Planning Scheme states that:

        “Neighbourhoods of permanent housing are protected from short term visitor accommodation
        that would impact on the amenity enjoyed by residents, however residents may share their home
        with guests in a well managed fashion to limit potential impacts”.

Applicant’s Comments:
The proposal is not considered to compromise the Strategic Intent or Outcome for the following reasons:

            •      there are a number of properties used for short term accommodation within the local
                   area which are a well-established component of its character and amenity. As a result,
                   the character of the area is not purely a permanent residential neighbourhood;

            •      the property is located on the intersection of two of the main collector roads in Sunshine
                   Beach and as a result of the number of vehicles using these roads each day, the amenity
                   of the local area is very different to the adjoining neighbourhoods which are served by
                   the quieter, local road network. There are only 4 similar intersections within Sunshine
                   Beach so the location is relatively unique in this respect;

            •      the property comprises two bedrooms and will therefore appeal to small families rather
                   than large parties of unrelated guests. As mentioned above, implementation of the
                   Code of Conduct proposed as part of the Short Stay Letting Local Law will not allow
                   more than 4 people to stay at the property;

            •      the private open space area is located at the front of the dwelling unit and is separated
                   from the closest residential property to its west by the building. The properties on the
                   opposite side of both Pacific Avenue and Hill Street are at least 50m away and any
                   potential impacts on their amenity will be reduced by the boundary wall enclosing the
                   private open space, the separation distances and in some cases, the established
                   vegetation within the road reserve and public park. The private open space is also
                   separated from the adjoining duplex unit by a solid 1.8m high wall;

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            •   the property will be managed by local agent, Team BnB, who will enforce compliance
                with the Council’s draft conditions and Code of Conduct set out in the draft Local law
                for Short Stay Lettings; and

            •   the introduction of a requirement for an annual approval to operate short term
                accommodation once the Council’s proposed Short Stay Letting Local Law comes into
                effect will ensure that properties of this nature continue to be managed responsibly.


Medium Density Residential Zone Code
In summary, the purpose of the Medium density residential zone is to provide for medium density
multiple dwellings and community uses, and small scale services, facilities and infrastructure, to support
local residents.

The most relevant Overall Outcomes for the Zone are as follows:

    a) Medium density residential neighbourhoods are predominantly home to permanent residents.

    d) New uses are located, designed and managed to be compatible with surrounding uses.

    (h) Short-term visitor accommodation is predominately provided through well-established resorts
        and holiday units.

Applicant’s Comments:
The key things to note from these Overall Outcomes are as follows:

            •   whilst it is envisaged that residential properties within the Zone will be used
                predominately for permanent accommodation, it does not preclude some being used
                for short term accommodation;

            •   although short term accommodation is expected to be concentrated mainly in well-
                established resorts, it does also allow for this form of accommodation to be provided
                elsewhere; and

            •   new uses are acceptable where they are located, design and managed to be compatible
                with the surrounding area.

Further guidance on the circumstances when short term accommodation will be acceptable in the
Medium density residential zone is provided in Acceptable Outcomes AO6.2, AO6.3 and AO6.4 and
Performance Outcome PO6 and the proposal is assessed against these Outcomes below.

               Acceptable Outcome                                   Applicant Comments
  AO6.2                                               Complies
  Short –term accommodation does not:
  a) constitute a party house;                        The proposal will not be a party house.

  b) create noise that would unreasonably impact      The property will be managed by a local property
     on the residential amenity enjoyed by the        agency who will enforced the Code of Conduct
     adjoining or surrounding properties.             proposed as part of the Short Term Letting Local
                                                      Law. This will ensure that guests are required to
                                                      comply with a number of restrictions designed to
                                                      control the potential impacts of the use on
                                                      residents within the local area. The need to
                                                      comply with the Code and Local Law could be

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                                                       included as a condition in the Council’s decision
                                                       notice if deemed necessary.
  AO6.3                                                Complies
  Buildings are designed and orientated so that the    The private open space areas are separated from
  majority of outdoor living areas face away from      the habitable areas of adjoining properties by
  the habitable areas of adjoining dwellings.          the building or solid boundary walls.

  AO6.4                                                Complies
  Waste storage areas are screened and located to      The development has a waste storage area
  the rear or side of a building and are not located   located to the side of the unit which is screened
  along any frontage to a public street or space.      from the street.


The proposal is also considered to comply with Performance Outcome PO6 for the following reasons:

    •   the existing layout of the development will ensure that the privacy of residents within and
        adjoining the site will be maintained;

    •   the premises will be managed by a local property management agency;

    •   enforcing the conditions and Code of Conduct set out in the proposed Local Law will control
        the use of property and outdoor areas by guests. These measures will include a range to
        measures to ensure that the potential impacts of the use on the adjoining properties and the
        amenity of the local area are minimised;

    •   as the unit only has two bedrooms the scale of the proposed short term accommodation is
        considered to be compatible with the character and amenity of the local area;

    •   permanent residential accommodation will continue to be the predominate land use within the
        local area;

    •   the proposal is not expected to have any adverse impacts on the local road network;

    •   the existing waste storage area is screened from the street and will have no adverse impacts on
        the streetscape or adjoining uses; and

    •   the unit has its own private access and on-site parking.

In summary, it is concluded that the proposal does not compromise the Purpose or applicable Overall
Outcomes in the Code and complies both with the relevant Acceptable Outcomes and the associated
Performance Outcome, PO6.

CONCLUSIONS

The application seeks Council approval for a material change of use to allow the subject property to be
used for Short Term Accommodation. The application premises form part of a recently constructed
duplex.

The proposal has been assessed against the relevant State planning provisions and the relevant sections
of the Strategic Framework and Medium density residential zone code and has been found to be
consistent with all the relevant assessment benchmarks.

For these reasons, it is considered that the proposal warrants Council’s support and should be approved
subject to reasonable and relevant conditions.

Should you have any questions with respect to the above, please do not hesitate to contact me direct.

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Yours faithfully
PROJECT URBAN




Mick Sheppard
Director
Email: [email protected]