2014-03-25 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda Pages 15-38

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                   25 MARCH 2014


C.    Write to the Department of Transport and Main Roads and advise them of the Council and
      community’s concerns that Kin Kin Pomona Road is not of an appropriate standard and
      design to cater for additional quarry trucks; and
D.    Note the Sunshine Coast Regional Council resolution of 19 September 2013 and confirm
      that Noosa Council will set load limits and use restrictions on its local roads via section 6 of
      Local Law Number 4 (Local Government Controlled Areas, Facilities, Infrastructure and
      Roads) 2011 should the quarry operations adversely impact on the safety and standard of
      local roads in the area.



REPORT

1.    Background
The quarry was approved by Council in July 1987l, subject to 12 conditions. The approval was
for 3 years and made provision for subsequent extensions of the approval by Council. It was
also subject to some roadwork requirements and included the requirement for a Management
Plan to be lodged with Council.

The applicant appealed Council’s decision, with the Local Government Court issuing a Court
Order in May 1988 reducing the extent of roadworks required and giving an operating life of 30
years. In terms of road improvements, the conditions of approval required:

     upgrading of the intersection of Sheppersons Lane and Kin Kin Road;
     upgrading of the existing timber bridge within Sheppersons Lane; and
     the widening and upgrading of Sheppersons Lane from intersection with Kin Kin Road to the
      access point to the site.

These road upgrade works were subsequently undertaken by the former Noosa Council, around the
time Noosa Council had a lease over the quarry site. Notably, the requirement to upgrade the
intersection of Sheppersons Lane with Kin Kin Road was a requirement of the Main Roads
Department at the time, as Council’s Shire Engineer sought their advice in relation to the application
as part of the assessment.

The conditions of approval also require the performance of regular maintenance of roadworks within
Sheppersons Lane, including the removal of any materials which may fall from vehicles transporting
quarry materials.

The conditions do not include an annual tonnage limit on excavation, but do require the quarry to
operate in accordance with a Management Plan addressing location of siltation ponds, the extent of
proposed excavations, access, location of crusher and office, buffers to adjoining properties
boundaries and rehabilitation procedures. In 1991, a Management Plan for Ready Mix was
approved.

In 2003, Council extended the term of the quarry until 12 May 2033, subject to conditions. These
conditions required the submission of an updated Management Plan. In 2005, an updated
Management Plan by the Neilsen Group was approved by Council. It identified a similar quarry
footprint to the 1991 Management Plan, with the quarry to be quarried from the top down.

In September 2010, officers issued a Show Cause Notice to the operators, requesting that the
conditions of the development approval be complied with. At the time, there was significant
community concern over the operations of the quarry, and inspections indicated that the quarry
was not being operated in accordance with the approved Neilsen Group Management Plan. The
operators challenged Council’s Show Cause Notice and, due to the non-specificity of the 2005
Management Plan, Council could not proceed further with this action.


                                                                                     Page 16 of 231