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

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                   25 MARCH 2014


2.    Detailed management plans are to be submitted to council for approval by the Shire
      Engineer and Shire Planner following further investigation by the applicant. Such
      management plans shall address:

      (i)     the location of siltation ponds;
      (ii)     the extent of proposed excavations;
      (iii)   the proposed access locations;
      (iv)    the proposed location of the gravel crusher and site office;
      (v)     provision of buffer areas to adjoining property boundaries;
      (vi)     the location of the area proposed to be leased to Council; and
      (vii)   rehabilitation procedures.

      No construction or excavation works are to be commenced, without prior approval of the
      Shire Engineer, until such times as management plans are approved. Council reserves the
      right to expand upon the conditions contained with this approval following submission of
      detailed management plans.

The external Barrister concluded in summary that:

1.    There is a prospect that condition 2 could be challenged by way of declaratory proceeding;
2.    Condition 2 of the Town Planning Consent may be subject to challenge on the basis of
      uncertainty, particularly if the condition is used to impose restrictions on the operation of
      the quarry; and
3.    for the above reasons, unless the operators of the quarry are willing to voluntarily accept
      the further obligations there are risks for the Council.

The Barrister in his response also advised that he was of the view that a court would more likely
find that Condition 2 of the Town Planning Consent contemplated allowing for the Council to
‘tinker’ with the conditions as a result of being provided with further detailed Management Plans.
That, however, is very different to allowing the condition to fundamentally alter or restrict the use
that is approved by the Town Planning Consent. The Barrister, in responding to officer’s
questions to impose further requirements on the quarry to limit the annual output on material
extracted from the site, concluded that ‘…any such restriction is likely to be successfully
challenged by the quarry operator’.

6.    Community Concern

A significant number of submissions from the community have been received since around 2009
when Neilsens took up the lease for the Kin Kin quarry, raising concerns about numerous matters
including, but not limited to the following:

     The impact of the quarry operations on Sheppersons Lane and Kin Kin Range Road and
      the ability for these roads to cater for increased heavy vehicle usage and level of safety
      and protection for all road users;
     The impact of the quarry operations on the water quality in waterways from uncontrolled
      stormwater releases;
     The inconsistency of the approved haul route with the superseded State Planning Policy
      and The Noosa Plan;
     The validity of the current approval and whether the use had been abandoned; and
     The scale and intensity of the quarry and the maximum annual tonnage permitted.




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