Development Application For A Material Change Of Use For Wellbeing Type 2 Social (Mens Shed) At School Road, Pomona - MCU15/0058

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION FOR A MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE FOR WELLBEING TYPE 2 SOCIAL (MENS SHED) AT SCHOOL ROAD, POMONA - MCU5/0058Document information

Author	Development Planner, Glen Conforti
Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index	ECM / Application / MCU15/0058

Attachments	Nil

APPLICATION DETAILS
Applicant	Pomona & District Community House Inc
Proposal	Development Permit for Material Change of Use of Premises - Wellbeing Type 2 Social (Men's Shed)
Properly Made Date	25 June 2015
Decision Due Date	24 September 2015
Number of Submissions	2 Properly Made

PROPERTY DETAILS
Property Address	School Street, Pomona
RP Description	Lot 1 AP 19201
Land Area	13.9 ha
Existing Use of Land	Forestry shed and Vacant land

STATUTORY DETAILS
SEQRP Designation	Regional Landscape and Rural Production
Locality	Mary River Catchment
Zone	Open Space Conservation
Overlays	Biodiversity Overlay – Environmental Protection Biodiversity Overlay – Riparian Buffer Natural Hazards Overlay – Medium Bushfire Hazard
Assessment Type	Impact

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Development Planner to the Planning & Organisation Committee Meeting dated 15 September 2015 regarding Application No. MCU15/0058 for a Development Permit for Material Change of Use for Well Being Type 2 (Men’s Shed) situated at School Street, Pomona and:
A.	Approve the application in accordance with the following conditions:
PLANNING
When Conditions must be Complied With
Unless otherwise stated, all conditions of this Decision Notice must be complied with prior to the use commencing, and then compliance maintained at all times while the use continues.
Approved Plans
Development undertaken in accordance with this approval must generally comply with the approved plans of development. The approved plans are listed in the following table unless otherwise amended by these conditions.
Plan No.	Rev.	Plan/Document Name	Date
WSS151082 – 3		Layout, prepared by Showers Engineering Pty Ltd	07/05/15
Sheet 1		Floor Plan Men’s Shed Pomona	31 August 2015
Nature and Extent of Approved Use
Noise generating actives must be limited to between 7am and 5pm.
The development must be undertaken in a manner that causes no unlawful environmental nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 by the creation of excessive noise, lighting, waste, atmospheric pollutants (including dust or odours) or other releases to the environment.
Parking
No parking in the triangular portion of land near the entry/exit to School Street is permitted. In this regard a ‘No Parking’ sign must be erected to ensure no parking occurs in this area.
Built Form
The wall facing the southern boundary must be insulated.
Building Height
The maximum height of the development must not exceed 8 metres above the finished ground level and the natural ground level.
Street Identification
The street address of the development must be clearly visible and discernible from the primary frontage of the site by the provision of a street number and, where appropriate, the building name.
B.	Find the following are sufficient grounds to justify the decision despite the conflict with the Planning Scheme:
The Men’s Shed will provide an important social service to support Pomona’s village and rural community.
The Men’s Shed will not adversely impact on the amenity of nearby residential uses.

REPORT
PROPOSAL
The proposal is for a Men’s Shed facility located on a triangular portion of State Forest land near the intersection of School and Reserve Streets, Pomona. It is proposed that members will use the existing 84m² forestry shed until funding is secured for an 96m² extension to the existing shed; giving a total planned area of 180m². Figure 1 below shows a floor plan and an architectural rendering of the proposal.

Figure 1 – Existing building, extension and artists impression

The Australian Men’s Shed Association is a community based, not for profit organisation accessible to all men. Its primary purpose is to provide a safe and friendly meeting environment with the objective of advancing the well being and health of its members.

The applicant indicates the group will meet approximately 3 half days per week to undertake projects, enjoy tea, coffee and conversation. The applicant also indicates that it is unlikely the number of meeting days will increase in the future.

The Men’s Shed steering committee have explored numerous sites around Pomona but all have significant obstacles for a community group.

The application is before Council as the Men’s Shed use is an inconsistent use in the zone.
site details
Background
The lot is part of State Forest land and the shed has been used for various forestry purposes over the years.
Site Description
The lot is an arrow shape with the ‘arrow shaft’ portion running east/west and is part of Trail 5 of the Noosa Trail Network. The site gently slopes from School Street to the southern boundary of the ‘arrow point’ of the lot where a drainage gully exists and flows to the western end of the unformed part of Rifle Street. Council has recently undertaken flood mitigation works in this gully.

There is a level area accommodating the existing shed with enough space to construct the future extension without any significant excavation. Figure 2 below shows the arrow shaped lot and a closer image of the existing shed being used.

Figure 2 – Subject site outlined in purple and the existing shed.
Surrounding Land Uses
Uses near the portion of the lot where the Men’s Shed is proposed include 2 residential dwellings to the south, a State forestry dwelling straddling the northern boundary and a single dwelling to the north west. Across School Street are 4 dwellings.
assessment
Instruments for Statutory Assessment
Under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 the application must be assessed against each of the following statutory planning instruments to the extent they are relevant to the development:
State Planning Policies;
the South East Queensland Regional Plan;
State Planning Regulatory Provisions;
any Structure Plan or Master Plan in place for declared areas;
any Preliminary Approval Overriding the Planning Scheme for the land;
the Planning Scheme for the local government area; and
any Temporary Local Planning Instrument in place for the local government area.
Of these, the statutory planning instruments relevant to this application are discussed in the sections that follow.
State and Other Statutory Instruments
South East Queensland (SEQ) Regional Plan 2009 - 2031
The site is located within the Rural Landscape & Regional Production area of the SEQ Regional Plan and Men’s Shed facility is consistent with the regional policies and regulatory provisions of the SEQ Regional Plan.
Statutory Instruments – Planning Scheme
The subject site is located in the Mary River Catchment Locality and is zoned Open Space Conservation. The proposed use is identified as inconsistent within the zone and is required to follow an impact assessable application process.
Locality Provisions
The Men’s Shed being defined as Wellbeing Type 2 Social is an inconsistent use with the Open Space Conservation zone and therefore must be assessed against the Overall Outcomes of the Mary River Catchment Locality Code. The Overall Outcomes which are specifically relevant to the assessment are outlined below:
8.8.2 a) 	New uses and works are located, designed and managed to—
i. be compatible with other uses and works;
ii. maintain the safety of people and works;
iii. avoid significant adverse impacts on the amenity enjoyed by users of other premises, including acoustic and visual qualities; and
iv. avoid significant impacts to native habitat including fragmentation, attrition, or removal of vegetation or significant habitat features;
q) 	For Pomona—
i. Pomona retains its role as an important rural service centre supporting a growing rural and rural settlement community;
The Men’s Shed group propose to meet 3 half days per week, or thereabouts, and will offer a range of projects that include wood and metal working, gardening, conversation and other offsite activities.
The community use will support the greater Pomona community and while some activities will be noise generating others will generate no noise (e.g. plant propagation/gardening). The shed is approximately 55m from the nearest residential use and it has been indicated the walls will be insulated for solar protection and will help to mitigate noise. Furthermore, the Men’s Shed group is cognisant of the nearby residential uses and have indicated they will be ‘good neighbours’.
The use is located close to the village centre accessible to and offers an important social service to the local male community. The use will add to Pomona’s role in servicing its rural and rural settlement community.
Overall Outcome 8.8.2
a) For the Open Space Conservation Zone—natural environmental values of high order and warranting conservation status are—
i protected for their importance in contributing to ecological sustainability including maintenance of water quality and provision of habitat and open space linkages; and
ii appropriately managed to the general exclusion of development or any further subdivision of freehold lots.
The building associated with the Men’s Shed exists and the proposed extension is located to an area historically used by the State for forestry purposes. The use is unlikely to cause any adverse impacts on the ecological values surrounding the site. The proposed building works are minor with no vegetation proposed to be removed for its construction. The group is planning to revegetate an area of the nearby gully.
Overlay Provisions
The following overlay codes are applicable to this application:
Natural Hazards Overlay Code for Bushfire
The bushfire provisions in the Code require that new uses ensure the safety of people and property. The proposal is located on the fringe of the Pomona village centre being near the corner of School and Reserve Streets, a short distance to safety in the event of a bushfire. It is noted the building extension will be assessed under current bushfire regulations by a certifier at the time of building approval. The proposal meets the intent of the Natural Hazards Overlay Code for bushfire.
Public Notification
The application was publicly notified for 15 business days in accordance with the Sustainable Planning Act 2009. Two (2) properly made submissions were received. The following table provides a summary and assessment of the issues raised by submitters.

Issues	Comments
The group should be aware a part of the driveway is leased by the neighbouring property where there should be no parking. Should also be aware the area may be used by pets and children.	The applicant is aware of the shared driveway arrangement. A condition is recommended to erect a no parking sign in the shared part of the land.
Concerns with Industrial noise being generated in the middle of a residential area.	A Men’s shed is a low intensity use and the shed extension is designed to help mitigate noise and an adequate buffer is provided.
Will there be time restrictions on industrial activities and general noise and how will this be regulated? Will it operate 7 days a week?	A condition is recommended to limit noise generating activities to day light hours. The Men’s Shed has indicated it is unlikely the group will meet more than 3 half days per week or thereabouts.
An industrial and public meeting place could potentially devalue homes. The Men’s Shed is located too close to residential dwellings and would be better in an industrial area or a non-residential area	The Men’s Shed use is also inconsistent in an Industry zone. The majority of Community Services land in Pomona is located in closer proximity to residential dwellings than the proposed site. Other sites within the Pomona area were scoped for the use but significant obstacles existed for a community group.
conclusion
The Men’s Shed is an inconsistent use in the Open Space Conservation zone but the existing shed and immediately surrounding area have been historically used by the State for forestry purposes. The location is ideal for a community group being close to the Pomona village centre and accessible to the male community. The use is relatively low intensity and will not adversely impact on the amenity of the surrounding uses and is recommended for approval subject to conditions.

Departments/Sections Consulted:

	Community Services	X	Planning & Infrastructure
	Disaster Management & Public Order		Building & Plumbing Services
	Waste & Environmental Health		DA Planning
	Community Facilities		Strategic Land Use Planning
	Cultural Facilities		Asset Design & Investigations
			Asset Planning
			Civil Operations
			Environment
	Executive Office		Corporate Services
	Community Engagement		Finance
	Customer Service		ICT
	Executive Support		Procurement & Fleet
	Governance		Property & Facilities
	Human Resources		Revenue Services

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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT	15 SEPTEMBER 2015

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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT	DD MONTH YYYY

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Extension 12mx8m Existing building