2018-09-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                             11 SEPTEMBER 2018


     As we are looking to attract the family market with young children we anticipate that there
     will be no noise late at night as the children will be in bed. Each cabin will have its own
     kitchen and bathroom so there is no need for people to be moving around outside the
     cabins late at night. We are not allowing vehicles up to the cabins and so there will be no
     additional noise if people return late at night.
The applicant is proposing cabins for visitor accommodation in a farm stay type format which
provides economic diversity for the land owner, could complement any agricultural pursuits that
may occur on the property and will generally support the economic sustainability of the
hinterland.
Land Use & Works Provisions
The application has been assessed against applicable codes. The pertinent issues arising out of
the assessment against the codes are discussed below:
Visitor Accommodation Code
Table 14-36 of the Visitor Accommodation Code for Type 3 – Rural Accommodation is relevant
and specific for the subject use.
Probable Solution 35.1 states:
S35.1 Rural accommodation does not exceed a site density of —
a)     2 cabins per hectare; or
b)   2 guest bedrooms per hectare, providing the overall number of cabins and guest bedrooms
     does not exceed 6.
The subject site is 15.68ha and the proposed 6 cabins comply with the maximum quantity of
cabins for the lot size. However, the proposal seeks 12 guest bedrooms within the 6 cabins
rather than the maximum of 6 bedrooms set out by Probable Solution S35.1 b). Therefore the
cabins should be assessed against the corresponding Specific Outcome O35 which states:
O35 Rural accommodation is associated with rural production, agricultural pursuits and
    promoting the natural environment and takes the form of farmstays, bed and breakfasts,
    cabins, cottages or a small guest lodge.
The applicant has recently purchased the lot and is in the early stages of establishing small scale
agricultural pursuits as outlined in Item 1 of this report. The applicant seeks to take advantage of
the lot’s natural features such as Pinbarren Creek (adjoins the western boundary) and views of
Mt Pinbarren. It is also a short walk or ride to the northern section of Camphor Road where
Noosa Trail Network Trail 2 meets the Camphor Road carpark (See Figure 5 in Section 2.2
above). It is considered the cabins would be associated with and complement the small-scale
agricultural pursuits and will promote the natural environment of the lot, the surrounding area and
the Noosa Trail Network.
In terms of the number of bedrooms, each cabin is small being only 37.7m² with the applicant
advising that their focus is on attracting families. Having 2 bedrooms, albeit small bedrooms
(2.8m x 3.1m with no wardrobe), is beneficial for this purpose. While there may be 12 bedrooms
proposed, the cabins are very small and any additional patrons or vehicle movements are
unlikely to have a negative impact on the agricultural practices of the lot, adjoining properties or
the surrounding area. Furthermore, the additional bedrooms may not necessarily attract
additional vehicles when considering the target market being families with children.
Probable Solution 37.1 is relevant to the assessment and states:
S37.1 Buildings and other structures —
a)   take the form of small separate buildings which are visually separated;
b)   comprise a mix of lightweight (low mass) and textured external materials, such as timber
     cladding and corrugated iron roofs;


                                                                                     Page 12 of 95