2018-03-06 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                       6 MARCH 2018


However, very few of the private jetties along the Noosa River have a registered title through a
permit to occupy or similar tenure arrangement under the State Land Act 1994. This is an historical
anomaly but it has not been an issue in the past as private jetty owners have not had or sought to
have services like water and electricity provided. The result is that the service is linked to the
Council property and billing is sent to Council. Council incurs administrative costs to on-charge
the jetty owner, has no legal basis to recover any costs, and is unable to verify ownership or any
change of ownership of the jetty.
State Land is set aside for the benefit of the community. The provision of utility services through
State Land is secondary use of that Land. State Planning Policy “Secondary Use of Trust Land
under the Land Act” allows “essential” utility infrastructure, provided it does not diminish the
purpose and amenity of the trust land. This usually requires a lease or formal arrangement such
an easement being put in place. State policy is that such easements are only provided for utility
providers (not the consumer). In any event, it would not be practical to have 20 or more easements
created over the various separate titles covering Noosaville foreshore. Therefore, Council needs
to determine an approach for dealing with applications and for ensuring the risks to its ratepayers
and the broader community are minimised as much as possible.
The purpose of the proposed policy provided at Attachment 1 is to set out process for dealing with
existing and proposed utility services through Council controlled land.

Previous Council Consideration
Nil.

Finance
Administrative costs are currently incurred to recover charges for one private jetty where a water
connection has been provided.

Provision of utility services also increases the risk of private jetties being used for unapproved
commercial activity such as renting berthing places.

Risks & Opportunities
The risks to Council are predominately financial losses if unable to recover charges. There is also
a real financial loss due to the inability to recover administrative costs for on-charging.

Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Nil.

Internal Consultation
Departments/Sections Consulted:

       Chief Executive Officer    Community Services                          Corporate Services
 X     Executive Officer          Community Development                       Financial Services
       Executive Support          Community Facilities                        ICT
                                  Libraries & Galleries                       Procurement & Fleet
                                  Local Laws                              X   Property
                                  Waste & Environmental Health                Revenue Services

       Executive Services         Environment & Sustainable Development   X   Infrastructure Services
       Community Engagement       Building & Plumbing Services                Asset Management
       Customer Service           Development Assessment                      Buildings and Facilities
 X     Governance                 Economic Development                    X   Civil Operations
       People and Culture         Environmental Services                      Disaster Management
                                  Strategic Land Use Planning                 Infrastructure Planning,
                                                                              Design and Delivery




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