2014-03-25 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda Pages 81-167

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                   25 MARCH 2014


Need

Need is an important consideration for this assessment. Since the development is broadly
contrary to the planning intent for the land under both local government planning schemes, need
is a ground that may present sufficient community benefit to overcome the conflict. Need in the
development sense is commonly recognised as relating to community wellbeing. A development
may be said to be needed if, on balance, it improves community wellbeing. Wellbeing may be
improved by access to new services or facilities or a range of other ways.

The applicant submitted a Needs Assessment and subsequent addendum prepared by its
consultant, RPS. The submitted reports suggest a number of significant economic social and
community benefits are posed by the application, with these principally derived from:

      The value of the BDOA land to be dedicated as National Park, its use by the community
       and tourists, and the resultant economic activity.
      The environmental controls and protections to be secured under the development’s
       Community Management Schemes.
      The provision of additional urban land supply at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast,
       which RPS identifies as currently unsatisfactorily constrained.
      The provision of an estimated 220 retirement/aged care dwellings to address a growing
       undersupply in the area.
      The employment generated by the development during its construction and operation. 260
       construction jobs per year and a further 141 on-site and 177 off-site operation jobs are
       estimated.
      Collection of additional stamp duty and rates by government.

Council engaged its own economic specialist, Norling Consulting, to undertake a peer review of
the RPS reports and other application material. Its review found the following:

We have found no fundamental errors within the methodologies or calculations undertaken within
the two Reports prepared by RPS. We agree that the proposal would generate benefits including
employment and financial benefits (stamp duty, rates, etc), as is the case when developing any
new residential estate. Therefore, these same benefits could be realised if residential
development was to occur within the Urban Footprint, which has sufficient capacity to
accommodate growth beyond 2031. It is also agreed that eventually, the restriction of new
residential lands in the Noosa area, combined with continued interest and demand for living in
the area will lead to real price increases of scarce residential land, thereby forcing lower paid
workers to live outside the Noosa area. This is an inevitable consequence of demand exceeding
supply.
There are a number of areas where we disagree with RPS:
      The location of the subject site is outside the Urban Footprint as identified in the SEQ
       Regional Plan. The purpose of designating land within the Urban Footprint is to identify
       land that can meet the urban development needs of the region to 2031 in a more compact
       form that can be efficiently serviced by necessary infrastructure. While there may be less
       than 15 years supply of land within the Noosa District and Maroochy North District, the
       Sunshine Coast must be viewed as a whole. The State Government and Council have
       made a valid policy decision to direct the majority of future population to the southern parts
       of the Sunshine Coast, particularly Palmview and Caloundra South.




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