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

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  25 MARCH 2014


     The subject site is identified as part of the Regional Landscape and Rural Protection Area
      under the SEQ Regional Plan. The intent of this Area is to protect the identified land from
      inappropriate development, particularly urban or rural residential development.
      Furthermore, “these areas support the lifestyle and wellbeing of the regional population,
      primarily located in the Urban Footprint.” This is particularly relevant to Noosa which is an
      internationally recognised tourist destination and one of the most desirable places in the
      world to live. One thing that sets Noosa apart and adds to its desirability is its high
      proportion of vegetated land compared to developed land. The introduction of 876 new
      dwellings over land that is intended to be protected is not consistent with the planning
      framework nor with Noosa’s values.
     The addition of the 139.5ha to the Noosa National Park is unlikely to increase the number
      of visitors to the Noosa National Park. In terms of its usage, the vast majority of the park’s
      visitors concentrate in Noosa Heads, so the small addition would be unlikely to result in
      increased visitation unless different facilities or natural features were provided.
     The proposal represents the addition of discrete pockets of residential development which
      is not conducive to an efficient and well planned community. This would be particularly
      problematic for retirement facilities, whose residents require easy access to essential
      infrastructure and services. Retirement facilities would be more appropriately located within
      the Urban Footprint.
     The proposed layout, comprising discrete pockets of residential development, fails to
      support public transport usage, simply contributing to a greater level of motor vehicle
      usage.
     The proposed neighbourhood centre is not well located to service the proposed
      development. It is located in the south eastern part of the proposal. Residents living in the
      north western part of the development would be more likely to flow north to Noosa Civic
      rather than travel to the proposal centre.
Mr Norling’s findings are supported. While the northern end of the Sunshine Coast may be
approaching constrained land supply in the coming years, this is not unexpected. The adopted
government approach to residential growth on the Sunshine Coast has been to direct the majority
of new development to the southern end of the region. A substantial portion of new dwellings are
also planned via infill development within the existing urban footprint. The SEQ Regional Plan, in
combination with the existing and draft local government planning schemes, cater for growth in
the region accordingly.

Notably, the public notification period resulted in a very poor level of community support for the
development. Council’s experience has shown that submissions in support of a development will
be made where need exists. While by no means definitive, this further suggests the proposal
does not respond to community needs.

Overall, the applicant is considered to have overstated the community benefits likely to result
from the proposal and has not demonstrated a significant level of community need exists for the
development.

6.6   Grounds to Support the Application Despite Planning Conflicts
Given the extent of the development’s conflict with planning provisions for the site, it is crucial
that grounds be identified that overcome the conflicts. Section 329 of the Sustainable Planning
Act 2009 requires sufficient grounds must exist to justify a decision, despite a conflict with a
relevant instrument. Grounds are simply defined in the SPA as matters of public interest and can
be taken to include matters such as: planning instruments that are incorrect or have been
overtaken by events (i.e. are out of date); outcomes that address identified community need; and
outcomes that provide overriding community benefit.



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