2014-10-14 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda - Pages 51 - 117

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   14 OCTOBER 2014




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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                         14 OCTOBER 2014

         Ey                        PROPOSAL FOR A BOUNDARY CHANGE

              OuR LOCAL COMMUNITY — HISTORY OF ACTION FOR CHANGE

              There is evidence going back to 1918 that the residents of EDV have had major
              concerns about the boundary.°®

              In January 2004, these concerns were rekindled when the EDV Residents Group
              (previously the    EDV Action     Group)   was formed      following  two community
              meetings when residents expressed a strong preference to be part of Noosa
              Shire.  At that time there were three Councils in the region (Noosa, Maroochy
              and Caloundra).

              The EDV Action Group undertook consultations and then a major door knock of
              all residents to assess the level of community support for a boundary change
              during 2005.’

              What did we find - Over 80.5% of residents supported a boundary change
              as did 87% of local businesses.

              We prepared a major submission for the Size, Shape and Sustainability Program
              in January 2006 outlining these findings and all of the methodology, and
              including the letters of support. However, the forced amalgamations effectively
              ended the campaign.
              The Present Situation
              In 2014, we have been given a unique opportunity by the Minister for Local
              Government to revisit the issue, following the de-amalgamation of the Noosa
              Shire and as part of his commitment to allow this issue to be considered only
              after de-amalgamation. Since 2006, many people have moved away and others
              have come with no knowledge of the history.          Anecdotal information indicated
              that in this period (2006 to 2014) potentially up to 30% of residents could have
              changed.    We knew that a new housing estate had been developed north of
              Eumundi with new residents moving in, many of whom were young families

              ®° The EDV community lobbied both the Maroochy Shire and the State Government for a boundary change as
              documented in the Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser in November 1918 and in The Cooroy Rag in 1929.
              7 To ascertain if the feeling from initial meetings translated into wider community support, the Group firstly
              established what was needed to change a boundary by reviewing legislation and determined that a key
              component was the need to demonstrate community of interest.. The Group undertook a survey to find out
              where our “community of interest” lay - was it Noosa or Maroochy? - The results demonstrated major links
              with Noosa that was further validated by hard data from other studies. The Group consulted widely on the
              suggested boundary change which included all of Eumundi, Doonan, Verrierdale and Weyba Downs (part of
              which is now called Peregian Beach West). Group representatives approached our then local Councillor to
              discuss what we would need to do to demonstrate to Maroochy Council the level of community support - he
              demanded a letter affirming that support from the majority of residents as proof. Accordingly, we doorknocked
              every household in the area in late 2005 (over 2,500 homes) to establish if there was support for a boundary
              change to bring us into Noosa Shire. We obtained signed letters of support from more than 85% of all
              residents and at least 70% of businesses.

                                                                                                   15
              Submission from the EDV Group

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