2019-11-21 Ordinary Meeting Minutes

ORDINARY MEETING MINUTES                                                     21 NOVEMBER 2019


    2   AMELIA LORENTSON
        Question 1:
        Mr Mayor, in keeping with your effort to increase transparency and openness in Council
        (Noosa News 30/10/2019), will the Noosa residents have the 'right to know' the
        breakdown of the submissions made in relation to the draft New Noosa Plan and the new
        Short Term Stay laws in Noosa? That is, the total number of submissions made, the
        number of submissions that were invalid, spoilt, improper, and the number of
        submissions that objected to the New Noosa Plan and Local laws and the number of
        submissions that approved Noosa Plan and Local Laws.
        Response by Kim Rawlings, Director Environment and Sustainable Development:
        Yes, a public report will be provided to Council on both the outcomes of the Noosa Plan
        public submission process, including numbers of submissions, outline of issues, whether
        they supported or objected and whether they resulted in a change to the Noosa Plan or
        not. Similarly with the Local Law, a public report on the outcomes of the consultation
        process will be provided to Council, outlining number of submissions, an outline of issues
        raised, whether in support or objection, proposed changes to be made and the process
        from here.
        Question 2:
        If we are still in consultation process, why are residents being told to rip out kitchens and
        being issued with fees for short term rentals?
        Response by Kim Rawlings, Director Environment and Sustainable Development:
        Where there may be a requirement to either remove a kitchen or seek approval for it as
        a secondary dwelling this is being done under the current planning requirements. These
        requirements are not proposed to change in the draft scheme. A dwelling house can
        only have one kitchen, unless otherwise approved, or if a secondary dwelling has been
        approved on the site, this can have a kitchen.
        The fees proposed as part of the draft new local law on short stay letting have not come
        into effect, this is draft and officers are reviewing submissions so no fee is in and would
        not be until the local law comes into effect sometime in the future. Some properties
        however will be paying the Tourism Levy. The Tourism levy has been in place in some
        form or another since 2001 and properties used for holiday letting and short term
        accommodation pay this levy through their rates.


    3   KATE GARDINER
        Question 1:
        Has Noosa Council investigated the option to include subsidised river transport as part
        of the broader solution to traffic congestion in the Hastings Street precinct? And if so
        what are the pros and cons of this proposal?
        Response by Carl Billingham, Director Infrastructure Services:
        Due to the sheer volume of suggestions received during the consultation phase of the
        Transport Strategy, it was decided that Council would focus on five priorities to
        investigate, these being:
        1.    Investigate Park-and-Ride facilities – being trialled this Christmas;
        2.    Investigate parking management controls in congested areas – still under
              investigation although some parking periods have been adjusted already;
        3.    Trial a Noosa Style Shuttle Bus – the Go Noosa Loop Service is being trialled this
              Christmas;

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