2022-04-21 Ordinary Meeting Agenda

ORDINARY MEETING AGENDA                                                                21 APRIL 2022


Bushfire Hazard and Climate Preparedness
Council’s Bushfire Hazard Mapping rates a large portion of Lot 9 on Grasstree Court as having a
high bushfire hazard and it is contiguous with the Girraween section of the Noosa National Park
which has a history of human induced wildfires. (Map 5)
Council’s Climate Response Plan commits us to taking measures to “be a well informed and
prepared community that considers climate change in making day-to-day and business decisions”
and clearly identifies the increased risk from bushfires.
Housing and Aged Care Needs
The Housing Needs Assessment adopted by Council in December 2021 acknowledged that
“Development of each of the approved Sunrise Beach, Tewantin and Palm Lakes facilities is
important in meeting the aged care needs of the community in the future. Further, in light of an
anticipated shortfall in aged care, much of 125 Myall Street Cooroy is zoned Community Facilities
and annotated for Residential Care.” It is also relevant to note that the report highlights that “Blue
Care has development approval for a 118 bed aged care facility at Grass Tree Court, Sunrise
Beach, but again no places have been allocated. … The applicant now proposes 102 residential
aged care beds, however, currently hold no place allocations for the site. Construction has not
commenced and there is ongoing community protest about future development of the site.”
The report also identifies that “In 2021 Noosa Shire Council has regarded the Shire as being
gripped by a housing crisis, which is having a significant social and economic impact on the
community.” The review confirmed that:
     “The availability of homes for permanent rentals has diminished and weekly rents increased
      significantly in the last few years;
     Incomes and wages for jobs located within Noosa Shire are not keeping up with the rising
      cost of accommodation or commuting;
     Businesses and other workplaces are experiencing difficulty attracting and retaining
      employees who cannot afford to live in the area, this has in instances resulted in businesses
      down-scaling or even closing;
     COVID-19 and the Royal Commission have impacted the aged care and retirement sector
      and operators have reduced capacity to invest in capital works, including construction of new
      developments for which they already have approvals”.
The current situation demands a rethink about priorities for available Community Facilities Zoned
land and Council owned properties as is currently occurring as part of the development of the
Housing Strategy.
Planning Scheme Response
For all these reasons I believe it is important that Council ensures the Planning Scheme adequately
reflects the community’s aspirations for the future, their desire for involvement in the development
application process and the current ‘planning need’ for social housing in the area.
While there are potential sites within the locality to accommodate new aged care facilities, there is
very limited supply of Glossy Black Cockatoo habitat. Considering the high conservation value and
bushfire hazard ratings on Lot 9 SP322789 on the south side of the street it is proposed that the
current scheduled use be removed. This would mean that future applications for the vast majority
of community uses would require ‘Impact Assessment’ which triggers the advertising for public
comment and appeal rights for submitters.
Further, considering the current largely cleared status of Lot 6 SP322789 on the north side of the
street it may be suitable for a broader range of community facilities. It would be desirable to
increase the scope of Code Assessable uses on that site to include a range of social housing
options. This would allow for greater flexibility on this allotment should the current approval not
proceed with the potential to help meet the current critical demand for social housing in the shire.
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