Letter from Adamson Town Planning Pty Ltd - 5 March 2018 · 51985.3785.05

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obtained directly from Quamby Place. An underground carpark provides covered carparking
for 28 cars and 1 uncovered carpark.




Figure 1 – Aerial Photograph

Background
It is understood that the original approval for Multiple Dwellings comprising 23 Units was
obtained on 22 December 1988 (TPC1724) and therefore predates the Noosa Plan 2006.

It is understood that the following history applies to the site:
     • a changes application for alteration to the approval comprising the enclosure of the
         balcony was approved on 22 December 1998 (Attachment 3);
     • a minor change application for landscaping and building works at the frontage and
         entrance to the site approved on 13 May 2008;
     • a further minor change application to extend the roof over a balcony was approved on
         12 May 2009; and
     • a further minor change application for alterations and additions to the Manager
         Apartment was approved on 2 September 2010.

It is understood that while the abovementioned changes have been made, the former approval
providing for the development as a whole is dated 30 December 1988, a copy of which is
provided as Attachment 3.

It is noted that condition 2(a) of the approval states that … balconies fronting the river are not
to be enclosed. The subject balcony is located towards Quamby Place and does not front and


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can’t be seen from the Noosa River. Further, there are no other conditions of approval relevant
to the assessment.

Given the above, it is apparent that a number of subsequent changes have been allowed to
the approved development since 22 December 1988, these being considered under the Noosa
Plan 2006.

Proposed Change

The application seeks approval to change TPC 1724 by partly enclosing the balcony area of
Unit 17 (lower level) in accordance with the proposal plans provided as Attachment 1 (refer
Figure 3).




Figure 2 – Proposed Floor Plan

The proposed development is minor in nature and includes the following:
   • an 8m² partial enclosure of the existing balcony located on the eastern side of the
       building on Level 3 of the overall complex (ground floor of Unit 17);
   • the enclosed area is to be remain open internally to the unit with no door to be
       provided and therefore does not constitute a bedroom;
   • the road frontage portion of the balcony is to be retained as an open structure and
       viable as such off site;
   • a new roof over the enclosed balcony area is proposed to replace an existing awning.
       It should be noted that the complex is about to have roof maintenance work
       undertaken with the proposed new building work expected to coincide with this work;
       and
   • the new external wall will be rendered and painted to match the existing building in
       finish, style and colour.

Given the above, the proposed building work is relatively minor and will be compatible with
the existing built form. Further, given the balcony area at the front of the unit is to remain
unenclosed, the proposed part enclosure will have little if any impact off site.


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Planning Act 2016

Under section 78 of the Planning Act 2016, an application can be made to make a minor
change to a current approval. Under the Schedule 1 of the Development Assessment Rules, an
assessment manager may determine that the change is a minor change, where amongst other
criteria a minor change is a change that:
    (i)     would not result in substantially different development; and
    (ii)    if a development application for the development, including the change, were made
            when the change application is made would not cause:
            A) the inclusion of prohibited development in the application; or
            B) referral to a referral agency, other than to the chief executive, if there were no
                 referral agencies for the development application; or
            C) referral to extra referral agencies, other than to the chief executive; or
            D) a referral agency to assess the application against, or have regard to, matters
                 prescribed by regulation under section 55(2), other than matters the referral
                 agency must have assessed the application against, or have had regard to, when
                 the application was made; or
            E) public notification if public notification was not required for the development
                 application.

Under Schedule 1, a change may be considered to result in a substantially different
development if the proposed change:
   (a) involves a new use; or
   (b) results in the application applying to a new parcel of land; or
   (c) dramatically changes the built form in terms of scale, bulk and appearance; or
   (d) changes the ability of the proposed development to operate as intended; or
   (e) removes a component that is integral to the operation of the development; or
   (f) significantly impacts on traffic flow and the transport network, such as increasing traffic
       to the site; or
   (g) introduces new impacts or increase the severity of known impacts; or
   (h) removes an incentive or offset component that would have balanced a negative impact
       of the development; or
   (i) impacts on infrastructure provisions.

In my opinion, having regard to the above, the proposed part balcony enclosure will not
dramatically change the existing built form and otherwise will not result in a substantially
different development. Further, having regard to other the matters for a minor change (above),
the proposed development is a minor change pursuant to section 78 of Planning Act 2016.

Noosa Plan 2006

Under the Noosa Plan the subject land is within the Noosa Heads Locality and is included in
the Attached Housing Zone. The existing commercial centre at Quamby Place is included in
the Neighbourhood Centre Zone. Adjoining the land to the west is other multiple dwelling
developments, which are also included in the Attached Housing Zone.



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The proposed development for multiple dwellings was granted under a former planning
scheme, which provided for considerably more development on the subject land than that
allowed under the current Noosa Heads Locality Code. An extract from the Shire Planner’s
report (12/12/1998) providing the key development parameters is provided below (Figure 3).




Figure 3 – Extract from Shire Planner’s Report 12/12/1988

Having regard to the provisions under the Noosa Heads Locality Code, the following
comments are made about the most relevant specific outcomes sought under Table 9.11:
   • Density O6 – the proposed part enclosure of the balcony does not constitute a
      bedroom and therefore there is no increase in residential density;
   • Height O7 – there is no change in building height;
   • Setbacks O8 – setbacks remain unchanged consistent with the existing setback of the
      balcony at the third level, this being about 3m. The part enclosure of the balcony will
      not cause any adverse amenity impacts upon adjoining or nearby premises;
   • Site cover, gross floor area and plot ratio – with respect to the site cover this remains
      unchanged at 26.5% (Figure 3). It is accepted that the enclosure of the balcony area is
      technically GFA; however, this is for an additional 8m² (approximately) and makes no
      material difference to the appearance of building bulk given the GFA currently is
      4,391m² (Figure 3). The increase in plot ratio is also of no consequence. The proposed
      part enclosure is compatible with the existing development and does not add to
      building bulk;
   • Roof Form O15 – the proposed roof form will complement the character of the locality,
      with the roof to match the new roofing proposed for the development as a whole.

Having regard to the above, the proposed does not offend any of the relevant specific
outcomes under the Noosa Heads Locality Code.

Conclusion

The proposed development is for a minor balcony enclosure for Unit 17 at the lower level,
located beside the Quamby Place neighbourhood centre. The balcony area is removed from
the Noosa River, overlooks the carparking area for the centre and is otherwise setback from
the frontage to Quamby Place.




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The proposal seeks to partly enclose an existing balcony to provide for a study/games room
to make efficient use of the unit. The study/games room comprises about 8m², does not
contain an internal door and therefore is not able to be used as a bedroom. Further, the
balcony area remains open towards the front of the building and is not fully enclosed. The
enclosed part of the balcony is generally not visible off site.

The proposed development meets the relevant specific outcomes under the Noosa Heads
Locality Code and does not offend any of the conditions of the current approval (TPC1724).

The proposed development is a minor change pursuant to section 78 of the Planning Act 2016,
because it does not result in a substantially different development and does not require referral
to any State agencies. The proposed development should be approved subject to reasonable
and relevant conditions being imposed, if necessary.

Should you have any questions or require further information please contact me.


Yours faithfully




Shane Adamson (BEngTech, GDURP, MPIA)
Town Planning Specialist
Director - Adamson Town Planning Pty Ltd




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