Attachment F - Carparking Evaluation -Noosa Carparking Study - McGagney report

                                                                                                         Noosa Council
                                                                                    Noosa Car Parking Study 2017 - 2032
                                                                                                           Final Report


by the limits. The benefits of this strategy are that it provides an additional flexibility to developments that
provide less parking as well as to those developments which require more parking.

A strategy would require consideration of the following factors:
   The incentive for a development to provide less parking should reflect the underlying value of the land;
   Developments that require less parking effectively gain an extra windfall by realising the value of transferable
    parking entitlements in addition to the benefits of higher development densities; and
   The flexibility to provide additional parking in excess of the limits may possibly be delivered through a
    discretionary process.


A TPE strategy poses little risk to councils other than the fact that parking not provided with one development
may be provided somewhere else. However, they do possibly create an administrative burden of monitoring
where parking is constructed and when, and where the “surplus” parking is transferred.

Transferable parking entitlements are only suitable under a maximum parking requirements framework.
Additionally, such a policy requires a healthy TPE market, both buyers and sellers, to be successful. Noosa
currently does not have such a potential market; however, the development environment may change in the
longer term. They could potentially be implemented in Noosa Shire in the longer-term to accompany parking
maximums, however their suitability is highly dependent upon the restrictiveness of parking maximums.

6.2.1.4 In-lieu payments / Voluntary Infrastructure Agreements

From at least 1991 to September 2013 Noosa Council allowed developers to reduce their minimum parking
provision requirements through a monetary contribution in lieu of the provision of onsite parking. However
recent changes to State policy planning / legislation have meant that a formal contribution policy now may be
in conflict with State guidelines. Contributions may be sought to lessen on-site parking requirements via
voluntary “Infrastructure Agreements”, whereby the applicant agrees to make a contribution as compensation
for transferring their carparking obligations from the development to the community. It is noted, however, that
no policy position is currently available to Noosa Council to guide negotiations. As such, voluntary “Infrastructure
Agreements” are not currently implemented.

In an environment where minimum parking rates are implemented, and where options to reduce parking
provisions are not available, it is likely that developments are oversupplying parking or opting not to proceed
due to significant parking provision costs. We therefore recommended that voluntary “Infrastructure
Agreements” be utilised while parking minimums remain in place to provide flexibility around parking provision
requirements. However, any requirements for financial contribution should be justified and address the core
principles of need, nexus, accountability and equity in the strategic assessment of the proposal before it is
introduced.

This approach should consider the following questions as they relate to the local car parking environment:
   Need – is the in-lieu payment scheme required?
   Nexus – is there a direct link between the types of proposals affected by the scheme and the infrastructure
    provision?
   Accountability – what are the financial arrangements? How will the scheme be monitored and reviewed?
   Equity – is the scheme fair in terms of who is and isn’t required to pay? Would another method of collecting
    funds be more appropriate?




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