2016-10-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

MESSAGE FROM MAYOR
Welcome to the New Noosa Plan Discussion Paper,         At this early stage in the consultation process we     biodiversity; truly sustainable human development;
the first step in the community consultation process    really want to know what it is that our residents      and a living laboratory for studying just how those
leading to a brand new planning scheme for Noosa        value about the place they live. What do you love      objectives can be achieved.
Shire.                                                  about Noosa, and what would you like to see




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                                                                                                               Having travelled to many other countries, there is
                                                        change? The opportunity to drill down to the
It is through appropriate and well-considered                                                                  nowhere else I would rather live. No other locale
                                                        individual property level will come later in the




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planning that Council is able to influence the “look-                                                          has ever managed to endear itself to me the way
                                                        lengthy process of developing the scheme.
and-feel” of our wonderful area. Arguably there is                                                             that Noosa has. And Noosa is exemplary because
no more important manuscript amongst Council’s          It is very important that Council ensures its vision




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                                                                                                               its passionate residents have been both forward-
policy and directional documents than its planning      aligns with that of the broad community, that our
                                                                                                               looking and willing to advocate for that vision.
scheme.                                                 residents feel they have had adequate opportunity




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                                                                                                               Modern Noosa didn’t just happen - it was idealised
                                                        to have their say, and that the community feels
Historically, the Noosa Plan has established                                                                   and then designed. And that’s why we need your
                                                        some sense of ownership of the final planning




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the village feel of our various centres, the                                                                   input, to continue that effort.
                                                        scheme.
interrelationship between built and natural
environments, and Noosa’s overarching low-key           Of course there are constraints. Council’s scheme      Tony Wellington
approach to development.                                has to accord with higher order State Government
                                                        planning instruments. There are also statutory
Noosa Council first resolved to prepare a planning      provisions that our scheme must adhere to. So it is
scheme for the Shire in 1962. But it was during         not exactly a blank canvas we are working with.
the late 1980s and early 1990s that many of the
key attributes of the Noosa Shire were embedded:        However, with input from residents and
no high-rise buildings plus avoidance of big city       stakeholders, and within the guidelines set by the
                                                        State Government, I believe we can create a local
symbols such as traffic lights and billboards.
                                                        planning scheme that best serves our future needs
Noosa’s intrinsic attitude favouring sensitive          and continues to underpin the lifestyle, the natural
development has been its strongest economic             environmental values and the economy of our local
asset, allowing Noosa to become a fantastic place       government area.
to live and work, plus a globally recognised tourist
                                                        I firmly believe that, in years to come, Noosa will
destination.
                                                        be viewed as having had greater foresight than
The future of Noosa must always be a delicate           many other developed places on the planet. I
balance between adaptations to contemporary             believe we are well on the way to meeting those
needs whilst ensuring that Noosa’s core values are      ideals enshrined in our UNESCO-ordained Noosa
not eroded.                                             Biosphere® Reserve status: conservation of local

2 The New Noosa Plan