20140225 Planning & Organisation Committee - Change to Development Approval-Viridian Resort, 5 Morwong Drive, Noosa Heads · 132006.823.07

<.	CHANGE TO DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL FOR VIRIDIAN RESORT AT 5 MORWONG DRIVE, NOOSA HEADS

Author	Coordinator, Development Assessment – Kerri Coyle
Community & Development

Index	ECM / Application / 132006.823.07

Attachments	1.	Locality Plan
2.	Site Plan

PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s determination of an application to change the development approval for the Viridian Resort to remove the permanent restrictions for unit 10105.  The application is before Council as the recommendation is for refusal.

APPLICATION DETAILS
Application Number:	132006.823.07
Applicant:	Viridian Noosa Pty Ltd
Request Received Date:	1 December 2013
Original Approval Type:	Development Permit for Material Change of Use of Premises - Visitor Accommodation - Type 4 Conventional (Resort), Entertainment & Dining - Type 1 Food & Beverages (Conference Room & Restaurant), Retail Business - Type 2 Shop & Salon (Shop), Commercial Business - Type 2 Medical (Health Spa)
Number of Submissions for Original Application:	

PROPERTY DETAILS
Division:	11
Property Address:	Viridian Noosa 5 Morwong Dr NOOSA HEADS  QLD  4567
RP Description:	Lot 10105 SP 190823
Land Area:	349.0000 Square Metres
Existing Use of Land:	Viridian Noosa Resort

STATUTORY DETAILS
SEQRP Designation:	Urban Footprint
Planning Scheme:	The Noosa Plan (16 September 2013)
Strategic Plan Designation:	Not Applicable
Planning Area / Locality:	Noosa Heads Locality – Attached Housing & Open Space Conservation Zone
Planning Precinct / Zone:	
Assessment Type:	Change to Approval

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This application seeks to change condition 23 of the current development approval for the Viridian Resort at Noosa Heads to remove the permanent residency restrictions for unit 10105.  In support of their application, the applicant submits that the change is consistent with the condition applied to the Noosa Springs approved resort.

The proposed change is not consistent with the current development approval for the site with the approved use specifically defined by the Noosa Plan as being for short term visitor accommodation, unlike the Noosa Springs development which was approved under the superseded planning scheme as a multiple dwelling.

The proposed change is also inconsistent with The Noosa Plan which identifies this site as one of several key sites in Noosa to be protected for resort development, given the importance of tourism to Noosa’s economy.  While the proposed change may not result in any significant impacts, approving the change is likely to result in other resort unit owners seeking similar concessions and there are no grounds in the community’s interest to approve the application.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by Coordinator, Development Assessment to the Planning and Organisation Committee on 25 February 2014 and refuse the request to change Development Approval No. 132006.823.07, situated at Viridian Noosa 5 Morwong Drive, Noosa Heads for the following reasons:

The proposed change is contrary to the Overall Outcomes of the Noosa Heads Locality Code, which seek that substantial key sites are protected for resort development, with the subject site identified as a key site;

The proposed change is not consistent with the approved use of the site as Visitor Accommodation Type 4 Conventional, which is for the purpose of providing short-term visitor accommodation;

The proposed change is contrary to The Noosa Plan and there are insufficient grounds to justify the conflict with planning scheme; and

The application has not been properly made, as the consent of the body corporate for the Viridian Resort has not been provided for the change and the change affects other unit owners.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The site and surrounding land originally formed part of a greater site on Noosa Hill in which development proposed over the site was subject to a Consent Order issued by the Planning and Environment Court on 29th June 2001.  The approved development for the site and surrounding area was subsequently referred to as the Court Approved Scheme (CAS).

The CAS provided for a range of development on Noosa Hill including the Viridian development; as detailed below:-
Bayview Road Houses – Group Housing Development of 6 Dwelling Units (completed);
Angler Street Houses – 2 Dwelling Houses (completed);
Morwong Drive Dwelling Units – 23 Multiple Dwelling Units comprising 13 x 3 bedroom and 10 x 2 bedroom (completed);
Resort comprising accommodation in the form of 130 dwelling units, 17 villas and a managers residence, central facilities including reception and administration centre, function room, conference centre, restaurant, storage, pool, tennis court, health spa, bars and ancillary facilities and both private and public open space.
Stages 1 and 2 of the development (comprising Bayview Road and Angler Street houses, Morwong Villas) are already complete, and have been developed in accordance with the approved plans attached to the Consent Order.

Stage 3 of the CAS included a resort development, however, the applicant saw it necessary to make significant changes to the Court approved scheme, which resulted in a new application being lodged with Council.

On 15 February 2007, Council approved the new application for a Material Change of Use for Visitor Accommodation – Type 4 Conventional (Resort), Entertainment and Dining – Type 1 Food and Beverages (Conference Room and Restaurant), Retail Business – Type 2 Shop and Salon (Shop), Commercial Business – Type 2 Medical (Health Spa) over the subject site.
On 19 April 2007, Council approved representations to conditions of the development approval and on 27 February 2008, Council approved changes to a number of conditions as part of a request to change the existing development approval.
On 21 January 2009, Council approved changes to a number of conditions and the inclusion of an additional condition and two additional advice conditions as part of a request to change the existing development approval.

On 18 November 2009 Council refused a change to the approval to allow occupation of 54 units on a permanent basis.  Notably subsequent to this application the applicant lodged MCU10/2127 seeking approval for 38 of the units to be occupied permanently.  This application was similarly refused and was subject to an appeal, which was dismissed by the Planning & Environment Court and council’s decision upheld.

PREVIOUS COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
As detailed in the previous section.

REPORT
1.	Proposal

This application seeks to change condition 23 of the development approval, which restricts permanent occupation of all units in the resort development.  The applicant submits that the change is only intended to relate to villa 10105 and that the application does not seek permanent residency rights for the subject villa.  Villa 10105 has a floor area of 298m2 and is located in Building Block J along with 6 other villas of similar standard.  The applicant requests that Council consider the change on the basis of the following:-

Council has established a precedent in regard to similar conditions imposed for the Noosa Springs Resort.
The amended Condition results in a positive outcome by requiring promotion of the availability of short-term letting
The amended Condition maintains the financial objectives of the resort operator.
The amended Condition does not detract from the tourism economy of Noosa
The adoption of the amended Condition represents fair and reasonable obligations on the use of the resort
The resort has been established and is achieving economic benefits for the Noosa economy.
Approval of the Change of Condition 23 does not impact on the Court’s decision in relation to MCU10/2127.

Current condition

23.	The Resort (comprising the Restaurant and Conference Room Facility Building V, Health Spa, Resort Accommodation Buildings (dwelling units & accommodation units), Reception Area and Shop) shall be operated and maintained as a Resort. The resort shall operate in accordance with the defined use of ‘Visitor Accommodation - Type 4 Conventional’ in the Noosa Plan which provides for predominately short term visitor accommodation .Villas in Buildings A, B, C, E, F and Penthouse Units: 9417,8601,8602,7501,7502,7503,7504,4201,4202,4301,4302,4401,4402,4501,4502 and the Managers Unit number 8201 as shown on Plan of Survey SP190823 may be occupied on a short and long term basis. All other dwelling units in the Resort may be occupied only for short term visitor accommodation. The community management statement for any or all bodies corporate having control of the Resort or any part thereof shall incorporate this condition.

Applicant’s Proposed Change

23.	The Resort (comprising the Restaurant and Conference Room Facility Building, Health Spa, Resort Accommodation Buildings (dwelling units & accommodation units), Reception Area and Shop shall be operated and maintained as a Resort. The Managers Accommodation may be occupied on a permanent basis. The community management statement for the body corporate having control of the Resort shall incorporate a condition:

- Requiring the accommodation and facilities to be operated and maintained as a resort.

- Restricting the use of units and villas in Blocks A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I and villas 10101,10102,10103, 10104, 10106 & 10107 in Block J for permanent residential accommodation.

- Requiring a letting pool service promoting and managing short term accommodation to be established on site and made available to all owners.

2.	Statutory Process

The applicant has requested to make a change to a development approval under s369 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.  A request to change a development approval under s369 can only be made in circumstances where that change would constitute a ‘permissible change’.

The proposed change to the development approval requested by the applicant is determined to constitute a permissible change on grounds that:

The change would not result in a substantially different development because the proposed change is intended to relate to one unit.
The change would not require the application to be referred to additional concurrence agencies;
The original application was impact assessable and the proposed changes would not likely cause a person to make a properly made submission because the proposed change is intended to relate to one unit.  Notwithstanding this, concern is raised that owners consent has only been provided in relation to lot 10105 with the body corporate not consenting to the application and yet the proposed changes to condition 23 seek to control the Resort use through the body corporate’s community management statement.
The change would not cause the approval to involve prohibited development.

3.	Assessment

The proposed change is difficult to reconcile given the application material states that permanent residency rights for the subject villa is not sought, whereas the proposed change to the condition specifically excludes the subject villa from the proposed permanent residency restrictions clause.  Notwithstanding the application material, the intent of the proposed change appears seek to allow permanent occupation of the unit.

The Viridian Resort has a current approval for Visitor Accommodation Type 4 Conventional, which is defined as:

Two or more dwelling units or accommodation units, for the purpose of providing short term visitor accommodation.  The use may include common recreation or dining facilities and includes an ancillary dwelling unit for onsite manager.  The use includes a guesthouse, visitor hostel, motel, resort and serviced rooms, but does not include Visitor accommodation Type 1 home hosted or Type 3 Rural as separately defined.

The proposed change is not consistent with the current development approval for the site being for short term visitor accommodation.  The proposed change is also contrary to the Noosa Plan, which identifies this site as one of several key sites in Noosa to be protected for resort development.  The retention of a range of visitor accommodation choices is important to the economy of Noosa, given the economy has a large tourism component. The loss of visitor accommodation to permanent residential housing reduces visitor choice and therefore has the potential to have a negative effect on the economy for Noosa.  Mixing long term accommodation for residents with short-term accommodation for visitors also has the potential to cause conflicts between users of the resort and permanent residents.

While the proposed change is intended only to one unit and may not result in any significant impacts, approving the change is likely to result in other resort unit owners seeking similar concessions reducing the available accommodation for visitors to Noosa.    There are also no grounds in the community’s interest to justify approving the application in conflict with The Noosa Plan.

While the Noosa Springs Resort approval does include a condition similar to the applicant’s requested change, Noosa Springs was given approval under the Superseded Planning Scheme for a multiple dwelling. The Superseded Planning Scheme also lacked a use definition specific to short term visitor accommodation.

FINANCE & RISK
Nil

CONSULTATION
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Nil
Internal Consultation

Departments/Sections Consulted:

	Community Infrastructure	x	Community & Development
	Asset Planning & Delivery		Community Services
	Civil Operations		Planning & Development
	Environmental Services		Health & Regulatory Services
	Waste Management		Business Facilitation
			Community Resilience & Disaster Management
			
			
	Executive Office		Organisational Services
	Communications & Governance		Financial Services
	Human Resources		ICT
	De-amalgamation Coordination		Property & Contracts

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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT	25 FEBRUARY 2014