2015-10-13 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                             13 OCTOBER 2015


Of these, the statutory planning instruments relevant to this application are discussed in the
sections that follow.
2.5. State and Other Statutory Instruments
The site is located within the Regional Landscape and Rural Production Area of the SEQ
Regional Plan. The proposal is consistent with the regional policies and regulatory provisions
of the SEQ Regional Plan.
2.6. Statutory Instruments – Planning Scheme
The subject site is located in the Boreen Point, Kin Kin & Cootharaba Locality. The site is
within the Davis Road reserve and in accordance with Part 2.10.1 of The Noosa Plan, if a
road is not shown as being covered by a zone, the land has the same zoning as the
adjoining land. The surrounding lots are all zoned Rural and the subject site therefore also
takes on the Rural zoning.
The proposed use is identified as an inconsistent use within the Rural zone and is required
to follow an impact assessable application process. While the whole of the planning scheme
is applicable, the following codes and policies are most relevant to the application:
    Mary River Catchment Locality Code
    Planning Scheme Policy 23 – Telecommunication Towers
    Infrastructure Uses Code

The pertinent issues arising out of the assessment are discussed below.

Mary River Catchment Locality Code
The Locality Code seeks for new development to not significantly impact on the existing
visual amenity of the area. The proposed 41m high tower is surrounded by existing mature
vegetation (up to 30m in height) and is more than 150m away from the closest house.

The applicant has produced photomontages using a cherry picker to represent the visual
impacts of the tower from the closest residential houses to the east of the site and the Davis
Rd bitumen formation as indicated in Attachment 2. The photomontages show that only the
top portion of the tower will be visible from the closest residential dwellings, with the majority
of the tower screened by the existing vegetation. It is considered that the proposed location
does not detract from the existing scenic amenity of the area and is consistent with the visual
amenity Outcomes of the code.

Planning Scheme Policy 23 - Telecommunication Towers
Section 3.2 & 3.4 of the Policy outlines matters for consideration when assessing proposals
for towers. The most applicable points associated with the assessment of this proposal are:

     3.2 a) Loss of vegetation on steep slopes or ridgelines; or
     3.2 b) Visual scarring or the degradation of views or vistas from the major road
            network; or
     3.2 c) Alteration to key landform and landscape characters such that they become
            dominated by the facility; or
     3.4 d) Be positioned to minimise clutter of multiple facilities.

The proposed tower is located on relatively flat land and requires the removal of
approximately 15 trees associated with the lease area and driveway. The tower will not be
readily seen from the major road network and the existing vegetation assists in screening the
base of the tower. The height of the tower also allows future co-location opportunities with
other telecommunication providers, consistent with the outcomes of the Policy.



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