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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                25 FEBRUARY 2014


BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Noosa Shire area has continuously experienced significant development activity with an
associated level of development disputes. In defending its Planning Scheme, the Council has
always taken a strong stance to make sure that the principles of the Planning Scheme are
preserved. Historically, the Council has had a statistically high success rate in the Planning and
Environment Court in defending the Planning Scheme and particularly the 1997 Strategic Plan.

The Council has also historically defended a significant number of town planning compensation
cases where applicants have sought compensation from the Council due to changes to its
Planning Scheme. Almost all of those have been now resolved successfully however, as Council
is aware, there is still one major case being conducted.

The Planning and Environment Court is an expensive system for resolving development
disputes. It involves a significant investment in solicitors, barristers, experts etc. It is important
that the Council manages this process effectively to get the best value and achieve the best
planning outcomes.

PREVIOUS COUNCIL CONSIDERATION

The former Noosa Shire Council established a Case Management Working Group in July 2004.
The Working Group operated very successfully until 2008 and significantly streamlined the
litigation process from the former Council’s perspective.

REPORT

The proposal to establish a Case Management Working Group is based on managing Council’s
planning litigation more effectively.

1.    History of appeals

At various times, the former Noosa Council had up to 30 town planning cases at any one time.
These were a mix of appeals against Council decisions, town planning compensation cases and
planning prosecutions. Some of those cases have been very high profile and expensive (e.g.
Leisuremark, TM Burke and Leightons’ cases). However, while there are now a smaller number
of cases, there are a number of very significant ones from both a planning and cost perspective.
The Council will need to proactively manage these to get the best outcome.

2.    Looking ahead

While almost impossible to predict with any certainty what future planning litigation will arise, it is
highly likely that Council’s Planning Scheme will continue to be challenged for a number of
reasons. Firstly, almost all of the greenfield and straightforward type development sites have
already been developed. It is the more marginal sites from a planning perspective that remain
(e.g. flooding, slope, vegetation etc). Secondly, the economics of supply and demand will
encourage more challenges to Council’s Planning Scheme for applicants to gain development
rights that will result in higher density or more development. It will be important to continue to
defend the Planning Scheme in the P&E Court.

3.    Goals for the Working Group

Attached to this report is the proposed Charter for the Working Group. The overall goal of the
Working Group is to ensure that development disputes are managed effectively. The specific
goals are:


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