Development Application For Reconfiguring A Lot - 1 Lot Into 2 Lots And An Access Easement At 22 & 23 Edward Street, Cooran REC14/0002

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION FOR RECONFIGURING A LOT - 1 LOT INTO 2 LOTS AND AN ACCESS EASEMENT AT 22 & 23 EDWARD STREET, COORAN REC14/0002
Document information

Author	Senior Development Planner, Denis Wallace
Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index	ECM / Application / REC14/0002

Attachments	1. 	Proposal Plan
2. 	Previous Subdivision Proposal
3. 	Cooran Zoning Map
4.	Cooran Detached Housing Lots

APPLICATION DETAILS
Applicant	Gottfried Huba C/- Max Watterson & Associates
Proposal	Reconfiguring a Lot – 1 Lot into 2 Lots and Access Easement
Properly Made Date	13 March 2014 (Applicant formally changed application on 18/7/14)
Information Request Date	24 March 2014
Information Response Date	11 July 2014
Decision Due Date	2 October 2014

PROPERTY DETAILS
Property Address	22 & 23 Edward Street, Cooran
RP Description	Lots 2 & 3 SP155477
Land Area	3.047ha
Existing Use of Land	Detached House

STATUTORY DETAILS
SEQRP Designation	Urban Footprint
Locality	Mary River Catchment Locality
Zone	Detached Housing
Overlays	Medium Bushfire Hazard Area
Assessment Type	Code

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Senior Development Planner to the Planning & Organisation Committee Meeting dated 16 September 2014 regarding Application No. REC14/0002 to Reconfigure a Lot (1 lot into 2 lots and an access easement) and:
A.	Approve the application, subject to the following conditions:
PLANNING
When Conditions Must Be Complied With
Unless otherwise stated, all works required by the conditions of this Decision Notice must be completed prior to submission of the subdivision plan to Council for compliance assessment.
Approved Plans
Development undertaken in accordance with this approval must generally comply with the approved plans of development. The approved plans are listed in the following table unless otherwise amended by these conditions.
Plan No.	Rev.	Plan/Document Name	Date
13-3482AD  Sheet 1 of 1	_	Plan of Proposed Reconfiguration of Lot 2 on SP155477	08-07-14
All lot numbering on the subdivision plan to be submitted to Council for compliance assessment must remain as shown on the Approved Plans.
Boundary Encroachments
Certification must be submitted to Council from a Licensed Surveyor which certifies that:
the boundary clearances for any existing buildings remaining on the site comply with the relevant provisions of the planning scheme and the Building Act 1975, unless varied by this Decision Notice;
all constructed access and roadworks (including associated fill batters and retaining walls) are fully contained within a dedicated reserve or registered easement;
all utility services and connections (eg. electricity, telecommunications, water, sewerage) are wholly located within the lot they serve or alternatively included within an easement;
all existing effluent disposal areas are wholly located within the lot they serve and comply with the boundary setback requirements of the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002 and associated codes and requirements;
all retaining walls and structures are fully contained within the lot they retain;
any fill, including fill batters, are wholly contained within the subject site and not on adjacent properties.
House Site Areas
Prior to endorsement of the plan of survey by Council, a plan shall be submitted to Council identifying a building envelope for the house site and effluent disposal area/s on Lot 2.  To address noise, the house site area/s shall be greater than 80m from the rail corridor, or alternatively, positioned outside the 65dB(A) 24hr average equivalent A-weighted sound pressure level AND 87dB(A) single event maximum sound pressure level contours emanating from rail noise, as identified in an acoustic assessment prepared by a suitably qualified person and approved by Council.
ENGINEERING
Site Access and Driveways
A sealed access driveway must be provided from Edward Street for the full length of the proposed access easement. The works must be undertaken in accordance with an Operational Works approval and must include in particular:
A 3m wide sealed access extending from the end of the current formation in Edward Street to the property boundary,
A 4m wide sealed access for the full length of the proposed access easement including a 5.5m wide passing bay located between the Edward Street frontage and the access to Lots 1 and 2,
Sealed access driveways to Lots 1 and 2 extending from the edge of the shared access driveway to the boundary of Lots 1 and 2, and
Underground service conduits for all utility services.
Stormwater Drainage
The site must be provided with a stormwater drainage system connecting to a lawful point of discharge.  The works must be undertaken in accordance with an Operational Works approval and must include in particular:
An interallotment drainage system extending from the boundary of Lot 1 to James Street;
the use of gravity stormwater drainage.
Electricity and Telecommunication Services
Reticulated electricity and telecommunication services must be provided to each lot in accordance with an approval for Operational Works and the standards and requirements of the relevant service provider.
Unless otherwise stipulated by telecommunications legislation at the time of construction, the development must be provided with all necessary conduits, pits and pipes to accommodate the future connection of optic fibre technology telecommunications.
Certification must be submitted to Council from all relevant service providers which certifies that the development has met the requirements of this Decision Notice and all applicable legislation at the time of construction.
Easements
An easement for drainage purposes must be registered against the title of proposed Lot 2 in favour of Council over the land area identified as being below the 1%AEP flood level on the subject site.
For the purpose of this permit the 1%AEP flood level means the 1%AEP level as described in a current Flood Certificate issued by Council.
An easement for access and services purposes must be registered against the title of the Lot 3 SP155477 in favour of proposed Lots 1 and 2. The easement must be located generally in accordance with the approved plan and have a minimum width of 10 metres.
An easement for interallotment drainage must be registered against the title of proposed Lot 2 in favour of proposed Lot 1. The easement must extend from the common boundary of Lots 1 and 2 to the James Street frontage.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the relevant service provider, any public or third party infrastructure located on the subject site must be placed within an easement registered against the title of the property.
All easements must be designed in accordance with the planning scheme and granted at no cost to the Grantee.  Where the Grantee is Council or a service authority, the easement documentation must be in accordance with the Grantee’s standard easement terms.  Draft easement documentation must be submitted to Council for endorsement.
All works must be kept clear of any existing or proposed easements on the subject land, unless agreed otherwise in writing by the Grantee.
Earthworks and Retaining Walls
All fill and associated batters must be undertaken in accordance with an Operational Works approval, and contained entirely within the subject site unless written permission from the respective landowner(s) is provided to Council.
Damage to Services and Assets
Any damage caused to existing services and assets as a result of the development works must be repaired at no cost to the asset owner at the following times:
where the damage would cause a hazard to pedestrian or vehicle safety, immediately; or
where otherwise, upon completion of the works associated with the development.
Any repair work which proposes to alter the alignment or level of existing services and assets must first be referred to the relevant service authority for approval.
UNITYWATER
Important Advisory Note - The following Unitywater conditions are applied in accordance with the Chapter 4c, part 7 and sections 135 and 140(c) South East Queensland (Distribution and Retail) Restructuring Act 2009 and Unitywater’s Interim Connections Policy. The conditions below form part of a water connection aspect which are taken to be a water approval for a staged connection. You are entitled to appeal against the water connection aspects of this application in accordance with section 99BRAY and Chapter 4c, part 4, Divisions 1 and 2 of the South East Queensland (Distribution and Retail) Restructuring Act 2009. Unitywater can be contacted as follows:
Phone:  1300 0 Unity (1300 086 489)
Email:   [email protected]
Web:     www.unitywater.com.
Water Connections
Reticulated water must be provided to each lot in the development. This must include:
Ensuring that existing internal water pipes are wholly contained within the lot they will serve;
An approved water meter for each lot in accordance with Unitywater and SEQ Standard Drawings;
Provision of a water service from the existing 150 mm diameter water main that runs across the lot to service all proposed and future lots in accordance with Unitywater and SEQ Standard Drawings.
Tree plantings must maintain a minimum horizontal clearance of 1.0 metre from Unitywater water mains. Landscaping plants within these clearances must be low growing when mature and suitable Unitywater approved varieties.
Written approval to enter and construct must be obtained from the owners of properties through which external water mains will traverse. This must include approval for a 3 meter wide easement over the mains, and be submitted with lodgment of the associated development application for Operational Works.
Construction works undertaken in the vicinity of Unitywater water supply or sewerage infrastructure must not adversely affect the integrity of the infrastructure. All costs associated with repair, replacement or alteration of infrastructure must be met by the applicant.
ADVISORY NOTES
Building and Construction Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Levy
The QLeave levy must be paid prior to the issue of a development permit where it is required. Council will not be able to issue a Decision Notice without receipt of details that the Levy has been paid.  QLeave contact: 1800 803 481 (free call) or (07) 3212 6855.
Unitywater
Connection to the Unitywater live water supply and live sewerage system must be undertaken by Unitywater at the applicant’s cost.
B.	Apply the following property note to new Lot 2:
Building Envelope/s have been specified for this property for the construction of a house or any habitable buildings.  Details can be obtained from Council.
C.	Find the following are sufficient grounds sufficient to justify the decision despite the conflict with the planning scheme:
The smaller lot will contain a recently constructed house and modern effluent treatment system and has been demonstrated to be suitably sized for its use;
The development is consistent with the developed character of Edward Street; and
The development will not negatively impact on the residential amenity or village character of Cooran.

REPORT
PROPOSAL
The application seeks approval to Reconfigure a Lot to subdivide 1 lot into 2 and create an access easement. The existing lot to be subdivided is 1.894ha in size and the new lots are 1,176m2 and 1.778ha.  The proposed access easement over an adjacent lot (also owned by the applicant) will provide the new lots access to the site’s Edward Street frontage.  A copy of the proposal plan is included as Attachment 1.
site details
Background
In 2003 the applicant applied to realign the boundaries of 4 lots, which included the subject site (Council ref. 23033DA). The current Registered Plan for the site reflects the approved realignment.
In 2004 the applicant lodged 2 separate applications for Lot Reconfiguration in January 2004, being:
23703DA - Lot Reconfiguration to subdivide Lot 3 into 6 allotments and new road reserve (including a cul-de-sac).
23704DA - Lot Reconfiguration to subdivide Lot 2 into 5 allotments plus park.
These proposals were considered unsatisfactory by assessing officers and the applicant subsequently withdrew both applications.
In 2005 the applicant applied to subdivide the subject site into 9 allotments ranging in size from 1,558m2 to 3,948m2 (Council ref. 152005.416). Copy of proposal plan included as Attachment 2. Despite a lengthy assessment period, Council officers had a number of unresolved concerns with adequacy of building envelopes, flooding, noise, effluent disposal and other issues.  In June 2008 the applicant’s consultant requested the assessment be placed “on hold” indefinitely. Further discussions were held with the applicant but an amended proposal was never submitted.
Site Description
Existing Lot 2 (to be subdivided) is generally L-shaped but has irregular boundaries.  Its western boundary has been aligned to provide for a future road formation and cul-de-sac head. The lot extends from near the Edward Street frontage at the north of the site down to a rail underpass at James Street to the south. The site slopes moderately toward the southeast and is subject to flooding over much of the land near the James Street rail underpass frontage. The land is predominantly cleared with only a few scattered trees remaining. The area has reticulated water supply but is unsewered.
An existing house has been constructed toward the Edward Street frontage, which will be contained within proposed Lot 1 of the development. A recent aerial photograph of the site showing the new house is shown in Figure 1 below. A photograph of the new house is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 1 – Aerial Photo - Existing Lot 2 Highlighted, With New House Visible at its Northern End

Figure 2 – Existing House (Constructed 2010)
Surrounding Land Uses
Queensland Rail land abuts the site’s eastern boundary; with the North Coast rail tracks located about 15m from that boundary.
Development surrounding the site is almost exclusively detached housing.  Along Edward Street to the north lots mostly range in size between 860m2 – 1200m2.  Lots to the south and west, along James and Charles Streets are predominantly around 2ha in size and are also in the Detached Housing zone.  An extract of the zoning map for the area is included as Attachment 3.
assessment
Instruments for Statutory Assessment
Under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 the application must be assessed against each of the following statutory planning instruments to the extent they are relevant to the development:
State Planning Policies;
the South East Queensland Regional Plan;
State Planning Regulatory Provisions;
the Planning Scheme for the local government area; and
any Temporary Local Planning Instrument in place for the local government area.
Of these, the statutory planning instruments relevant to this application are discussed in the sections that follow.
State and Other Statutory Instruments
State Planning Policies
The following State Planning Policies are applicable to this application:
State Planning Policy 1/03: Mitigating the adverse impacts of flood, bushfire & Landslide.
The above State Planning Policy has been deemed by the Minister for Local Government and Planning as appropriately reflected in the Planning Scheme and therefore does not warrant a separate assessment.
South East Queensland (SEQ) Regional Plan 2009 - 2031
The site is located within the urban footprint area of the SEQ Regional Plan and the proposal is consistent with the regional policies of the Plan.
Statutory Instruments – Planning Scheme
The site is located in the Mary River Catchment Locality and is zoned Detached Housing.  A proposal to Reconfigure a Lot within the zone is required to follow a code assessable application process.
Mary River Catchment Locality Code
The Overall Outcomes sought for Cooran’s Detached Housing zone include:
8.8.2 r) For Cooran—
i. Cooran is retained as a small rural village with defined urban boundaries;
ii. The village character reflects both its timber getting heritage and its family orientated focus;
iii. The small scale character is derived from the maintenance of low density residential living on relatively large urban allotments and rural settlement allotments;
…
8.8.2 s) For the Detached Housing Zone—single detached housing prevails which maintains—
i. a low impact, low density development form of domestic scale;
ii. a high level of residential amenity;
iii. building styles befitting the character of the locality and which respond to, and are integrated with, site characteristics including slope and native vegetation; and
iv. landscaped settings consistent with the character of the locality;
The proposal is considered to generally meet these outcomes, with Lot 1 considered relatively large for a detached housing lot being larger than most lots in Edward Street and many in Cooran more broadly.  The issue of lot size is further assessed below.
Reconfiguring a Lot Code
The proposal has been assessed against the provisions of the Reconfiguring a Lot Code and raises some planning concerns discussed below.
Lot Size
In regard to lot size, Outcome O1 of the Code states:
O1 Lots have the appropriate area and dimensions to provide for—
a) the intended use and, if not intended to be used by the Council or State for community infrastructure, conservation purposes or public utilities including road widening are not less than the minimum sizes specified in Table 14-68; and
b) if for residential development—
i) a house site area of not less than that specified in Table 14-69; and
ii) if not within a sewerage service area, an effluent disposal area;
Table 14-68 lists a minimum lot size for the Detached House Zone within the Mary River Catchment Locality of 2,000m2 or 1,000m2 if connected to sewerage reticulation. This suggests that the additional 1,000m2 lot area is required to allow for onsite effluent disposal. Cooran is not sewered and the applicant acknowledges that proposed Lot 1, at 1,176m2, does not meet the required 2,000m2 minimum and submits the following in support of the proposal:
Proposed Lot 1 includes an area of 1164m2 which is deemed to be appropriate given that the lot already contains everything that it requires for detached housing including a House, an Effluent Disposal System, a clothes drying area, recreational space, a driveway and a parking area. It contains an average width of 25m.
This Lot is not connected to a sewerage reticulation system however it contains an effluent disposal system that is already in operation and does not require any additional area. Proposed Lot 1 includes 1164m2 of area which is greater than the area of the detached housing Lots on Edward Street which each include an area of less than 868m2 and are similar to Proposed Lot 1 because they also include an effluent disposal system. Proposed Lot 1 does not include any physical constraints and the lot is able to be fully utilised.
The applicant’s contention that proposed Lot 1 is suitably sized for the detached housing use is generally supported. The development differs from standard subdivision proposals in that a newly constructed house and advanced on-site effluent treatment system has already been constructed on the lot - removing the uncertainty about future development. The applicant provided a Field Service Report dated 5 May 2014 confirming the performance of the existing effluent system.  Council’s Senior Plumbing Inspector reviewed the Report and the application material and advises:
The Sewerage treatment system installed is “H20 Pure Plus” Advanced Secondary System with nutrient reduction, installed in 2010 and one of the better systems available on the market.  The Land Application disposal area for the lot is an above ground sprinkler system comprising of 270m2 of turfed area.  In the unlikely event of a total failure of the land application area, a 100% reserve area is set aside (See Figure 3 below). The constraint of Land Application area is that the area can only be used for the disposal of treated effluent.
Given that the proposed lot would be 1,176m2, and that the dwelling and land application area would occupy approximately 540m2 of land, then there will be approximately 636m2 of useable land remaining, Plumbing Services has no objection to the proposal.
Further discussions with Council’s Manager of Building and Plumbing indicate the installed system is of a very high standard and it is highly unlikely that the reserve area will ever be needed.  A reserve area is no longer a Council requirement of approvals for these systems due to their standards.  The additional 1,000m2 area included in The Noosa Plan when drafted 10 years ago was reflective of requirements at that time.  Council’s manager advises that advances in some current systems now provide for application areas significantly less than the 270m2 area required on this site.

Figure 3 – On –Site Sewage Layout
Council’s Senior Strategic Planner raised concerns with the precedent that may be set by the approval of this application and advised:
Allowing for new lots less than 2000m2 ahead of sewerage connection, could bring forward an additional 70 lots within the urban residential areas of Cooran (not including the subject site). This represents a 25% increase in dwelling numbers - depending on the ‘take up’ of subdivision potential. This is a significant increase for such a small town where people have specifically chosen this town for its small scale, low density character. Nonetheless, this increased population could occur any time in the future should sewerage be connected and has been accounted for in infrastructure planning.
Strategic Planning prefer that a decision on the application be held over until the issues of minimum lot size and density provisions for Cooran, and the commensurate effect on the village, are considered through comprehensive community consultation for a new planning scheme.
Council is obliged to decide the application and should refuse it if it cannot identify sufficient grounds for support.  Concern with the precedent of allowing smaller lots is acknowledged but it is important to consider that the subdivision potential of other detached housing lots of 2,000m2 or greater in Cooran would not be easily realised on most.  Many have an existing house constructed toward their street frontage (which constrains access to the rear) and/or could not lawfully build a second new house (with a modern effluent system) to demonstrate footprint needs prior to applying to subdivide, as is the case here.
Attachment 4 gives an indication of the distribution of lots greater than 2,000m2 in Cooran.  Other than the subject site, there are approximately 49 sites.  The attachment also provides an indication of the range of lot sizes of much of the existing areas detached housing lots.
On balance, it is considered the following are sufficient grounds to support this application, despite the conflict with the minimum lot size identified by the planning scheme:
The smaller lot will contain a recently constructed house and modern effluent treatment system and has been demonstrated to be suitably sized for its use.
The development is consistent with the developed character of Edward Street.
The development will not negatively impact on the residential amenity or village character of Cooran.
Rail Noise
The Reconfiguring a Lot Code prescribes an 80m setback distances for new lots from a rail corridor to reduce noise impacts on residents, alternatively noise modelling can be undertaken to demonstrate compliance with noise contour limits.  Balance lot 2 provides a house site area beyond 80m from the corridor and a condition is recommended accordingly.
Flooding
The lower part of the site is known to flood and the proposal plan includes a Q100 flood level.  Lot 1 is flood free and approximately half of the larger 1.778ha balance lot, Lot 2, is shown as flood free.  A condition is recommended requiring a drainage easement over this land to prohibit construction of dwellings in the flood area.
cONSULTATION
IDAS Referral Agencies
The application was referred to State Assessment & Referral Agency because the site is adjacent a rail transport corridor.  The Agency provided its concurrence response on 5 August 2014 stating it had no objection to the proposal.
Other Referrals
The application was forwarded to Unitywater and the following internal Council specialists:
Senior Development Engineer, Development Assessment
Senior Strategic Planner, Strategic Planning
Senior Plumbing Inspector, Building & Plumbing Services
Their assessments form part of this report.
conclusion
The application conflicts with planning scheme provisions for subdivision because it proposes a new detached housing lot less than the prescribed 2,000m2 minimum for the locality. The scheme provides for a 1,000m2 minimum where sewered, indicating the additional area is primarily to allow for onsite effluent disposal. The proposed lot contains a recently constructed house and effluent treatment area shown to be performing well and requiring a significantly smaller on-site application area. The lot is considered to be suitable for the intended use and consistent with the developed character of Edward Street and is recommended for approval.

Departments/Sections Consulted:
	Community Services	X	Planning & Infrastructure
	Disaster Management & Public Order	x	Building & Plumbing Services
	Waste & Environmental Health	x	DA Planning
	Community Facilities	x	Strategic Land Use Planning
	Cultural Facilities		Asset Design & Investigations
			Asset Planning
			Civil Operations
			Environment
	Executive Office		Corporate Services
	Community Engagement		Finance
	Customer Service		ICT
	Executive Support		Procurement & Fleet
	Governance		Property & Facilities
	Human Resources		Revenue Services

[word/footer1.xml]
Page 12 of 13

[word/header1.xml]
3

[word/header2.xml]
PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT	16 SEPTEMBER 2014

[Attachment: image3.png (image text)]
‘ vw
120 PURE PLUS
‘ADVANCED SECONDARY
‘SYSTEM WITH NUTRIENT

REDUCTION

 

 

43.412

==

6.
i
1
1
1

;PRINKLER DETAILS,

 

 

 

7 Wworsiig
\

7
~

vt

Yo

: i i

PROPOSED'HOUSE |

SITE (16m x 20m)

Ro !

20,000

 

 

 

 

 

SITE AREA

Seager?

“ue 76 a M12

DISPOSAL AREA = 269.50sq/m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESERVE AREA = 269.50sq/m

 

 

8.000 15,000 1.5004 9,306 x ——2306 2.0004

ONSITE SEWAGE DESIGN
€ : NEBLOCKS}

 

 

LOT 2 EDWARD STREET, SNGLELOT SEMAGE  Shemcrenooe >
COORAN DESIGN qwotcarve omy)
(6LoTS) Peal

MR, G HUBA " i
right as rain!