Delegated Report - Code - Planning MCU13 0030.03

APPLICATION FOR A MINOR CHANGE TO A DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL
Author	Senior Development Planner, Andrew Gaffney
Development Assessment

APPLICATION DETAILS
Application No.	MCU13/0030.04
Development Approval	Residential Care Facility
Applicant	Noosacare Inc
Request Received On	26 March 2026
Report Reviewed By	G.Schramm 4.06.2026
Decision Due Date	30 May 2026

PROPERTY DETAILS
Property Address	20 Topaz St Cooroy Qld 4563
RP Description	Lot 102 SP 236318
Land Area	1.82ha
Existing Use of Land	Residential Care Facility

STATUTORY DETAILS
SEQRP Designation	Urban Footprint
Zone	Community Facilities (Residential Care Facility)
Precinct	Not Applicable
Local Area Plan	Cooroy Local Plan Code
Overlays	Biodiversity Waterways and Wetland Overlay Bushfire Hazard Overlay(Potential Impact Buffer)
Assessment Type	Minor Change to Approval

PROPOSAL
The application seeks a minor change to the existing development approval for a Residential Care Facility at 20 Topaz Street, Cooroy.
The proposed development comprises alterations to the easternmost building fronting Miva Street within an area currently used as a sitting room, café/kitchen and roofed verandah.
The proposal involves conversion of the existing café/kitchen area and part of the verandah to provide two additional single ensuite rooms (see Figure 3).
A portion of the existing verandah adjoining the sitting room is to be retained for communal use, and the existing ramp is to remain to preserve equitable access to that common area.
The works result in an additional 14m² of gross floor area (GFA) and a corresponding reduction in unenclosed outdoor verandah .  The minor area of verahdah infill is not highly visible from Miva Street.
The proposal increases the total number of single ensuite rooms on the site from 92 to 94, which remains within the approved maximum of 96 rooms.
Existing on-site parking is also retained at a level exceeding the approved requirement.

Figure 1 – Locality

Figure 2 – Site Plan

Figure 3 – Floor Plan

Figure 4 – Elevations
background
A Negotiated Decision Notice for a Development Permit for Material Change of Use - Multiple Housing Type 3 - Retirement and Special Needs was issued on 24 June 2013.
The approval included additional beds taking the overall site total to 94 beds within 3 stages including:
Stage 1 – Extensions to existing building A (8 additional beds);
Stage 2 – Demolition of existing building C and replacement with new building (32 beds) totalling 12 additional beds; and
Stage 3 – Internal alterations to existing buildings A and B (3 additional beds).
A copy of the existing approved plan is included below.

A change to the existing approval was issued on 26 June 2015. The change to the existing approval sought to improve the operational functionality and security of the facility including:

A minor change to the layout/shape of the new buildings and how it connects to the existing building.
Expansion and minor change to layout of the carpark to provide additional off street carparking for staff.
Consolidation of entrances to Miva Street. The primary purpose of this entry consolidation is to improve the security of the facility including the removal of part of the Topaz Street drive through driveway and replacement with landscaping. The remaining Topaz Street driveway entrance will only be for staff and emergency vehicle access.
New reception area within the existing veranda entrance fronting the Miva Street entry driveway.
Extension of existing Topaz Street Portico roofing and conversion of part of area to a screened veranda for resident use and part to a covered ambulance bay.
Roofing over existing bin area at the Topaz Street frontage.

A copy of the proposed plan is included below:

On 27 September 2016, Council issued an approval for a Minor Change to facilitate minor additional building works and renovations. The approved changes included:
New kitchen at ground level replacing existing covered area with existing kitchen converted to storage area;
A new covered walkway from the existing carparking area to building for weather protection;
A new delivery/loading zone which includes dedicated delivery to the kitchen. The loading zone will replace two existing carparks, however the provision of car spaces minus those deleted for the loading bays still exceed the rate required by condition 20 of the original approval.
22 Janurary 2022 – Development Approval MCU13/0030.03 for an ‘Other Change’ for a Residential care facility.
The application sought to demolish the existing “Kauri Lodge” building fronting Topaz Street and include a new purpose-built, two-storey care facility in a similar location.
Facilitated an increase in capacity, delivering an additional 12 beds and bringing the total to 96 single ensuite rooms across the site.
Included a building with:
Upper ground level – resident rooms, dining and communal areas
Lower ground level – staff areas, storage, office and ancillary facilities
Maintained a 6m setback to Topaz Street and integrated with the existing facility layout
Also addressed functional and operational upgrades, including updated internal layout, access and supporting facilities
Overall, the other change represented a substantial redevelopment and expansion component of the facility, replacing outdated buildings with a modern care facility.
Instruments for Statutory Assessment
Under the Planning Act 2016 the application must be assessed against each of the following statutory planning instruments to the extent they are relevant to the development:
State Planning Policy;
South East Queensland Regional Plan;
Planning Regulation 2017; and
Noosa Plan 2020 (Amendment 3 – 20 March 2026).
Statutory Process
The applicant has requested to make a minor change to a development approval under s78 of the Planning Act 2016. An application for a minor change to a development approval can only be made in circumstances where a change would constitute a ‘minor change’.
The proposed change to the development approval requested by the applicant is determined to constitute a minor change on the grounds that:
the development would not result in substantially different development as the proposal does not:
involve a new use; or
result in the application applying to a new parcel of land; or
dramatically change the built form in terms of scale, bulk and appearance; or
change the ability of the proposed development to operate as intended; or
remove a component that is integral to the operation of the development; or
significantly impact on traffic flow and the transport network, such as increasing traffic to the site; or
introduce new impacts or increase the severity of known impacts; or
remove an incentive or offset component that would have balanced a negative impact of the development; or
impact on infrastructure provisions.
the change does not include prohibited development;
the change would not require the application to be referred to an additional referral agency or cause a referral agency to have regard to new matters prescribed by regulation;
where the original application was code assessable, the change would not cause the application to become impact assessable.
Statutory Instruments – Planning Scheme
The original application was lodged and assessed under the now superseded 2006 Noosa Plan planning scheme. Pursuant to s81 of the Planning Act 2017, Council must consider the planning scheme in effect when the original development application was lodged, however Council may give weight to Noosa Plan 2020 as the planning scheme in effect at the time of the minor change application being lodged.
The following codes from Noosa Plan 2020 are applicable to this development:
Community Facilities (Residential Care Facility) Zone Code;
Cooroy Local Plan Code;
Community Facilities use Code;
Works Codes.

Driveways and Parking Code
Under Table 9.4.1.4 of the Noosa Plan 2020 Driveways and Parking Code, a Residential Care Facility requires 1 car parking space per 4 residential care beds and one space for an emergency vehicle.  The car parking rate remains the same between the 2006 Noosa Plan and current scheme. The existing approval required a minimum of 24 car parking spaces to be provided on site under Condition 15 of Decision Notice MCU13/0030.03.
24 onsite spaces provides for an equivalent total of 96 beds.  The applicant has advised that the current facility accommodates 92 beds only and that the additional 2 beds as proposed by this application is in accordance with the current onsite provision.
Council had concerns regarding the number of on-site parking spaces, as the material originally submitted did not clearly outline the total onsite parking supply available across the site.
In response, the applicant has provided updated proposal plans and advice stating that the site contains;
35 standard parking spaces and
2 disabled parking spaces, being a total of 37 spaces.
The existing site carparking provision demonstrates compliance with the approved parking requirement and the relevant outcomes of the Driveways and Parking Code, particularly PO6 and AO6.1.
Cooroy Local Plan
The proposal complies with the intent of the Cooroy Local Plan Code as it is a modest alteration to an existing approved Residential Care Facility, does not introduce a new use, and does not materially alter the established role of the site.
The building works are predominately contained inside the established eastern building, so the proposal is generally consistent with the local plan intent for community-based facilities.
The proposal is capable of maintaining the existing streetscape presentation and does not appear to undermine the traditional country town character outcomes sought by the Cooroy local plan code.

Existing Condition 2
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
DA0.01	-	Cover Sheet, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA1.01	-	Site Plan, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA2.01	-	Proposed Upper Ground Plan, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA2.02	-	Proposed Lower Ground Plan, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA2.03	-	Proposed Upper Ground GFA Plan, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA2.04	-	Proposed Lower Ground GFA Plan, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA2.05	-	Proposed Roof Plan, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA3.01	-	Elevations, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA3.02	-	Elevations, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA4.01	-	Site Sections, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
DA4.02	-	3D Perspective Views, drawn by Middap Architecture	15/11/2021
Applicant’s Request
The applicant seeks that existing condition 2 be amended to include the amended plans.
Assessment of Request
For this application only a portion of the eastern building fronting Miva Street is intended to be modified to accommodate the additional two units and therefore the Applicant’s request to amended condition 2 is denied, with a more appropriate application pathway to include amended plans as an additional condition to the approval.
Recommendation
Refuse the request to amend condition 2, and include additional Condition 38 to read as follows:
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
2142 SD01	B	Cover Page prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	27/04/2026
2142 SD05	A	SITE PLAN prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	27/04/2026
2142 SD02	A	EXIST. COND/DEMO PLAN prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	23/03/2026
2142 SD03	A	FLOOR PLAN prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	23/03/2026
2142 SD04	A	ELEVATIONS prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	23/03/2026

cONSULTATION
Referral Agencies
Not applicable
Internal Council Referrals
Not applicable
conclusion & reasons for decision
The proposed development generally complies with the requirements of the planning scheme and does not raise any significant issues that cannot be addressed by reasonable and relevant conditions. The application is therefore recommended for approval.
The report is provided in accordance with Section 83(9) of the Planning Act 2016.
RECOMMENDATION
With regard to Application No. MCU13/0030.04 to make a minor change to an existing approval for  a Minor Change request to a Residential Care Facility situated at Kabara 20 Topaz St Cooroy Qld 4563  and described as Lot 102 SP 236318, Council on 4 June 2026 decided to:
Approve the change in part only.
Refuse to amend condition 2 for the following reasons:
The proposed change is more appropriately addressed as an additional condition of approval relevant to the changed area of the building.
Include the following additional condition 38:
Additional Conditions – 4 June 2026 – MCU13/0030.04
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
2142 SD01	B	Cover Page prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	27/04/2026
2142 SD05	A	Site Plan prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	27/04/2026
2142 SD02	A	Exist. Cond/Demo Plan prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	23/03/2026
2142 SD03	A	Floor Plan prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	23/03/2026
2142 SD04	A	Elevations prepared by Kristen Sirl Design	23/03/2026

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