Whitsunday Regional Council to decide Woodwark Crescent Cannonvale holiday rental Airbnb application

Community leaders have had their say on a holiday rental with a reputation for ‘excessive drinking, foul language, and loud music’ but the issues are far from resolved.

A decision on a controversial Whitsunday holiday home remains in limbo with community leaders saying they need more time to “workshop” their approach to short term accommodation proposals going forward.

Dr Graham Turner and Fiona Turner’s application to rent out a five-bedroom Cannonvale house for short stays to groups of up to eight people has been deferred a second time.

It comes as Whitsunday Regional Council plans further discussions about its existing policies and how these relate to neighbours’ complaints about offensive behaviour at the house.

Six out of seven councillors at the September 22 meeting at Collinsville voted to let the application lie on the table pending meetings with objecting Woodwark Crescent neighbours as well as other Whitsunday residents with experience living near holiday rentals.

The owners of 13 Woodwark Crescent, Cannonvale want to rent it out for short stays to groups of up to eight people, but neighbours say that kind of activity is not welcome. Picture: Realestate.com.au

Mayor Andrew Willcox said councillors had heard plenty from the proponents’ side but were yet to meet with opponents to hear their concerns, including reports of “excessive drinking, foul language, and loud music”, in more detail.

“We’ve heard one side (of the) story – I would really like the other side as well to make a fully informed decision,” Cr Willcox said.

“I’d like the time to develop better guidelines about what we’re going to do and come up with a better way of managing these things for those who want peace and relaxation in one sort of area and others who want a busier area.

“And if we have people playing up, what are we going to do with them and what mechanisms will we have in place?”

Cr Jan Clifford, who has spoken strongly against the Cannonvale proposal in the past, said it was “through no fault of their own” the Turners’ application had “fallen through the cracks” at a time the council was rethinking policies it “need[ed] to get right”.

Neighbours objecting to the proposal reported witnessing ‘incessant’ parties and guests ‘urinating off balconies’ at the house. Picture: Realestate.com.au

Cr Michelle Wright agreed there were “holes” in the existing policies and it was wise to hold off on a decision “until that policy’s strengthened”.

Cr Gary Simpson said he wanted “a lot more discussion of this” and said there was a “fair argument” not to approve the proposal – for a low density area, with residential properties on three sides – as it stood.

Cr Al Grundy said the council needed to strike a balance between the region’s “tourism zones” and “zones where we’re going to live”, and proposed adopting a system similar to Noosa’s where a dedicated council committee “works through” short term accommodation proposals before they come to a public meeting for a vote.

“We’re going to get this creep, with more houses turning into business premises, and we need to get the frameworks right,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t had the opportunity to fully workshop it before it’s come back on the agenda.

“We want to park this until we’ve been through that process.”

The council is taking its time to consider how to protect the peace and quiet of residential areas while facilitating short term accommodation proposals. Picture: Realestate.com.au

Development Services Director Neil McGaffin said the council’s failure to determine the application within the statutory time frame, which ends this week, would put the proponents “at liberty to launch an appeal”.

Mr McGaffin expected they would hold off on doing so and treat the situation as an “extension” if the council could provide an indication of when a decision would be coming, however he recommended against any further delays.

“The difficulty is, it may take some time to organise those discussions with people who’ve had concerns in past about short term accommodation and it may also take time to workshop those guidelines,” he said.

“We need to deal with this under the provisions of the planning scheme, and this proposal complies with planning scheme and what we've got in there in terms of short term accommodation.

“There has been discussions about making changes to the planning scheme but we’re a long way off before they’re implemented.

“Basically, the issue is this has come in that in-between period.”

Cr John Collins was the one councillor to vote against the deferral but did not speak on the matter.

D-Day looms for Whitsunday ‘party house’ decision

The official recommendation from council planner James McEvoy-Bowe ahead of the Wednesday meeting was to approve the application, subject to conditions, as it was “generally in accordance with the planning scheme”.

Mr McEvoy-Bowe’s report stated “All necessary information has been provided for assessment, which has demonstrated compliance with the relevant planning provisions”.

The recommendation came after councillors deferred a decision on the application at an August 11 meeting, asking for extra time to review existing planning scheme and policies around short-term accommodation in light of neighbours’ claims of “incessant” parties, potential parking headaches, safety issues, and “unacceptable behaviour” such as people “urinating off balconies” at the property in question.

Division 1 Cr Jan Clifford and Division 2 Cr Al Grundy were particularly concerned at the time about the Cannonvale application as part of a growing number of short-term accommodation proposals for the Whitsunday region, with Cr Grundy linking the trend to the housing crisis.

Deputy Mayor Cr Mike Brunker argued it would be unfair to single out one application for refusal, calling for a consistent approach even if that meant “knocking them [applications] all over and not accepting another one at the table”.

The proposed holiday rental is in a ow density area, with residential properties on three sides. Picture: Realestate.com.au

Several submissions during the public notification period claimed the five-bedroom Woodwark Crescent house was already being used “illegally” to accommodate large groups of guests, with neighbours reportedly witnessing “excessive drinking, foul language, and loud music by the temporary residents who do not have a concern for the full-time residents”.

Property owners Dr Graham Turner and Mrs Fiona Turner responded to concerns with a letter listing measures they had taken to ensure rentals only by clientele “suitable for the location”, including placing an age restriction on group bookings and marketing targeted towards families.

Property managers Whitsunday Holiday Rentals also provided a detailed response, stating “Our objective is to nurture and preserve tourism while ensuring everyone enjoys and feels comfortable where they live”.

Development Services Director Neil McGaffin told the August meeting the council could “have no expectation of success” should the property owner appeal a refusal.