Touching roofs, anger over drug clinics, crematorium prompt Logan planning review

Two houses built so close together their roofs touched, a drug clinic in the heart of a business district and a crematorium overlooking an old people’s home have forced a southeast council to review its planning laws.

How close can you get? The roofs of these two houses at Holmview are touching.

TWO houses on blocks so small their roofs touched and a methadone clinic in the heart of a business district and have forced a southeast council to review its planning laws.

BEENLEIGH DRUG WAR

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Logan City Council called for the review following an outpouring of complaints from residents about units being squashed on to tiny blocks and inappropriate businesses being located near houses and schools.

Outrage spiked last year when a crematorium was built metres from an aged care home at Bethania.

Bethania residents angry that a crematorium was built in sight from their aged care home.

The planning laws were changed to prevent a similar situation but were unable to stop the crematorium being built on High Rd.

Homeowner Nina Austin fuelled the debate when she complained the gutters from a house built next to hers in Holmview were touching her own.

Sardine cities … the two houses after the gutter was pared back to the one on the right.

She moved into her new home in June last year and to her dismay found within six months the council had approved another building less that 30cm from her wall.

“This impacts our future, our property, our privacy, our lives every day,” she said.

“Who would ever buy a home like this?

“The gutters were pushing ours. When I put in a complaint, it was finally inched back by millimetres.”

Her complaint about lot sizes and inappropriate planning laws will be part of the council review along with overhauling rules governing where drug clinics can operate.

Beenleigh CBD businesses joined forces this year to call for a drug and alcohol clinic to be moved away from shops and schools.

Beenleigh jeweller Natalia Tormasi said clinics for drug addicts should not be in busy shopping centres and the council needed to change the planning zoning.

Natalia Tormasi from Tormasi Jewellers is one of the local businesses in Beenleigh angry about a drug and alcohol addiction clinic on City Rd, Beenleigh. AAP Image/Renae Droop

“We are not against drug clinics but we are against drug addicts wandering around our shops and scaring our customers,” she said.

“Drug clinics need special zonings to protect the public and the patients.”

At yesterday’s full council meeting, mayor Darren Power said told all 12 councillors they would be interviewed about what they wanted changed in the planning scheme in an effort to nip in the bud any opposition.

He said laws governing where drug clinics could operate would be given special attention when changes to the laws were being drafted.

Mayor Darren Power said a planning scheme review would focus on laws for drug addiction clinics.

“The last thing I want to see is councillors voting against the planning scheme, which is not a good look and also divides the council,” he said.

“I am aware there will be constraints with state planning policy … but this will give councillors the ability to lobby the state if their residents are not happy with state planning provisions.”

Logan Ratepayer’s Association president Rod Shaw welcomed the planning review and said the touching roofs was a classic example of incompetent council planning.

“The council employee who approved this development must be morally bankrupt and devoid of any ethical standards,” he said.

“Increasing the minimum block size will obviate such appalling decisions which have a detrimental effect on the mental health and general wellbeing of the community.

“The ‘Sardine Cities’ being created will generate more ‘heat islands’ like those already in place in the State Government priority development projects.”