City Plan changes: What it means for your suburbs in targeted growth areas
Councillors have unanimously ticked off on City Plan changes which will decrease the amount of planned growth in targeted suburbs along the Glitter Strip.
Council
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THE Gold Coast City Council has halted plans for massive population growth in targeted suburbs, almost halving its forecast after a backlash from residents.
Councillors unanimously approved City Plan changes at a planning committee meeting on Thursday, slashing growth targets in Biggera Waters, Southport West and Labrador by 41 per cent.
The decision will be welcomed by residents but puts enormous pressure on the council to meet the State Government’s Shaping SEQ plan of accommodating an extra 158,000 dwellings by 2041.
Under the plan, both Biggera Waters and Labrador would each have had a population of more than 16,000.
Council sources suggest that for the government to meet its original population target it must consider opening up the city’s urban footprint, allowing development in rural areas like Tallebudgera or the canelands in the north.
Unless requiring further adjustments after community consultation, the final City Plan changes
will be sent to the government by Mayor Tom Tate and council CEO Dale Dickson. They should be signed off “before the end of the year”.
Council planners explained the City Plan consultation led to investigation of 48 “sub areas” (several blocks of streets) in the three targeted suburbs. Thirty four of those areas were reviewed for building heights and site coverage.
After the second round of community consultation, a council planning review reduced the future population growth for those areas by 25 per cent.
Round four of consultation led to a further 22 per cent cut or 2000 fewer dwellings.
“There is approximately a 41 per cent reduction in planning dwellings for that area from what was originally intended,” the officer said.
Councillors did not discuss any options for further potential land sites to make up for the decrease in development.
Cr Mark Hammel last week called for more research into land use in the city’s north.
In questions to officers during the debate, Southport councillor Brooke Patterson said it appeared “rightly or wrongly” that some residents had concerns about the consultation process not working for them.
Committee planning chair Cameron Caldwell strongly defended the consultation program, which will include a further round from March 9 to April 8.
“Anyone can come in and speak to the planners on those questions and ask them the most simplistic or complex question and it will be answered through expert independent officer advice,” he said.
“And there’s no need for anyone to feel they are bewildered or overwhelmed by the information. You can come in and talk it through. We can and will get to the end point of their concern.”
Cr Patterson told the Bulletin: “The director conceded that engaging closely with the community at the start of the process is something they would make sure happens next time.”
The council also announced community consultation was now open for the 2021-22 budget.
Mayor Tate said in a media statement: “Last year we took a ‘back to basics’ approach to our budget to protect residents and businesses in a pandemic affected year.
“I encourage all members of our community to take the time to have their say this year as we were unable to conduct our usual consultation last year due to COVID-19.”
Community consultation will be open until 5pm February 28.
EARLIER:
COMMUNITY group leaders are demanding stronger consultation on the City Plan changes about building heights and light rail on the Gold Coast.
Some groups have employed planners for a deep dive into hundreds of pages of recommendations provided in a report to be discussed by the council’s planning committee on Thursday.
The amendments called Our City Our Plan started in 2016 and sparked three rounds of consultation in 2019 and 2020 in which residents at packed meetings protested about height increases at Labrador, Biggera Waters, Southport and Palm Beach.
After several hours of analysing the latest update, a planner told a community leader: “They’re (the council) baffling us with bull …”
Several community leaders have contacted council asking for wider consultation.
“The report is very muddling. They (some planners) think deliberately so. It’s hard to make head or tail about it. The lay person cannot understand it,” a community leader said.
The mapping in the latest reports show the consistent opposition among Biggera Waters residents to taller towers.
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Community Alliance leader John Hicks has written to councillors at the committee asking them to agree to what he calls a standard of consultation required by the legislation.
Council have invited residents to a “have your say” page, make a submission to a City Plan portal, talk to planners at sessions and email or call.
Planning committee chair Cameron Caldwell told the Bulletin: “City Plan amendment 2 and 3 package has benefited from the highest levels of community consultation ever seen in a planning process.
“Council has listened to community input and responded accordingly. If endorsed by council, the next round of revised changes will be advertised for a fourth time in response to previous community feedback.
“Council has exceeded consultation benchmarks imposed by the State Government. All residents are encouraged to participate in the next round of consultation.”
Mr Hicks voiced concerns about the lack of future public meetings.
He said the agenda papers contained a large and complex set of amendments.
“The changes contained in the amendment 2 and 3 package will impact on the residential and
working amenity of citizens for many years to come,” Mr Hicks said.
“It is only reasonable that those affected by these changes should have the maximum opportunity to receive information and to discuss issues with both planning officers and their elected representatives.”
Mr Hicks said a year had passed since public meetings were held in December 2019 and the community should be”brought back up to speed with insightful briefings”.
He told the Bulletin his concern was the council had nominated the “consult” level, while fully aware the “involve/collaborate” level was recommended for its proposed changes which carry such high impact on the community.
The involve level requires council “to work directly with the public”.
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