Pressure on councillors to reverse decision on special delegation for $30m projects

Community groups have urged six rebel councillors to overturn controversial planning reforms that allow the fast-tracking of $30m-plus developments.

Community groups have reached out to rebel councillors asking them to overturn a City decision which allows fast tracking of major projects worth more than $30 million.

Gecko has written to six councillors – Peter Young, Naomi Fowler, Donna Gates, Brooke Patterson, Dan Doran and Josh Martin – who voted against the planning reforms and asked them to put up a rescission motion at the next full council meeting.\

Under the changes, Mayor Tom Tate, Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel, CEO Tim Baker and the City’s most senior planning officer when council is in recess form a special delegation to make a call on “Major Assessments” (MAs).

The decision means that no major assessment application will ever come before Planning committee if the divisional councillor is satisfied with the officer report and if no other councillor makes a request to bring it to committee.

“We consider that his motion reduces transparency and accountability of decision making and is contrary to the required duties of councillors as set out in the Local Government Act,” Gecko vice president Lois Levy said.

Lois Levy from Gecko sees planning changes as reducing transparency. Picture: Jerad Williams.

In an email to the City CEO, Ms Levy said her members believed the changes would see a “reduction in transparency and accountability” required under the Local Government Act.

The decision to submit an MA to the Planning committee now rested with the opinion of the area councillor where the project was to be built, she said.

“Such matters may well impact on other divisions,” Ms Levy said.

The Local Government Act required councillors to represent the current and future interests of

the residents of “the local government area”, which meant they covered the entire city.

An MA could be any project costing more than $30 million and include “a quarry, a housing development in an area of high biodiversity, cruise terminal or cableway”.

“Why have 14 councillors if they could be excluded from important decisions,” Ms Levy said.

Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel maintains that special delegation is a rarely used option which has been in place for a decade.

Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel with Mayor Tom Tate — he believes the planning reforms will fast track developments which need to be ticked off and meet conditions, reducing costs for both developers and buyers. Picture: Andrew Potts.

But Community Alliance president John Hicks in his petition to council calls on councillors to reconsider and rescind the motion.

He said all MAs should go to a full council meeting for a debate and vote.

“These decisions relate to some of the biggest development projects in the city. Recent

examples include the Wave Pool at Parkwood Golf Course, Harbour Shores at Biggera Waters, Mariner’s Cove at Main Beach and Boral quarry at Reedy Creek,” he said.

Community Alliance president John Hicks — he has started a petition. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

“These are big, high-consequence decisions for the whole city and as such it is vital they always be deliberated by all councillors at a full council meeting, following planning committee consideration.”

Wildlife Queensland Gold Coast branch leader Sally Spain has questioned Mr Hammel’s argument that the special delegation process had been improved.

All councillors would now be consulted on any MA, and sent a copy of the officer’s report ahead of any decision being made under special delegation, which did not occur previously.

Ms Spain said it was only by request from a councillor that an MA went back to committee.

She said council’s meeting planner showed quite a large tract of the year involved in civic duties or holidays, not engaged in regular pattern of council meetings.

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