Noosa Council DA process a waste of taxpayers’ money, says developer

A developer claims the Noosa Council will waste taxpayers’ money fighting his application in court following a knockback on a Sunrise Beach build. Vote in our poll.

A Brisbane developer has hit back at the Noosa Council’s development application assessment process and claims it needs an overhaul following the rejection of a Sunrise Beach build.

Primo Property development manager Christopher Ferraro said he intends to take the council refusal to the Planning and Environment Court on August 31, 2022.

“They (council) need to be called out, there needs to be a whole review of how they assess applications and what goes to court and what doesn’t,” he said.

“It’s not fair and reasonable that this is now going to P and E.”

The Noosa Council has knocked back an application to build this duplex at 6 Margit Cres, Sunrise Beach. Picture: Contributed

The developer said the application to build a duplex at 6 Margit Cres, Sunrise Beach, was aimed at housing downsizers or young families.

He said those people were affected most by the current housing shortage in the Noosa region.

The rear of a planned property at 6 Margit Cres, Sunrise Beach, which was rejected by the Noosa Council. Picture: Contributed

Mr Ferraro said the council would waste taxpayers’ money fighting the application in the court.

“This money could be better spent for the benefit of the public,” he said.

“Go spend the money on upgrading a boat ramp or building a swing set for the community to enjoy.”

Mr Ferraro said the duplex that was refused was an architecturally-designed proposal in response to its coastal setting.

“I’m all for keeping the character and integrity of Noosa and that’s what we’re doing here,” he said.

A developer’s duplex proposal for this site was knocked back by the Noosa Council. Picture: Patrick Woods.

The development manager said the reasons for refusal were subjective.

“They’ve given us an engineering refusal on an item they provided a solution for - how ridiculous is that?” Mr Ferraro said.

Other duplexes surround 6 Margit Cres in Sunrise Beach. Picture: Patrick Woods.

The developer said the existing dwelling on the land, which was already zoned for a duplex, had a Spanish facade that did not reflect the “Noosa” look.

Development assessment manager Kerri Coyle said the council refused the duplex application due to non-compliance with the planning scheme’s requirements.

“The proposal exceeds the maximum site coverage, provides insufficient articulation of the building to the streetscape, and overuses repetitive design elements,” Ms Coyle said.

“The proposed stormwater design is intricate and not the most practical or cost-effective and has a significant potential to fail and consequently impact the system’s overall ability to function as intended.”

The existing dwelling at 6 Margit Cres, Sunrise Beach. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Ms Coyle said the two proposed units each included a double garage, three bedrooms, a downstairs living area and large patio and pool area with a multi-purpose room located on the upper level.

“The proposed units are not small dwelling units and will not contribute to the affordable housing that is needed in the shire,” she said.

“Unfortunately, this is the second time council has refused an application by this developer for non-compliance with the Noosa Plan 2020, with the last appeal settled by council but only after the plans were amended to fully comply with Noosa’s planning scheme.”

Ms Coyle said Noosa’s planning scheme sought to maintain residents’ lifestyle and protect the area’s character and environment while ensuring the community’s needs were met.

Mr Ferraro said the Sunrise Beach proposal did have a plot ratio that was encompassed in the 2006 Noosa plan, by which many of the surrounding duplexes were built, and was superseded by the 2020 planning scheme.

“And Ms Coyle is correct, we’ve had a run-in with the Noosa Council before but that development was more contentious because of the bulk and scale of the proposal,” he said.

“We worked through with council and we came to an agreement that they approved.

“That proposal was for 11 Margit Cres, which had many similarities to the current proposal at 6 Margit Cres.”

The development manager said the site cover for the current proposal did comply with the scheme.

He said buyers did not want to live in “shoeboxes” and wanted light-filled, generous-sized bedrooms, living spaces and entertaining areas and that spoke to a broader market demographic.

The development manager said market desires along with building and construction constraints were all factored into the end product.

Originally published as Noosa Council DA process a waste of taxpayers’ money, says developer