New City Plan enables more units at 7-11 Fernbourne Road
A property developer will gain significant benefits from the new Redland City Plan, by resubmitting their application for an apartment complex at 7-11 Fernbourne Road, Wellington Point.
New planning rules which commenced on 8 October 2018 are likely to allow for at least 15% more apartments to be built on this site. It’s an increase from 39 units which were approved conditionally, to 45 units which can now be approved without public consultation.
Development application MCU013782 for 41 units at 7-11 Fernbourne Road in Wellington Point was lodged on 22 July 2016. During the assessment process the developer revised the proposed number of units down to 39.
Under the previous planning scheme this application was ‘impact assessable’. This gave the community a chance to comment on the proposed development.
The proposal was advertised publicly and attracted 363 responses (submissions and petition signatures) expressing various concerns about the developer’s plans.
At the Council’s general meeting of 9 May 2018, officers recommended approval of the full 39 units applied for.
Councillors discussed the application at great length in public and considered refusing approval. Then the meeting was adjourned for councillors to have a fifteen minute informal non-public discussion. When the public meeting reconvened, councillors voted unanimously to approve the application with conditions that the developer must:
- Reduce the bulk and scale of the apartment buildings
- Provide more communal open space areas at ground level
- Amend the design to suit the area’s streetscape and character.
You can hear what councillors had to say during this council meeting (the public bits) on the meeting video recording (from 43:24 to 1:24:14) .
The lengthy debate included discussion about the proposed development being in conflict with (three) specific outcomes and (two) overall outcomes required by the Planning Scheme which was applicable at the time.
In response to this ‘haircut’ decision, the developer appealed to the Planning and Environment Court on 11th June 2018. Apart from a “without prejudice” meeting between the developer and the Council on 19 July, the appeal does not appear to have been pursued actively.
But there was no need for the developer to spend money appealing Council’s decision because on 6th July Council approved the new developer friendly Redland City Plan.
Developer friendly City Plan
A new development application for 45 apartments at 7-11 Fernbourne Road MCU18/0269 was lodged on 23 November 2018.
The new development application is ‘code assessable’ under the new City Plan, so the developer does not have to advertise this medium density project for public consultation. And outcomes required under the old Planning Scheme have disappeared, so it’s much easier to get approval.
It’s a win win result for the developer: a higher yield (six more apartments) for less effort (no need for public consultation).
The Fernbourne Road apartments project shows very clearly how Redlands’ new City Plan favours property developers and reduces the community’s rights to be consulted about issues such as visual amenity, traffic congestion and environmental impacts.
There are no surprises here. A detailed assessment of how much easier it would be for a developer to get more units with less consultation onto this site under the proposed Draft City Plan was published by Redlands2030 back in in December 2016.
Work on the new developer friendly City Plan was initiated by Redland City Council in 2013, during Karen Williams’ first term as Mayor. Cr Julie Talty, responsible for the “City Planning and Assessment” portfolio, also had a significant role in shaping the Plan.
The Draft Plan was developed secretively by the Council. Stakeholder engagement was limited to clandestine discussions with selected developers through DIRG, the Development Industry Reference Group.
When the Draft Plan was finally put out for public consultation in September 2015 it attracted huge opposition from the community including 5,000 submissions.
After elections in March 2016, the newly elected councillors decided to ignore community opposition and suggestions that the planning process be re-started. Instead, they decided to take the Draft Plan forward for detailed assessment including review by the State Government.
On 6 July 2018 councillors voted 9/2 to adopt the new Redland City Plan.
The motion to support the new City Plan was supported by nine councillors: Karen Williams, Peter Mitchell, Paul Gollè, Lance Hewlett, Mark Edwards, Julie Talty, Murray Elliott, Tracey Huges and Paul Gleeson.
Two councillors voted against the plan: Wendy Boglary and Paul Bishop
The next local council elections are on 28 March 2020, just over a year away.
Petition for better planning laws
The planning process in Queensland has been altered over many years by both major parties to favour developers’ interests over community interests.
Redlands2030 and other community groups in south east Queensland are asking community members to sign and share a petition for our planning laws to be reviewed and improved, to put community interests first.
Redlands2030 – 20 January 2019
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
One Comment
Nothing changes it seems. Give an inch and they take a yard….always conditions attached. Are they adhered to? State government politicians were involved in the approvals of six 6-storey apartment buildings that were ‘code assessable’ on now congested cnr Redland Bay/Moreton Bay/Mt Cotton Rds adjacent to Capalaba Park shops opposite homes separated by fence on Mt Cotton Rd and Charles Winter Memorial Park, taken from locals today unused with empty caravan/demountable still on perimeter needing removal so local families can use the park again instead of running scared that drug addicted social misfits will take over the facility. So far, one apt bldg. has been built and some 40+ town houses? are in process of being built. Capalaba roads in CBD are buckling under weight of increased traffic flows that may all too soon be in gridlock in the a.m. and p.m. rush hour. All sides of government should seriously work towards increasing fast affordable public transport to encourage commuters to leave the car at home in Redland City.