Council petitioned to explain high rates

Two petitions requesting that Redland City Council explain its high rates are to be presented at the monthly Council meeting on Wednesday.

One petition to be presented by Cr Lance Hewlett asks for an explanation on Redland City Council’s increase in rates and charges.

A second petition to be presented by Cr Peter Mitchell requests a public meeting to explain high rates.

A third petition requests that Redland City Council permit and accept no confidence motions at Council meetings. This petition will be presented by Cr Hewlett.

Advice on doing a petition to Redland City Council is available on the Council’s website.

Redland City’s disgraced Mayor

Despite widespread calls for Karen Williams to resign, it appears that she will be occupying the Mayor’s chair at the Council meeting on Wednesday.

Council meetings include Item 4 in which the Mayor is to present any recognition of achievement items.

Will she discuss her own achievement in crashing a Council owned Lexus while drunk (shortly after a Zoom meeting with drink driving victims) thereby giving Redland City national and international media coverage?

The Mayor could also refer to Redland City Council achieving the highest local government rates and water charges in south east Queensland.

These rates and charges were implemented in the Budget that the Mayor and some councillors celebrated with a few wines at a “small post-budget thank you event” on 23 June 2022.

Some Redlands residents are expected to gather outside the Council offices in Bloomfield Street Cleveland on Wednesday morning from 9:00am to express their views about Karen Williams hanging on as Mayor.

Birkdale lands planning and consultation

The Council’s plans for development of a $300 million precinct on the Birkdale lands are addressed in two reports.

There’s a self-congratulatory report about the community consultation “campaign” about the Council’s Olympic white water facility centred master plan (Item 15.3).

The second report (Item 15.4) seeks approval for statutory planning processes to deliver the Council’s plans for the Birkdale lands including:

• Development application for site preparation and earthworks
• Building works / development application for Willards Farm restoration
• Local Government Infrastructure Designation

The Council will use Local Government Infrastructure Designation to gain overall precinct planning approval, including a statutory consultation process scheduled for April 2023.

Development applications to Council

Two development applications are to be considered on Wednesday.

Four units at 63 Main Road Wellington Point

Four units are proposed for development on a 911m2 site at 63 Main Road Wellington Point. The impact assessable development application is MCU21/0209.

70 submissions about this application were made during the notification period addressing issues such as non-compliance low density residential zoning of this site..

The officers’ report (Item 15.1) recommends approval with conditions.

Steiner School at 12 John Street Thorneside

Plans to develop an educational establishment at 12 John Street in Thorneside have been received by Redland City Council.

Application (MCU22/0014) has been submitted by the South East Brisbane Steiner School seeking preliminary approval to develop a school catering for 30 students.

The site, owned by the Uniting Church Property Trust, was formerly used as a church.

The officers’ report (Item 15.2) recommends that the Council issue a preliminary approval and also that Council approve requested variations to the City Plan Version 6.

More units for Middle Street Cleveland – Council assessment

Community consultation closed on 12 August 2022 for plans (MCU22/0052) to build 44 apartments at 218-220 Middle Street Cleveland (currently the Bel Air Motel).

Community consultation is still underway for plans (MCU21/0015) to add two more storeys and nine more units to an apartment block at 228-230 Middle Street.

The Council’s practice is for development applications to be considered by the full council at a general meeting only if they are ‘called in’ by a divisional councillor.

Division 2 councillor Peter Mitchell is understood to have not yet acted to ‘call in’ the development applications for 218-220 Middle Street and 228-230 Middle Street.

Council summary of Court appeals

Council officers prepare a report each month about various Planning and Environment Court actions and appeals involving Redland City Council.

The report for this month lets us know that plans to build 124 apartments in the car park of Cleveland Train Station will be discussed in a four day appeal hearing commencing on 17 August.

The report omits any reference to the Council’s appeal against heritage listing of the land adjacent to Willard’s Farm.

Here is a link to the Council’s latest report on court appeals and actions.

Three Gollé motions to Council

Cr Paul Gollé has three motions in the agenda for Council’s meeting on Wednesday:

Community Infrastructure Program

In item 18.1 Cr Gollé is proposing to remove the Council’s Community Infrastructure Program and reallocate funds back to general revenue for operational expenditure.

Cr Gollé expresses concerns that that program “may give the view that Councillors are spending on specialised divisional projects solely or primarily to bring money to a Councillors division, so votes can be secured” which in other words is pork barrelling.

Dispersal of councillors from the Cleveland Administration Building

In item 18.2 Cr Gollé proposes that Council investigate the viability of having Councillors located outside of the Cleveland Administration Building and co-located throughout
Redland City in the established library buildings; and to assess the location for a similar suitable building on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands.

Widening the scope of councillors’ conflicts of interest

In his third motion (Item 18.3) Cr Gollé proposes that the Council write to the to the Department of Local Government requesting a broadening to the definition of Conflicts of Interest to include associations past and present, associates and patrons of any organisation or group.

Link to Council meeting agenda

If you want to read through the meeting agenda which includes officers’ reports you can find them on the Council website.

Redlands2030 & ACF Bayside gathering

Our monthly community gathering will be held Monday 15 August 2022 from 6:30pm at the Scout Hall cnr Gordon and Bainbridge Street Ormiston, QLD, 4160.

Guest speaker this month will be Craig Thomson, Editor of the Redland City Bulletin.

Here’s a link to Craig Thomson’s latest editorial.

More details for this event are included in the Redlands2030 event notice.

If you wish to attend, please RSVP to thereporter@admin

Redlands2030 – 14 August 2022