Access to wetlands areas in Thorneside and Wellington Point and structure planning for 82.8 hectares of residential development in Southern Redlands will be discussed by Redland City Council on Wednesday.
There are four closed session items on the meeting agenda but still no opportunity for participation or attendance by the public.
A brief wrap of the previous council meeting on 5 August includes conflict of interest disclosures and the outcome of Cr Wendy Boglary’s motion to have environmental corridors better protected.
Southern Redlands Expansion Area
A consortium of three developers is seeking a decision from Redland City Council about its involvement in planning for future residential development of 82.8 hectares of land in southern Redlands.
This parcel of land, known as the Southern Redlands Expansion Area, is controlled by a consortium of Lend Lease (now the developer of the adjacent Shoreline project), Halcyon and Villa World.
The officers’ report includes comments which reflect the Council’s sensitivity to public opinion about residential development in the Redlands, such as:
There may be an existing community perception that development in the
southern half of the City has not been supported by the necessary state
infrastructure upgrades (e.g. roads). A decision by Council at this time to
lead the structure planning process could be seen to contribute to
exacerbating these issues.
The officers’ recommendation is that the Council participate in a
developer funded structure planning exercise for the Southern Redland Bay Expansion Area.
Officers state that this will potentially encourage the planning and development of this area to be integrated into the Shoreline development.
Southern Redlands infrastructure responsibility
The Council’s controversial approval of the Shoreline residential project, in December 2015, was on the basis that the developer (now Lend Lease) be fully responsible for all infrastructure.
“As a potential future urban area, Council has been able to ensure that all necessary Council infrastructure, such as water, sewer and parks, will be provided to service the development at no cost to the existing Redlands community” said Mayor Karen Williams, in 2015.
Councillors serving the public interest will undoubtedly be ensuring that the cost of providing infrastructure for Shoreline and other out of sequence residential development in the adjacent Southern Redlands Expansion Area is not an impost on Redland City’s ratepayers.
Wetlands items on the agenda
Two wetlands issues will be discussed by councillors on Wednesday.
- 15.1 Geoff Skinner Wetlands, Wellington Point ‐ Revised Concept Plan
- 15.3 Response to Canoe Entry at Queens Esplanade, Birkdale petition
The proposed Geoff Skinner Wetlands concept plan incorporates permanent closure of Bligh Street. Access to Hilliards Creek at the end of Blight Street will only be for kayaks and canoes.
In item 15.3 the officers’ report recommends rejection of a petition request for a new dedicated foreshore access corridor at Queens Esplanade,
Birkdale adjacent to Bates Drive.
The proposed access point is considered unsuitable because it would require an unacceptable impact on marine plants (mangroves).
Foreshore access policy
The officers’ report for item 15.3 says:
Council is receiving an increasing number of requests from residents and community organisations for new or upgraded foreshore access facilities.
However, Council does not currently have a citywide Foreshore Access Policy and Plan (FAPP) to assist in determining where new or upgraded
foreshore access facilities should be provided.
As a result of the petition, officers have commenced development of the FAPP, and will complete a draft during the current financial year. The proposed city‐wide FAPP will:
- identify areas of the coastline that can support reasonable access to the foreshore for a range of recreational activities taking into account environmental values and constraints
- review the network of foreshore access infrastructure for opportunities to site new or upgraded facilities
- establish a framework that can guide Council in identifying and supporting future areas that may be suitable for foreshore access infrastructure that is likely to meet assessment and approval requirements of the Commonwealth Government and Queensland State Government
This work may facilitate the Council’s delivery of “a new iconic jetty for the Redlands”, as promised by Mayor Karen Williams during her 2020 election campaign.
Closed session items
There are confidential items listed for discussion in closed session:
- 19.1 General Administrative and Minor Amendment Package
- 19.2 Response to State Government on Draft Dunwich Gumpi Masterplan
- 19.3 Land Acquisition for Stormwater Drainage Easement Purposes ‐ Thornlands
- 19.4 Land Acquisition for Future Road Widening ‐ Thornlands
Why no public participation?
The agenda says “There will be no Public Participation as this meeting is closed to the public, as a result of COVID‐19 Pandemic social restrictions and regulation changes.”
Despite the public health restrictions, since 27 May the Council allows a clergy person to be in the council chamber and address councillors with a short religious themed sermon.
If it’s COVID-19 safe for a clergy person to attend general meetings and provide councillors with religious guidance, why can’t other members of the community attend general meetings (one at a time) to have their say?
Council’s meeting on 5 August
Following the Council’s decision to abandon years of work to enshrine corridor protection in the City Plan, Councillors had a further discussion about the need for environmental corridor protection on 5 August.
A motion initiated by Cr Wendy Boglary was adopted but with wording substantially modified, as shown in the minutes:
Councillors discussion about protection of environmental corridors (or not) can be viewed on the meeting video recording commencing at 0:52:50
Other matters discussed on 5 August included:
- Making local laws about issues such as jetty jumping and operation of accommodation parks
- Investigating opportunities for overnight parking of recreational vehicles
- Botanic garden on Russell Island
- Five confidential items were discussed in closed session
Various conflicts of interest were disclosed by Cr Mark Edwards and Mayor Karen Williams at the meeting on 5 August.
Cr Williams declaration of a perceived conflict in relation to Sutgold Pty Ltd (Fiteni homes) resulted in a 5/5 vote as to whether or not she should be allowed to remain in the meeting for item 19.4. The tied vote was resolved in the Mayor’s favor by the casting vote of acting chair Cr Julie Talty.
All conflict of interest disclosures and resolutions are shown below:
Minutes of Council meeting on 5 August 2020
Video recording of Council meeting on 5 August 2020
Redlands2030 – 15 August 2020
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One Comment
Just want to thank you all at Redlands 2030 for doing a great job of keeping our community informed of Council’s undertakings. Much appreciated and keep up the good work.