Wildlife hospital location on Council’s agenda

Location of a wildlife hospital, grant funding and local laws are on the agenda for Redland City Council’s general meeting on Wednesday 15 June.

One item not on this agenda is fixing Redland City’s grossly deficient Local Heritage Register by listing about 40 properties which were recommended for inclusion in August 2021. The Temporary Local Planning Instrument that protects these historic properties from demolition expires on 17 March 2023.

On Thursday 23 June Redland City Council is scheduled to unveil its increase in rates and charges for 2022/23 which will be based on new property valuations.

Here’s a link to our report about the 2021 Council budget which hit homeowners with a rates and charges increase of more than 4%, well above increases handed out by other south east Queensland councils.

Wildlife hospital for Redlands?

A motion from Cr Adelia Berridge proposing that Redland City Council investigate an appropriate location for the creation of a wildlife hospital on Birkdale Land or another suitable location which could attract private investment will be discussed on Wednesday.

South east Queensland currently has three wildlife hospitals:

• Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast
• Currumbin Wildlife Hospital at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast
• RSPCA Wildlife Hospital at Wacol in Ipswich City

Since 2020, the RSPCA has been looking for a new larger site for a bigger wildlife hospital which could also support tertiary education in veterinary sciences, according to a Brisbane Times story.

Poll: Use of Birkdale lands

Which of the following would you like to see on the Birkdale lands?

[yop_poll id=”6″]

Flying-fox management plan 2022-2027

A plan to provide “a sustainable approach to flying-foxes while setting out clear implementation measures to mitigate risk and amenity impacts for the community” will be considered by the Council on Wednesday.

Three species of flying-fox are found in the Redlands, from time to time:

• Grey-headed flying-fox
• Black flying-fox
• Little red flying-fox

Most of Redland City’s 32 known flying-fox roosting sites are in Melaleuca wetlands near urban areas. The officers’ report (Item 14.1) says:

Flying-fox roosts are increasing in urban areas, with some roosts in very close proximity to residents’ backyards. Foraging in urban areas is becoming more common, largely due to pressures on habitat, and urban areas providing reliable year-round food resources, more stable conditions and easier navigation.

Environmental corridors

The long drawn out process of amending the Redland City Plan to better protect some wildlife corridors is up for discussion again on Wednesday.

After reviewing the proposed planning scheme amendments the State Government has proposed some changes which the officers’ report describes as “generally minor in nature”.

The officers recommend that these changes be incorporated into a new request for State Government approval to undertake public consultation about these proposed planning scheme amendments.

Local laws

Officers are recommending that Redland City Council modify its local laws for:

• Operation of public swimming pools (Item 13.5)
• Commercial Use of Local Government Controlled Areas and Roads (Item 13.6)
• Operation of Temporary Entertainment Events (Item 13.7)
• Operation of Accommodation Parks (Item 13.8)

Confidential agenda items

Four agenda items are confidential which means that the community is not allowed to see the officers’ report and discussion about these items may be held during a confidential session of the meeting.

• Redland Investment Corporation Financial Report for Period Ending 31 March 2022 (Item 19.1)
• 2021-2022 Round 2 Sponsorship Program – Applications for Major Sponsorship (Item 19.2)
• 2021-2022 Village Events and Activation Grant Program (Item 19.3)
• Harridan Pty Ltd v Redland City Council Appeal no. 1112 of 2022 for Deemed Refusal of MCU20/0147 – for a Multiple Dwelling (91 units) and Reconfiguring a Lot (1 into 98 lots) Plus Road and Access Easements (Item 19.4)

Greazefest gets $20,000 grant

The previously confidential officer’s report for 2021-2022 Round 1 Sponsorship Program considered by the Council on 17 November 2021 was published with redactions on 10 February 2022.

Only one of three applications for major (>$15,000) sponsorship grants was approved in Round 1. The successful applicant was Robot Productions Pty Ltd who gets $20,000 for presenting Greazefest 2022.

Summary of court appeals

An officers’ report about appeals to the Planning and Environment Court and higher courts used to be submitted to general meetings for noting by councillors. This practice was changed during this term of Council. The report is still prepared each month and published on the Council’s website.

The current report prepared 25 May 2022 does not mention Redland City Council’s appeal to the Planning and Environment Court about the heritage listing of Willard’s Farm. Details of this appeal can be found on the Queensland Courts website.

About this Council meeting

The ‘public’ version of the 15 June 2022 meeting agenda (including officers’ reports for non-confidential items) can be accessed on the Redland City Council website.

There is an opportunity for any person to address the Council for up to five minutes during Public Participation but applications must be lodged by midday on the Monday before the meeting.

The Council is not currently allowing people to observe meetings from a public gallery but they will allow up to 12 people to watch a live stream video of the meeting from an adjacent room.

The meeting will be video-recorded (except for confidential discussions) and this video-recording will be posted to the meeting video recordings webpage on the Council website. Videos usually appear within 48 hours of the meeting.

The Council usually publishes the meeting minutes about one week after the meeting. Meeting minutes include the wording of all resolutions adopted and details of which councillors voted for/against every resolution – including the confidential items. The minutes also record any declared conflicts of interest.

When published, the minutes will appear on this Council webpage.

Here are the contents of Redland City Council’s meeting agenda for 15 June 2022:

Redlands2030 – 12 June 2022