Sustainable Development

Adhering to the town plan is key to maintaining our liveability. The new town plan is critical and should tighten the loopholes that allow developments to erode community expectations.

We need to prepare for new residents, provide relief from the housing crisis to existing residents and ensure our green spaces and transitioning landscapes are protected.

The new planning scheme will be critical to our liveability.  Population growth is coming and to stop families and people from having to be forced to relocate out of the Sunshine Coast, we need to look at the type of housing that is required in the region.

Currently, only 2 out of every 5 dwellings are appropriate for their household size. There are a lot of 4 bedroom homes on the coast but not as many 1 and 2 bedroom homes.  The new scheme needs to accommodate growth and much of that would be infill development hopefully to provide those smaller dwellings to suit smaller households.  This type of growth can be accommodated without the need for high-rises.

The plan also needs to tighten up loopholes that are curently being used which provide poor design outcomes and affect the liveability of those new owners and the surrounding residents.  Heights, setbacks and site cover are key areas of focus.

Over the past four years I have brought a few development applications to Council for a decision to reverse the officer’s recommendation for approval and been successful. Usually it is because the community have lodged submissions against the application, the zoning was inappropriate, or the development would have negative environmental impacts.

There have also been examples of great development where the broader community have supported the developers plans.