City of Gold Coast Planning and Development Hub

The Building our City project is a long term research and reporting project being undertaken in conjunction with the Griffith University Cities Research Centre that measures how specific parts of the Gold Coast are changing over time.

The City recently released the:

• Building our City – Light Rail Corridor 2017 Update Report
• Building our City – Southport PDA 2017 Update Report
• Building our City – Southern Transport Corridor 2017 Baseline Report

The reports track the benefits of investment to provide input into public policy decision making as future reports are published.

Recognising the significance of Coolangatta and Kirra, the City of Gold Coast is developing the Coolangatta and Kirra Business Centres Place Based Master Plan that aims to improve public space in the area.

We are seeking feedback on the Place Based Master Plan vision and design concepts to inform future decision making including budgets, development assessment advice, place making and city building initiatives.

You can Have Your Say by visiting us at the Griffith Street Entrance of the Strand Shopping Centre, Coolangatta or online at gchaveyoursay.com.au/coolangattamp

The consultation period will run from Monday 25 March to Monday 15 April 2019.

The City of Gold Coast recently endorsed the Draft City Plan Major Update - New Communities (Eggersdorf Road, Ormeau) to go out for public consultation.

Detailed changes are outlined in the Draft City Plan Major Update.

Proposed updates include:

• 248 Eggersdorf Road, Ormeau is proposed to be included in the Emerging community zone with a density of RD1 up to 25 dwellings per net hectare (1 dwelling/400m²) to consolidate population growth in ‘priority growth areas’ for land recently included in the Urban Footprint of ShapingSEQ Regional Plan 2017.
• Conceptual land use map 05 – Ormeau and Ormeau Hills is proposed to be updated to assist with planning for delivery of community facilities, including provision of a linear park along the Pimpama River conservation area and centrally located / functionally sized recreation parks which maximises the number of future residents living within walking distance.
• Refinement of mapping for a bioregional corridor between the Wongawallan Hinterland and Moreton Bay (Ecological significance Biodiversity Areas Overlay Map - Hinterland to Coast Critical Corridor) is proposed to protect a suitable area of land (including flood free areas), some of which requires extensive restoration works.

Have your say about these changes by completing the online survey at gchaveyoursay.com.au/eggersdorf by 11 March 2019.

Following public consultation, we will review every properly made submission and make changes to the draft amendment if required.

It is important that every development positively contributes to shaping our city, protecting and celebrating our enviable lifestyle through a renewed focus at the ground level. The ground level (i.e. the lower 16 metres of a building) is where the community and tourists that visit our city truly experience what we have to offer. To ensure that our city is known for its excellent and innovative spaces, new buildings must create highly desirable pedestrian experiences that capitalise on our sub-tropical climate.

As it is critical that new buildings enhance the amenity that drives investment of these places in the first instance, the Urban Ground Guideline encourages best practice in the design of medium-rise and high-rise development. It guides how this type of development can better integrate with street level and frame the public realm to deliver responsive and well considered street frontages rather than continuous monotonous facades that are cluttered with vehicle entries and services. Outlined in this guideline are important design and planning principles that support a range of podium or street interface development, depending on the location and context of the site. The illustrations aim to assist mutually beneficial discussions between the City of Gold Coast and development applicants on the appropriate form of development for their sites.

The Urban Ground Guideline is endorsed and supported by the Queensland State Government and the Australian Institute of Architects.

"The Urban Ground Guideline is an essential policy document that will guide the City of Gold Coast in delivering urban amenity excellence for all users of the city – residents, tourists, business owners and local government. This is particularly important for the Gold Coast as the city seeks to enhance the character of its unique high-rise to beach urban setting.

It is important that the Gold Coast continues to advance the high-rise tower form that has become synonymous with the city over many decades. Creating ‘life on the street’ will be critical in catalysing future urban renewal precincts and in positioning the Gold Coast as one of the premier tourism destinations within SEQ, nationally and internationally. The City of Gold Coast is commended for this new Urban Ground Guideline.”

- Malcolm Middleton, Queensland Government Architect

In a recent report to Council, City officers provided an update on the progress of City Plan improvement suggestions and the current City Plan work program. Since 30 July 2015, 1,158 suggestions have been submitted to inform improvements to the City Plan.

As of 1 December 2018, 757 (65 per cent) of these suggestions have been addressed through major, minor and administrative amendments, which have commenced to create new versions of City Plan.

A further 401 items are allocated to either existing or future City Plan updates for investigation.

Major update 2 & 3 is currently undergoing State interest review and will address 119 improvement suggestions. The content of Major update 2 & 3 can be viewed on City’s website.

A further 37 improvement suggestions will be addressed in Major update 4, which is currently in the planning and preparation stage and will be submitted for State interest review upon the commencement of Major update 2 & 3.

The city currently has 10 update packages progressing or in the planning and preparation phase.

1. LGIP Stormwater Quality is undergoing submissions review

2. Minor and Administrative update 6 is in the planning and preparation stage

3. Major update 2 & 3 are undergoing State interest review

4. Minor and administrative update 7 to commence with Major 2 & 3 is in the planning and preparation stage

5. Major update to City Plan Policies to support Major update 2 & 3 is in the planning and preparation stage

6. Major coastal hazard update is undergoing state interest review

7. Major update to City Plan Policies to support Major coastal hazard update is in the planning and preparation stage

8. Major Update 4 is in the planning and preparation stage

9. Major Update 5 is in the planning and preparation stage and will run concurrently with Major update 4

10. Major update designing for flood is in the planning and preparation stage

View the current City Plan update timeline here.

We encourage you to get involved by suggesting improvements for future updates. All suggestions will be considered by City of Gold Coast as part of the ongoing program of updates to City Plan.

Any changes resulting from your suggestion will be scheduled into the applicable (administrative, minor or major) update package and endorsed by Council. It is important to note that the Strategic Urban and Regional Planning teams work closely with the State Government to facilitate the implementation of these update packages in line with the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules for amending a local government planning scheme.

From 19 November 2018, the City will begin operating a new and improved pre-lodgement meeting service.

This service provides applicants and their consultant team the opportunity to meet with City officers early in the development process and receive feedback and information requirements prior to lodging a development application.

Effective pre-lodgement meetings will reduce the amount of information requests and the time required by the City to complete the assessment of the application, thereby reducing costs to the applicant and the City through improved efficiency. This service will also assist the City in meeting the reduced legislative timeframes for assessing development applications.

How the new service will work

A dedicated Technical Pre-lodgement Meeting Officer (TPMO) will be responsible for arranging and coordinating pre-lodgement meetings, providing a single point of contact for this service. The TPMO will provide the applicant with an agenda, set expectations for discussion, and co-ordinate accurate minutes shortly after the meeting.

The planner assigned to the pre-lodgement meeting will contact the applicant 24 hours prior to the meeting to advise of key issues as well as any resolved issues during an internal pre-meeting. Any resolved issues may reduce the attendance for both the applicant’s consultant team and City officers.

Most pre-lodgement meetings will occur within a dedicated pre-lodgement meeting room which will include the relevant IT equipment to display drawings and materials included as part of the pre-lodgement request. A supervising planner or senior planner will chair the meeting, with discussions following the meeting agenda.

The way applicant’s structure agenda questions for a pre-lodgement meeting benefits the efficiency and effectiveness of the meeting. A well-structured agenda question will give the City officers better direction in considering an applicant’s request, resulting in more accurate discussions and advice. For more information, download the guide to structuring agenda questions.

City officers will base their comments and advice on the information lodged with the pre-lodgement meeting request. New drawings/supporting material showing a changed proposal tabled at the meeting will be minuted and assessment comments will be provided at a later stage outside of the pre-lodgement meeting service.

To assist in better coordination between pre-lodgement meeting advice and the subsequent assessment of the development application, minutes provided to the applicant now includes an area for the applicant to provide a response. Applicants are encouraged to complete this section and include a copy of the minutes as part of their application material, identifying how the proposal responds to the pre-lodgement advice.

Applicants have two ways to lodge a pre-lodgement meeting request:

1. Email: Applications are accepted via email to townplanningmeeting@goldcoast.qld.gov.au and should contain the City’s Pre-lodgement Meeting application form, drawings, plans and any supporting documents required. This option is available for applicants who wish to receive an invoice from City for payment of their application fees to be made later and not immediately at the time of lodgement of the request. Payment of fees needs to occur before the pre-lodgement meeting is scheduled.

2. E-Services: City’s online application form. All documents can be submitted directly to the City via an online portal. At this time this service only contains a pay now option, requiring immediate payment of the application fee in order for your application to proceed.

Next steps

The new process applies to all pre-lodgement meeting requests lodged from 19 November 2018.

Further opportunities to expand the City’s pre-lodgement meeting service are being investigated and further improvements will occur in 2019.

If you have any questions regarding the new service please contact either Amanda Antcliff on telephone 07 55828956, Dale Schroeder on telephone 07 5582 8670, or Di Kling on telephone 07 5582 8415.

Presented by Nathalie Ward, Director, Lat27, Registered Landscape Architect and Fellow of The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (FAILA)

The Green Grid is a strategy to increase the quantity, quality and interconnectedness of central Brisbane’s open space to sustain the city’s liveability, preserve natural systems within the city and build in resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Globally, cities recognise the importance of green city strategies in terms of defining city image and creating sustainable urban environments that support community health and provide positive places for people to live and work. Brisbane’s unique balance between urban and natural, fusion of indoor and outdoor is a key celebration of its subtropical climate. It influences daily life and is critical to the city’s image and future liveability.

With projected densification, it is important that the natural systems around Brisbane work in parallel with infrastructure to support the goal of a sustainable city into the future. The Green Grid provides the shift in thinking required to move towards sustainable practices.

Nathalie Ward FAILA Bio
Nathalie is a Director of Lat27, a creative practice that delivers solutions grounded in the realities of place, time and people and the practical application of innovative thought. She is passionate about the role that design can play in creating sustainable and meaningful places that inspire the people who use them and demonstrate a longer-term view. Her experience working in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Australia over the last 25+ years has given her a deep understanding of culture and context that enhances the projects she is involved in.

Date: Thursday, 25 October 2018

Time: 12:30pm presentation

Venue: HOTA, Home of the Arts - 135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise

RSVP: oca@goldcoast.qld.gov.au