City of Gold Coast Planning and Development Hub

Council of the City of Gold Coast recently endorsed the first major updates to the City Plan to go out for public consultation. Major Update 1 and 1B, Major Update to City Plan Policies (Schedule 6) and draft Local Government Infrastructure Plan Major Amendment 1 will all be open for public comment from Wednesday 4 October 2017 until Wednesday 15 November 2017. Public consultation will commence with an industry briefing which will be advised under a separate invitation. In addition to the briefing, five city-wide events will be held during the consultation period, details for these events will be released in the coming weeks.

The City granted a transitional period to assist applicants to understand new lodgement requirements for Subdivision of Survey Plans. From 4 September 2017, all submitted applications must now comply with the City’s new requirements. If an application fails to meet the criteria, the City will issue a Subdivision Incomplete Request Notice and the application will not progress until the relevant criteria have been met. For further information please refer to the plan sealing webpage.

In order to improve our customer experience, Council has reviewed and prepared a new suite of development conditions. The suite of development conditions has a new look and feel and will improve efficiency, consistency and ease of understanding.

Along with approved plans and drawings, development conditions are a key mechanism for achieving the built aspirations of the City, as expressed in the City Plan. It is important development conditions are consistently written and applied to convey the broader desired planning outcomes and objectives of the City at a site by site, development by development level.

These new conditions will be applied to Material Change of Use, Reconfiguring a Lot and Operational Work approvals.

These development conditions provide the common elements of the conditions package and would be generally applicable across a variety of circumstances. Additional information (as needed) will be inserted to make them relevant to the proposed development being approved.

In addition, unique “application specific” development conditions could also be imposed. These “application specific” conditions will be crafted as needed and follow the same drafting approach as the development conditions.

Drafting of the new development conditions revolved around the philosophy to improve the customer experience and included the following principles:

• are adaptable and easier to maintain

• are legally sound, aligned to policy and planning instruments

• provide consistency in the way conditions are drafted and applied

• meet the criteria for what constitutes a condition

Council’s suite of development conditions have been prepared with input from a variety of internal and external stakeholders and have been legally reviewed prior to implementation.

The development conditions booklet is available on our website . For enquiries, please contact Planning Assessment on 07 5582 8866.

The City’s 'As-Constructed' Data Capture Guidelines have been updated to Version 1.3. Changes primarily relate to the alignment of water and sewer as-constructed requirements with the SEQ Design and Construction Code. They include notes explaining the differences between the ADAC requirements and the City’s requirements in asset attribution.

All changes have been underlined in the document and a grace period of two months applies for as-constructed information that has previously been submitted or is in the process of being submitted.

The Guidelines are available on the City’s website.

Under section 78 of the Planning Act 2016, to change a development approval a person MUST submit a change application on the approved form: Planning Act Form 5 – Change application. Failure to provide this completed form along with any supporting information will result in a Notice of Non-Acceptance Letter as the application will not meet requirements.

It is important when making a change application to be aware of whether the application is for a minor change to be assessed under section 81 of the Planning Act 2016 or for an ‘other’ change to be assessed under section 82 of the Planning Act 2016.

The new Planning Act Form 5 – Change application is NOT used when changing a development application before it has been decided. Section 52(1) of the Act provides ‘an applicant may change or withdraw a development application, before the application is decided, by a notice given to the assessment manager and, for a withdrawn application, any referral agency’.

View form

A practice note has been developed to assist in the determination of height, which is used to establish the correct level of assessment and compliance with acceptable outcomes.

View practice note

On 3 July 2017 the Planning Act 2016 and the Planning Regulation 2017 came into effect, establishing a new system for land use planning within Queensland.

This legislation change sets up a new framework and overarching policy, and affects a number of different facets of planning within the State, including changes to the way local governments can approve a plan of subdivision (plan sealing).

The City will be holding two workshops to look at the changes and new requirements for lodging Subdivision Plans which will cover the following topics:

• The application and approval process for subdivision plans under the Planning Act 2016
  
• Key differences between Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and Planning Act 2016; and
  
• The City’s approach to the changes and implementation of new processes.

The sessions will be held on Wednesday 9th August 2017 and Monday 14th August 2017. Registrations will commence 15 minutes prior to the start times.

These workshop are intended to assist industry in understanding the new changes, identify any issues and provide solutions in streamlining the process.

If you have any questions or have experienced any issues so far please email your queries prior to the workshops to infrastructurecompliance@goldcoast.qld.gov.au so we can provide feedback on the day.

Plan Sealing Workshops

Date: 9 August 2017
Time: 9.30 – 11am
Venue: One50 Public House
Holden Place, Bundall

Date: 14 August 2017
Time: 10.00 – 11.30am
Venue: Karp Court Training Room
Karp Court, Bundall

RSVP:

InfrastructureCompliance@goldcoast.qld.gov.au before COB on Friday 4 August 2017.

Council recently endorsed preparation of the second major update to the City Plan.

The Major Update 2 scope consists of a mix of projects and general policy refinements.

Major Update 2

• Biodiversity areas

• Building height study

• Chevron Island planning investigation

• Calibration

• Communal space and private open space

• Community benefit bonus policy

• Designing for flood

• Emerging community zone – conceptual land use maps

• Employment lands planning investigation

• Vegetation management mapping

• Greenfield land

• Healthy waters code

• Live music

• Podium design

• Rural and Rural residential landscape and environment precinct

• Retirement living and aged persons accommodation

• Sewerage treatment plant buffer

• Upper Coomera Investigation area

• General policy refinements:

  • Battle-axe lot review

  • Commercial use changes in the High density residential zone

  • Dual reticulation

  • Mapping updates

  • Level of assessment for Transport depot in the Rural and Rural residential zones

  • New communities

  • Regulation of driveways and crossovers

  • Transport outcomes

The proposed changes will be released for public comment when City Plan Major Update 2 progresses to the public consultation phase in 2018.

As a result of the introduction of the new Planning Act 2016 there have been some changes to our DA processes.

These updates include a new style of decision notice, changes to public notification requirements and changes to the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DILGP) Development Application forms.

New style of decision notice

As part of the new style of decision notice, the following items will be included:

1. appeal rights; and

2. statement of reasons.

Attachments to the notice will include:

1. final infrastructure charges notice

2. appeal rights extract; and

3. list of principal submitters previously titled catalogue of submitters.

Public notification requirements

Applicants are required to email the following information to mail@goldcoast.qld.gov.au as well as the relevant assessing officer.

1. commencement of public notification; and

2. notice of compliance of public notification.

Development application forms

DILGP forms have been updated and are available to view here.

To assist with determining whether a property is within 400 metres walking distance from a mixed use centre or specialist centre the following advice has been prepared.

The Tables of assessment for the Low density residential zone (where not in the Large lot precinct), provide reduced levels of assessment for some land uses where a locational test can be met. For example, a Dual occupancy is Accepted subject to requirements if it is not adjoining an existing or approved Dual occupancy and where located on:

(a) a corner lot; or

(b) a lot with both street and rear lane access; or

(c) a lot within 400 metres walking distance of a mixed use centre or specialist centre

This item provides additional information on point (c).

Mixed use centres and specialist centres

Specialist centres are:

• Surfers Paradise (Centre zone)

• Bundall and Gold Coast Cultural Precinct (Innovation zone)

• Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct/Griffith University (Innovation zone)

• Bond University/Varsity Central (Innovation zone and Centre zone)

• Gold Coast Airport/Southern Cross University (Special purpose zone)

Mixed use centres are:

• located within the Centre zone (other than those that are Specialist centres)

• Southport (CBD) key regional centre (‘CBD Precinct’ in the Southport Priority Development Area)

• Robina key regional centre (‘Robina Town Centre Core Precinct’ in the Robina Central Planning Agreement)

The centres hierarchy is shown in the Centre zone code and on Strategic framework map 5.

Measuring 400 metres walking distance

Walking distance is defined in the City Plan as,

The distance between two points that a person may lawfully and reasonably take on foot.

Note - where the term is used within the table of assessment or assessment provisions,
the distance is taken from the frontage of the subject site to the closest part of the destination.

The distance should be measured along a lawful and reasonable walking route between the front boundary of the subject property to the closest part of the zone/precinct for one of the above centres. This terminology has been used to ensure that the test is facilitating the land uses in areas that can take advantage of the walkable distance to a centre. Walking routes that travel through private property, or a fence, would not meet the City Plan definition.

To assist, Council’s City Plan interactive mapping website includes the relevant zones, an aerial photograph of the City (to identify footpaths and walkable routes) and a measuring tool - see example here.