SOVEREIGN RISK
Rich in fight to save elite living from developers
WEALTHY homeowners in two of the city’s richest suburbs are at war with developers trying to wreck their elite serenity by building apartments.
Mansion owners at The Sovereign Islands and Sorrento are opposing proposals to put up units and reduce block sizes in their exclusive estates. They fear the apartments will change the ambience, increase traffic and lower property prices.
WEALTHY homeowners in two of the city’s richest suburbs are at war with developers trying to wreck their elite serenity by building apartments.
At The Sovereign Islands – where mansions regularly trade hands for multimilliondollar sums – close to 500 residents have signed a petition opposing a proposal for the area’s first apartment blocks.
As reported by the Bulletin last week, the plan, by Vested Property Group, is to build 10 apartments, in two three-level buildings, across a canal-front site on Royal Albert Crescent.
South of the elite enclave, in the prestigious suburb of Sorrento, St Tropez Tce homeowners are battling a planned subdivision.
It comes after the new city plan was ratified. It pushes for infill housing and higherdensity living, in some, but not all, Gold Coast suburbs.
Sovereign Island Gateway Committee chair Ann Glenister said residents were surprised to learn part of the island was zoned medium density.
Precinct six of the islands, which includes Royal Albert Cres and was the last of the islands to be developed, has been zoned medium density since the early 2000s.
“People were not aware of the zoning,” Ms Glenister said. “They have to sign a covenant when they buy here that stipulates certain regulations, including one dwelling per lot. I’m unsure as to whether the zoning supersedes the covenant.”
She said the community, which counts rich lister Clive Palmer as a resident, has resolved to fight the proposal.
“We don’t want apartments here. It will increase traffic and hurt property values,” Ms Glenister said.
The petition will be delivered to the Gold Coast City Council. Councillor Cameron Caldwell, whose area includes The Sovereign Islands, said the Vested Property project was the first time a developer had tried to take advantage of the zoning.
“The application has only just been received and council will undertake a thorough assessment,” Cr Caldwell said. “We have met with nearby residents and I expect they will make submissions on the development.”
St Tropez residents Helen and Terry Hiscock said a development application, from Gordon Rutty, to turn one lot into two on the street, had caused a furore among residents.
The proposal is for two blocks of 609sq m and 552sq m. No blocks on the street are under 1010sq m.
“It has caused a furore in the whole area because the parking there is dreadful,” Mr Hiscock said.
He fears property values will fall if the proposal goes ahead. The median sale price on St Tropez Terrace is $1.375m.
“When I first rang (councillor) Paul Taylor to say, ‘how can this happen?’ He said: ‘It is a foregone conclusion. You’re just going to have to accept it’.”
Cr Taylor denied telling the Hiscocks the subdivision plan was a done deal. He said despite the block at No.16 falling below 1200sq m, meaning it is code assessable, he has decided to send it to a planning committee meeting.
THE furore over proposed subdivisions at two of the Coast’s most exclusive residential enclaves is a sign of things to come. We’d better get used to these battles. The Gold Coast economy is flying. Property price growth is among the fastest in the nation.
Our jobless rate is among the lowest. Construction and tourism – the two mainstays of the GC economy – remain strong, but there are also signs activity is broadening into health, education services and IT.
Less than a month from the Games, it’s boom time.
And while some, scarred by past experience, will no doubt be bracing for the inevitable downturn, the long-term trend outpaces any major Aussie city.
No other metropolitan centre in Australia has grown its population as rapidly.
But with that breakneck speed comes a cost.
The geographical footprint of our city is finite. There’s mountains to the west of us, ocean to the east.
As the song goes, the newbies are stuck in the middle with you.
Development is rolling out north and south but inevitably, demand is strongest at the city’s beating heart.
So in some cases, the only way is up. As much as many residents would like it, we can’t have it both ways.
We can’t grow the population and maintain low density zoning. As the land bank diminishes, something has to give.
Nobody is suggesting we abandon our growth and jobs ethos.
The Gold Coast’s entrepreneurial dynamism is, along with its magnificent setting, among its greatest assets.
We haven’t suffered from the same degree of NIMBYism that has crippled other regions. But the growing pains are not going away.
We have reached the point in this city that development infill is becoming critical to our continued growth.
In-fill, that is intensifying existing densities in the middle of the city, is essential to avoid development swallowing up even greater swathes of greenfield sites.
That means, some existing areas will need to go from single dwelling to multiple, others from medium density to higher density.
The stoushes at Sovereign Islands and Sorrento will be replicated at other development pinch points, and with increasing regularity.
The key is to ensure that all stakeholders have a voice and are treated with respect.
That is the sign of a maturing, sophisticated city.
One in which the residents and those that govern can have grown-up debates about how we manage our growth and development.
Self-interest is a legitimate part of that debate, but it needs to be weighed against the best interests of the Coast’s broader population.
That’s why governance and due process must be observed and be seen to be observed.