Councillors opt for chop to unit density
THE council’s planning committee is reacting to the building height fight by residents and dramatically reducing the density on an application for a Palm Beach unit development.
Developers had applied to build a seven-storey building in Nyrang Avenue, on the western side of the Gold Coast Highway just south of the Tallebudgera Creek.
Councillors at the planning committee meeting yesterday were told the 12 three-bedroom units on the site would provide for a density three times that allowed under the City Plan.
Councillor Peter Young said an officer’s report confirmed the residential density for the area was one bedroom per 50sq m on a site but the proposed development required one bedroom per 18sq m.
Officers had recommended approval, noting the development was within 400m of nine bus stops that connected with the Broadbeach light rail, the Robina rail station and the Gold Coast Airport.
“From my point of view the residential density was established in the City Plan with full knowledge of all of those facilities and services, it’s not that they’ve just appeared overnight,” Cr Young said.
“It seems to me kind of odd that we’re relying on those kinds of circumstances to support the significant increase in the density as we’ve seen here and no doubt in other cases.”
Officers said they had considered the infrastructure like public transport around the site and considered it was appropriate to increase the density.
Area councillor Daphne McDonald told the meeting she had concerns about the density and use of car stackers so the project could meet parking requirements in a small street. Designs showed a row of six cars on top of another set of six in a parking section below the units.
Cr Hermann Vorster raised safety concerns in the wake of a recent Melbourne report about a woman who feared for her life after a car stacker fell more than a metre while she was parking her car.
Cr McDonald told the meeting: “I’m pleased that it’s now being discussed about addressing those issues, because my understanding was there are issues with car stackers and that they (other unit owners) have been into council to ask for car stackers to be removed
“I think this is a big problem we are going to be faced with.”
Outside the meeting, planning chairman Cameron Caldwell was asked about a report in yesterday’s Bulletin that Mermaid Beach residents would consider legal action against a 22-storey building development. Cr Caldwell said he believed councillors could get the balance right on when to oppose certain applications.
The council was receiving 5500 development applications a year compared to 2500 in 2012, but court appeals decreased from 130 to 50.
He said councillors thought the Palm Beach proponent was pushing boundaries with density and needed to use car stacking. “We’ve taken that away,” he said.
Councillors voted for substantial design changes, including removing four apartments and 12 bedrooms. “It is important when there’s a significant community interest, we will take up the fight and won’t back down,” he said.