We can learn a lot from Vancouver’s experience

I NOTED with interest the recent Gold Coast Bulletin article headed “build up or families will be divided”.

This seems to imply that young families will increasingly be housed in higher-density buildings rather than in the traditional suburban house.

There was a similar discussion in Vancouver, Canada almost 30 years ago and it was recognised that building high-density apartments was not enough in itself to accommodate young families.

Since then, Vancouver has required that a full range of community facilities (such as schools, childcare centres, parks etc) be available for the new residents of high-density development.

Building many new high density apartments without a corresponding increase in the full range of facilities required by young families is not likely to meet the needs of these families.

Regrettably, the Gold Coast City Council is restricted by the State Government in the types of facilities for which infrastructure charges can be levied and is currently unable to require any contribution from high-density development towards the cost of a number of community facilities.

Meanwhile, just over the border in NSW, development has for many years been required to contribute to a much wider range of facilities than is possible in Queensland.

Consequently, there is a serious flaw in the idea of “build up or families will be divided” as there is currently no adequate mechanism to fund the timely provision of the facilities required for young families in the new developments.

This is particularly regrettable because the State Government restrictions on infrastructure charges are based on the incorrect belief that infrastructure charges are “passed on” to the house/apartment purchaser.

In reality, as some developers may admit in unguarded moments, these charges are “passed back” when the developer buys the development site.

In essence, the owner of the development site “pays” the charges through a reduced sale price.

So in summary, whatever its merits, a strategy of accommodating population growth in higher-density buildings rather than in more suburban houses requires a corresponding increase in community facilities, which is very hard to deliver under the current infrastructure charges rules imposed on councils. This is a big flaw in the strategy. BRIAN FEENEY, ADJUNCT FELLOW, SCHOOL OF EARTH & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND