Green light for new tower
Council approves Palm Beach units
THE council’s planning committee has green-lighted a new 14-storey apartment building near the beachfront at Palm Beach.
The 43.5m-high building, which includes 78 units and a food and drink outlet operating from 7am to 10pm, will be built on four lots currently used for storage fronting the Gold Coast Highway.
Councillors were yesterday told the application was made before the reduction of height limits under the recent City Plan amendments.
Those reforms, sparked by packed town hall meetings, are scheduled to be introduced later this year, but even then, property owners will have a 12-month window to use existing planning conditions.
An officer’s report said the latest Palm Beach development had a residential density of one bed per 10.14sq m, which failed to comply with the medium-density residential zone code requiring one bed per 33sq m.
But officers tower complied met outcomes found the because it on design, amenity and infrastructure.
“In relation to infrastructure, the applicant has demonstrated through a transport impact assessment report and sewer and water network capacity report that the existing infrastructure can cater for the proposal,” a council officer’s report said.
The building’s height of 14 storeys and 43.5m exceeded the height identified on the building height overlay map of 29m. However, the map could be exceeded, under the existing City Plan, by 50 per cent, “subject to meeting certain design and character criteria”.
The council’s Office of Architecture and Heritage had noted the tower’s “balconies and sculptural projections” had the “benefit of promoting subtropical excellence”.
Officers had requested changes such as road-widening requirements along Jefferson Lane.
Robina-based councillor Hermann Vorster supported the application but voiced concerns about the mix of 10 available car spaces for visitors and people using the shop.
Helensvale-based councillor William Owen-Jones referred to the council report which showed a nearby 18storey tower built in the 1980s.
The meeting was told area councillor Daphne McDonald could not attend due to a family illness, but colleague Peter Young put up a motion on her behalf to oppose the project. It failed to gain support.
In her recommendation, Cr McDonald said council’s forward-planning vision was to reduce height in area under amendments to the City Plan.
“The amendment seeks to reduce the height identified on the building height overlay map from 29m to 17m,” she said.
But when questioned by councillors, officers confirmed the developers had to apply under the current City Plan and approval could only be made under its conditions.
Cr Young said up to 127 people had made submissions opposing the apartment tower based on height, built form and noise.
But committee chair Cameron Caldwell maintained the development had very little impact on the immediate neighbourhood, was an attractive building and “worthy of our support”.