REDLAND City Council has voted to advance a sweeping package of amendments to its City Plan that could reshape how homes, businesses and future developments are assessed across the city.
The proposed changes cover everything from secondary dwellings and dual occupancies to craft breweries, home-based businesses, recreational vehicle sites and cycling facilities.
The amendments will now be submitted to the Queensland Planning Minister for approval before they can be formally adopted.
Acting Mayor Julie Talty said the changes were designed to ensure the City Plan kept pace with community expectations, population growth and state planning requirements.
“City Plan provides the framework for managing development across the city to guide growth and change in a coordinated manner,” Cr Talty said.
“Council undertakes an ongoing program of feedback and review to ensure City Plan remains consistent with community needs, Queensland Government legislation and other factors, such as population growth.
“These latest amendments address both identified issues and opportunities to improve planning outcomes within the city.
“They also reflect current Council policy, aligning with the strategic direction outlined in Council’s Corporate Plan and supporting some of the implementation actions within the Redland Housing Strategy 2024–2046.”
Residential changes include stronger assessment rules for home-based businesses to better manage industrial-style activities in residential areas, updates to minimum frontage width requirements and revised assessment provisions for low-density residential areas, including canal and lakeside estates.
The amendments also seek to better manage amenity impacts from secondary dwellings occupied by separate households while introducing new assessment benchmarks to support small-scale rooming accommodation in low, low-medium and medium-density residential zones.
For non-residential development, the changes would allow self-contained recreational vehicle sites on properties within rural and environmental management zones, subject to meeting planning criteria.
Craft breweries would also become code assessable rather than impact assessable in certain zones, reducing approval requirements where specified conditions are met.
Other amendments include new planning provisions to encourage end-of-trip cycling facilities, changes to rear lot subdivision rules and stricter assessment requirements for reconfiguring land within recreation and open space zones, with some exemptions.
Planning and Regulation portfolio spokesperson Cr Rowanne McKenzie said the package had been refined following public consultation earlier this year.
“Council received 47 properly made submissions across both major amendments, and several changes were made in response to feedback received through those submissions,” Cr McKenzie said.
“Implementing these changes will ensure City Plan remains relevant to the needs of our community now and into the future.
“Council will submit the proposed amendments to the Queensland Planning Minister, seeking approval for their adoption.”
Council has published consultation reports outlining the feedback received and the changes made in response.
