Logan City Council wants developers to show more creativity when developing new neighbourhoods.
Proposed changes to the town planning scheme ask developers to provide a variety of lot sizes and frontage widths.
It’s a move they hope will create more visually appealing surburban streets with a range of housing choices, rather than the suburban cookie cutter being applied to some large-scale lot developments.
A council statement calls it “housing design diversity”.
“The changes aim to deliver neighbourhoods where residents enjoy less design duplication, improved streetscapes and easier access to amenities and services,” the statement read.
Under the proposal, the existing ‘average lot size’ method of sub-division will be removed from the Planning Scheme.
“Average lot size” allowed for flood-prone land as well as land allocated to roads, parks and easements to be included in determining the number of blocks on a sub-divided site.
Council’s statement claimed that resulted in some sub-divisions being smaller than potential buyers and the community had envisioned.
The changes would apply to developments of 10 or more lots, insisting that there be a variety of block sizes, and that minimum lot sizes apply.
The new rules propose that no more than three adjoining lots would have the same frontage.
Other proposed changes to the Planning Scheme include two new ‘use’ codes covering healthcare services and childcare centres in, or near, residential areas.
The new codes feature approval criteria that considers location, building design, traffic volumes and the impact the service or centre might have on local amenity.
The proposed changes would not apply to any existing healthcare services or childcare centres.
Deputy mayor Jon Raven said it was important the city’s Planning Scheme was regularly updated to reflect the needs of our changing and growing community.
“These changes close loopholes that some developers have been using for years to increase their profits at the expense of our community,” Councillor Raven said.
“Getting rid of average lot sizes was one of the Mayor’s (Darren Power) first priorities after getting elected and I’ve been working closely with staff to make that happen.
“Last year’s Housing Study told us that City of Logan residents want diversity and choices on how and where they live.
“I want to thank the community members who took the time to provide feedback which helped us draft these proposed changes.
“The quality and volume of the responses shows how important it is for our Planning Scheme to be a relevant, practical and a clear road map for the future of our city.”
There are also 65 ‘operational’ changes proposed to the Planning Scheme.
These include:
• New erosion and sediment control requirements to better manage the impacts of construction and minimise disturbance for neighbours
• Recycled concrete can be used in the construction of new roads, minimising environmental impact
• Removing the need for road-facing retaining walls to have coloured or textured finishes
• Limiting the number of shipping containers permitted on a property
• Expanding waste management requirements to ensure waste storage and collection does not impact residential amenity, including the option of communal bins in multi-dwelling developments
• Amendments to implement Council’s employment lands strategy which includes precincts of preferred land use within mixed zones and the optimisation of industrial zoned land to support jobs growth.
