RESIDENTS of a Springwood neighbourhood are outraged over plans to rezone their streets to allow for high-rise buildings, claiming they were not given adequate consultation by Logan City Council.
The residents said they were first notified a new planning scheme had been proposed by council on 14 October, more than six weeks into an almost nine-week community consultation period where all Logan residents could have their say on the draft scheme.
Logan City Council says it gave enough notice – holding more than 60 in-person and online events, and placing adverts in the newspaper, on radio and television, in person, across social media and more. A council spokesperson said the organisation was not legally required to write to landholders.
But some impacted residents argue that’s not good enough, disadvantaging people like seniors who don’t have social media or “don’t go out to pick up the paper”.
Glenn Manga and several of his neighbours said a letter informing residents of the consultation period should have been included in rate notices.
The group said they only became aware of the consultation period halfway into October, when they received an undated letter from their local councillor, Lisa Bradley.
In the letter, Cr Bradley invited residents to a mobile office she was hosting on 31 October, the day final submissions were due.
Mr Manga said about 16 people or more attended the meeting, but Cr Bradley didn’t.
Cr Bradley said the date for the planned mobile office was changed to 30 October to “allow more time for submissions” and to ensure a town planner could attend.
“My usual disclaimer, advising that dates may change or be cancelled, was unfortunately left out of the letter and only noticed days later. I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and personally contacted the three residents who reached out,” Cr Bradley said in an online post last week.
“I confirm that all residents who contacted me directly or via the mayor had a clear and accessible way to engage with the planning scheme consultation. Despite political interference, it was clear that residents participated actively and submitted feedback within the advertised timeframe.”
Cr Bradley said she posted more than 600 letters to locals after learning “impacted property owners were not directly notified by council about the proposed zoning changes”.
“Despite my concerns about the proposed planning changes, the community’s response was overwhelmingly positive,” she said.
Upon learning of the proposed changes, Springwood resident Denise Love and others started door-knocking and letterbox-dropping nearby streets.
She said they wanted to inform their neighbours of proposed changes that would increase local zoning to medium density, allowing for buildings up to 32m tall in certain areas.
“People were not aware that [the council] was looking at potentially rezoning,” Ms Love said.
“People were horrified.”
She said residents were happy for high-rise buildings to be built in the suburb, but not in well-established residential areas where people had built homes and lives.
“We don’t know if the power of the people will overturn this. What we’re asking is for them to revisit this potential rezoning,” Ms Love said.
“Why a sleepy cul-de-sac and the next street, which are already heavily congested, when there are neighbouring areas and parcels of land that could be rezoned? They are ideal for high rise.”
Mr Manga met with mayor Jon Raven and a town planner, who granted Mr Manga and his neighbours a one-week extension to submit their responses to the draft scheme.
Mr Manga said the extension, which he wanted to span seven weeks, should have been extended to all residents.
Cr Raven said while there was no formal extension to the consultation period under the state Planning Act, council staff made a decision to consider late submissions for up to one week after the statutory consultation period as submissions were still being received after the cut-off.
“When a group of residents raised their concerns about missing Cr Bradley’s mobile office due to the incorrect advertised date, I made sure they were aware their submissions would still be accepted for another week and staff offered to help them with their submission if needed.”
