Owners of a Jimboomba wholefood market have shared online false claims Logan City Council shut their business down.
Since March 2020, Melanie and Glenn Hawkins have operated the Wholefood Harvest Market from their backyard.
Last week, while streaming live on Facebook, Mrs Hawkins said the council had given them “20 days to cease operations”.
She said it was because zoning regulations prohibited them from holding a market on the property.
“Council’s economic development plan doesn’t support what’s happening on site,” she said
“[It’s a] bit of shocking news… Wholefoods Harvest has two weeks left to operate.”
Mrs Hawkins said the final market day on April 1 would be a celebration of “the community that has come together in the Jimboomba area”.
But as it turns out, Mr and Mrs Hawkins were not given 20 days to cease operations.
Instead, council issued them with a show cause notice.
As per the Logan Planning Scheme 2015, a market requires approval from council when located in a Rural Residential zone, which is where the Hawkins’ property is located (specifically, the Park Living precinct).
Council said they had no record of a development approval application for a market on the Hawkins’ property.
A show cause notice merely requires the Hawkins’ to respond to council regarding their concerns within 20 days.
Council said it was standard practice for the recipient of the notice to work with council so they comply with regulation.
Distict 9 councillor, Scott Bannan, explicitly stated council did not tell the Hawkins to close the market in 20 days.
“Logan council supports small business,” he said.
“If they want to keep the business running, I will go to the pre-lodgement with them and do everything I can – I have told Mrs Hawkins that.”
Cr Bannan and the council have advised for the Hawkins to use the council’s free pre-lodgement meeting service to learn what is required of them to comply.
Council did, however, confirm the Hawkins’ suspicions they were reported by someone in the community.
Mr and Mrs Hawkins said a string of complaints from unhappy neighbours might have sparked the notice.
“There was definitely a complaint, but we can’t say [for sure] whether it was a neighbour,” Mr Hawkins said.
“We’ve had complaints from neighbours in the past about various other issues, including the stall.”
Although they did not reveal who made the report, council said they investigate “activities occurring on private properties where concerns are raised by members of the community”.
The Hawkins’ said they were unsure why neighbours might be unhappy with the market, but they suspected it could be the traffic.
Mr Hawkins said the market draws around 120 people across the two days it is open per week.
Mrs Hawkins said council were already made aware of the happenings on the property sometime last year, and she allegedly received informal approval for the market by council.
In an email, they were allegedly given approval to continue operating the market as they had been to that point.
The Hawkins said the market had since grown.
The Wholefood Harvest Market now sells – in addition to fresh produce – milk, bread and groceries, all of which require accreditation to sell.
Mrs Hawkins also said there was also a children’s play group at the market.
Mr and Mrs Hawkins are not prepared to pay the required zoning application fees to approve the market and have decided to prioritise their three children.
