Planning and Urban Development
For many years, FOSI has played an important role in monitoring residential and commercial development at Point Lookout in particular. No doubt this issue will become more prominent for us in the years to come, with plans for the island’s township expansions being announced a few years ago and next year’s Redland Council planning review raising the spectre of overdevelopment.
FOSI’s recent involvement, as reported to members, includes success in the Planning and Environment Court in preventing development of land on Samarinda Drive. The land’s status was under threat even though its non-development was part of the Samarinda development court orders in the 1990’s.
The Council was ordered to protect the Samarinda Drive land in accordance with a management plan, but the Council has ignored the court’s order to develop and implement the plan and the land remains weed infested and unsightly as a result despite the Council’s attention being drawn to the Court’s previous orders.
In 2013, despite changes to planning laws restricting public notification of and objection rights to developments, FOSI was involved in objecting to an inappropriate residential development in Bambara Street when its non-compliance with site cover and building mass rules became apparent. Unfortunately this was not until the house had been substantially built.
Nevertheless, FOSI objected in writing to the Council and made a financial contribution to obtain an expert’s report for use by the neighbours (two of whom were FOSI members) who took a leading role in detailing the extent of the breaches and in dealing with the Redland Council. The Council eventually admitted non-compliance and that it had made mistakes in assessing the proposal. By this time however, the house had been completely built.
Since then, the FOSI committee has not been alerted to any non-compliant development, residential or otherwise. If members have any planning issues which they want to draw to the committee’s attention please raise these with a committee member.
