A six storey, six building apartment block approved for Capalaba is being held up as an example of ‘infill development’ going ahead without community consultation, sanctioned by the council’s planning codes and able to be replicated in a number of areas across the city.
The 271-apartment development was approved by Redland City Council late last year without any community consultation because of changes that came in as part of the new Redlands Planning Scheme in 2006.
Angry residents of Aramac Court and surrounding streets have formed the Capalaba Progress Association to voice their concerns and will hold a protest and sponsor an e-petition in coming weeks, association chairperson Paul Gleeson said.
“We’re very concerned about significantly increased traffic and congestion at nearby major intersections, inadequate parking, shading over properties and reduced access for solar panels,” Mr Gleeson said.
“The council has completely failed to consult with us and the developers are proceeding with no concern for social impacts of this sudden population influx or realistic understanding of the other impacts that will be felt.”
Genevieve Gall of the Birkdale Progress Association said the development was symptomatic of the “infill development” set to be seen across south east Queensland, and could happen anywhere in the Redlands that was zoned this way.
“We will be trying to have the development overridden by the State Government, and have the council change their planning codes,” Ms Gall said.
“This is not at all in keeping with the 2030 Vision for Redlands that the council has only just completed, which says we want to be a ‘clean, green’ city, not a high rise one.”
Redland City councillor for Capalaba, Karen Williams, said the development was completely in keeping with council development laws, but she was working with council officers to secure changed parking conditions for the site and had approached the Department of Main Roads for permission to access the site from Mount Cotton Road instead of Aramac Court during construction.
“This block was zoned Medium Density Residential 1 (MDR1) when the planning scheme changed in an effort to streamline development and allow for increased densities to progress in certain areas,” Cr Williams said.
“It removed the need for consultation with the community as long as the development achieves all the ‘probable solutions’ required by the code, which this one did.
“I am seeking to have the consultation requirement put back into the planning scheme for MDR1 zones as part of the amendments the council is currently developing for the scheme.”
Neighbours to the site on Aramac Court were consulted a few years ago when an application was submitted for 52 townhouses on the block, but Cr Williams said that was under the old Planning Scheme when consultation was still required.
The Capalaba and Birkdale Progress Associations were due to meet with Redland City Mayor Melva Hobson and chief executive Gary Stevenson this week.
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