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131998.981211.5 - APPLICATION FOR OTHER CHANGE TO DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL (12637DA) INTEGRATED PERMACULTURE DESIGNED ORGANIC ORCHARD AND GOLF COURSE COMPLEX (18 HOLES) TO INCLUDE GROUP FARM STAY ACCOMMODATION & ASSOCIATED SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE AT 59 KABI ROAD, COOTHARABA (REFERRED FROM PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

Acting Co-ordinator Planning, Nadine Gorton · Development & Regulation Department

Executive summary

This report provides an assessment of an Other Change application to a current development approval for the Kabi Road Golf Course to include group farm stays for up to 299 persons. The proposed facility is to be used for school camps, weekend groups and school holiday use with up to 50 staff engaged on site. The vision is to provide a farm to plate visitor accommodation experience for groups interested in permaculture and includes 3 villages, each with their own dining area and a large communal area. A total of 126 car parking spaces are proposed on site, with buses to park on the villages’ internal loop roads. The applicant proposes to upgrade Kabi Road to a 6.2-metre-wide seal to accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic. The site is zoned Rural and comprises 3 lots with a total area of approximately 130ha. The golf course was originally approved only over 2 of these lots, with 15ha approved as a golf course, 14ha as a permaculture orchard and the remainder retained as natural vegetation. Lot 650, being the northern most lot, is not part of the existing development approval and has been mostly cleared for farming purposes. The assessment of the application found that while the nature of the use makes it suitable for a rural property rather than urban, the proposed farm stay activity does not further the SEQ Regional Plan 2017 strategies and far exceeds the scale intended by the Noosa Plan 2020. While both documents support tourism on rural lands, the SEQ Regional Plan 2017 also seeks that on-farm agricultural activities are intensified or diversified, with the Noosa Plan 2020 seeking that land mapped as Agricultural Land Conservation is protected and rural accommodation is complementary, small scale and fit for the site and locality. The proposed permaculture and food production is not of a significant scale, largely intended for farm stay guests and will alienate agricultural land, with large areas of the site identified as Agriculture Land Conservation. The farm stay activity will also be the primary use rather than a complementary use, is not small scale having a gross floor area of 8,325m2 and is an entirely different scale and character to the approved golf course and orchard where a former Queenslander dwelling was renovated as a clubhouse/restaurant. The proposal is also of a more permanent nature than the golf course and will generate significantly more traffic along Kabi Road to the detriment of nearby residents - currently 58 car trips during the week and 27 on Sundays compared to the proposed 352 car trips during the week and 116 on Sundays. The application is therefore recommended for refusal.

Recommendation

That Council note the report by the Acting Coordinator Planning Assessment to the Planning & Environment Committee Meeting dated 12 September 2023 regarding Application No. 131998.981211.5 for an Other Change to Development Approval (12637DA) - Integrated Permaculture Designed Organic Orchard and Golf Course Complex (18 holes) to include Group Farm Stay Accommodation (undefined use) and associated supporting infrastructure (maximum 299 beds), situated at 59 Kabi Rd Cootharaba and:

  1. Refuse the application for the following reasons:
  2. The proposal does not further the SEQ Regional Plan 2017 strategy to intensify or diversify on-farm agricultural activities as the proposed permaculture and food production is not of a significant scale, largely intended for farm stay guests, will alienate agricultural land and compromise the rural production of the land.
  3. The proposal is contrary to the Strategic Framework of the Noosa Plan 2020 as the proposed farm stay activity:
  4. Will permanently alienate land that is mapped as agricultural land conservation area and will not result in a direct expansion of the site’s agricultural activities.
  5. Will be more than complementary to the agricultural use of the land, as it will be the proposal’s primary use.
  6. Is not small scale or fit for its setting comprising 3 villages and a large common communal area with access via a small local rural road that currently has little traffic movement.
  7. The proposal is contrary to Overall Outcomes 2(c), (h), (i) & (p), Performance & Acceptable Outcomes PO2, AO2.2, AO2.3, PO4 and PO5 of the Rural Zone Code of the Noosa Plan 2020 as:
  8. The applicant has failed to demonstrate there is an overwhelming need for the proposal to be located on land identified for Agricultural Land Conservation and the proposal will further alienate land from rural production in the future.
  9. The scale of the farm stay activity is not small scale, and the traffic anticipated to be generated would detract from the rural amenity enjoyed by nearby residents.
  10. The proposal is contrary to Performance Outcome PO3 of the Visitor Accommodation Code as it is of a scale that is not compatible with the zoning intent and preferred character for the local area.
  11. The proposal does not meet PO6 of the Bushfire Hazard Overlay Code as it has not been demonstrated that an efficient and safe evacuation route is available to residents and that emergency vehicles can access the site.
  12. The proposal is of a significantly different scale and character to the approved golf course and permaculture orchard and has a more permanent nature.
  13. Note the report is provided in accordance with Section 63(5) of the Planning Act 2016.

Report details

Index: Applications/131998.981211.5