ALP: Planning pledge

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Brisbanetimes -->  Car parks central in seven-point planning pledge

Developers would be forced to provide more car parks in unit developments under a seven-point overhaul of Brisbane's city plan developed by the Labor opposition.

Council officers would also be compelled to stick to the provisions of the City Plan when assessing developments.

And, in an unusual move, lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding has tapped Morningside councillor Shayne Sutton to be the council's planning chairman should Labor win a majority at City Hall.

"I think it's important people know that we have someone in a critical portfolio," he said.
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"Shayne has so much experience in council and she is going to be the chair of planning and development should we be elected."

Mr Harding said it was clear development would be front and centre in voters' minds on March 19, when they go to the polls.

"We have a council that put a new plan in place but it's meaningless – it's just Rafferty's Rules," he said.

"What people are crying out for is certainty.

"They want the council to be a handbrake in terms of what's approved and they want a council that consults with them, has a plan in place and, fundamentally, sticks with it."

Mr Harding said the most important thing to people was the lack of car parking at new unit developments, which had seen suburban roads crowded with parked cars.

"It's fundamental," he said.

"I was in Coorparoo and all these people came in, who wouldn't traditionally be voting for us, and they were just so frustrated about cars parking in their streets.

"Their neighbourhood has been overtaken by unit developments and they can't drive down the street."

Cr Sutton said the unit-to-carpark ratio needed to be looked at to avoid the conflict in suburban streets.

"We haven't done hard numbers yet because we think it's appropriate to have a more detailed conversation with the Brisbane community and key stakeholders like the Property Council and the UDIA," she said.

"But in City Plan 2014, we saw a reduction in car parking in many units and what we need to do is have a mixed approach, to look at whether current car park ratios are appropriate and also look at innovative systems about how you can satisfy those car parking ratios in other ways.

"The City of Sydney, for example, has been looking at how they factor in car sharing in their unit developments and that is something we understand is of great interest to the development industry."

Labor's seven-point "better planning and development guarantee" included pledged to:

    "fix the City Plan" and stick to it;
    remove as-of-right 9.5-metre height allowances;
    inform residents of any new development, be it code or impact assessable, in their neighbourhoods;
    stop streets being "parked out" due to a lack of car park provisions in new developments;
    appoint an independent city architect "to drive best practice design for Brisbane";
    strengthen protection for pre-1946 homes; and
    defend council decisions in the Planning and Environment Court.

"If we make a decision to refuse something and you want to appeal it, then you can expect us to defend it," Cr Sutton said.

"It really is a clear signal about our culture change."

Cr Sutton said Labor expected some pushback from the development industry.

"We put that down to the fact that they've got everything they want at the moment – it really is laissez faire," she said.

"We still want to engage and work with them because Brisbane still needs to grow but we need to make sure Brisbane is able to grow and it's done with more balance."

Added Mr Harding: "The plan is the plan is the plan."

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's Liberal National Party administration came under fire last month when it approved a 47-storey tower next to Customs House.

In that instance, it emerged that council officers went against the CBD's neighbourhood plan, which they described as "onerous" in a meeting with developers.

Cr Sutton said that was a high-profile example of the council's planning scheme being overridden without community consultation.

Quirk administration development assessment chairman Amanda Cooper went on the attack, accusing Cr Sutton of wanting "our city to dwell in the dark ages, meaning fewer jobs and fewer facilities for Brisbane".

"A piece of political propaganda is a pathetic contribution to a debate about the future of our city," she said.

"It's shallow and empty promises that have no substance or vision for Brisbane."