Cedar Woods - Upper Kedron

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

1st August 2015

Greetings

Cedar Woods - A Public Transport Wasteland?

RAIL Back on Track has learned today that the Cedar Woods development at Upper Kedron has been granted partial approval. RAIL Back on Track has two main areas of concern:

1. Density Too Low To Support Decent Public Transport Service

The proposed density of 7.5 dwellings/ha is barely above the absolute minimum standard for the most basic TransLink bus service. If the government continues to insist on a density this low, the only a sparse peak hour only service will be viable, if at all. This is unacceptable for a location that is around 12 km from the Brisbane CBD, and will add another location to the list of public transport black holes in Brisbane. The design will guarantee congestion and car dominated travel which will cost the tax payer a minimum of 6 times more per trip made!

2. No Direct Road Connection For Buses

Without a road connection to Mt Nebo Road, the possibility of high frequency bus services such as The Gap BUZ 385 extending into the development will never ever be possible. Restricted bus only access is possible using sump busters or other devices.

RAIL Back on Track calls on Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jackie Trad MP to reconsider our two main areas of concern. At bare minimum a 30 minute all day bus service should be supported and bus access from Mt Nebo Road possible.

Best wishes,
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

1. Brisbanetimes: Cedar Woods Wins Partial Approval
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/cedar-woods-development-wins-partial-approval-
from-state-government-20150731-gip492.html

2. http://movingforward.discoursemedia.org/costofcommute/

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Lord Mayor: Cedar Woods may not proceed

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Labor promises 'fiery' Cedar Woods meeting

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Quirk rebuffs 'stupid' grilling over Cedar Woods

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest North West News 12th August 2015 page 3

CONCERNS CEDAR WOODS KNOCK-BACK WILL HIT TRANSPORT

A DECISION by the State Government to approve just over half the 980 homes planned for the Cedar Woods development in Upper Kedron will force northwest residents to put up with another public transport "black hole".

Rail Back on Track coordinator and public transport lobbyist Robert Dow said a partial approval to go ahead with 480 homes in the controversial development would mean a residential density of 7.5 dwellings per hectare, barely above the minimum threshold for introducing the "most basic TransLink bus service".
The absolute minimum for any bus service TransLink will operate is seven dwellings per hectare.

"A density of approximately 15 dwellings per hectare would be recommended by us to support a basic 30minute bus service," Mr Dow said. "If the government continues to insist on a density this low, then only a sparse peak hour-only service will be viable, if at all."

A TransLink spokesman said council had imposed road upgrade works on the developer as a condition of its preliminary approval for the Upper Kedron site but the Deputy Premier had now handed down a ministerial approval on this development application.

"Under council's original approval, the Mt Nebo emergency access track was conditioned to be locked off and not available to general traffic, which was in direct response to community feedback specifically about traffic impacts on Waterworks Rd," he said.

[#Metro]

Planning in Queensland:

1. Make Plan
2. When ready to implement plan, throw plan out of window
3. Knee-jerk response
4. Rinse and repeat

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Brisbane City Council set to amend its Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan after order from State Government

[Jonno]

Couriermail Quest --> Brisbane City Council set to amend its Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan after order from State Government

Let the congestion commence and then the hand ringing that our infrastructure (just the roads really) is not  keeping up with progress.....rinse and repeat!!!

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Scaled back Cedar Woods development at Upper Kedron gets green light

A CONTROVERSIAL housing project in Brisbane's northwest has been given the green light for its stage two expansion after waiting for more than a year for approval.

But Brisbane City Council have scaled back the second stage of the Cedar Woods development in Upper Kedron by 30 per cent, approving 99 residential lots after the developer applied for 159. Council claimed the State Government's bushfire requirements restricted its decision.

The massive development was granted preliminary first-stage approval for 480 lots on 228ha of land after it was called in by the Labor Government shortly after coming to power last year.

In September last year, Local Government Minister Jackie Trad gave council one year to redo its local planning schemes to reflect the development outcomes for the remainder of the site.

City planning boss Julian Simmonds yesterday said he formally asked Ms Trad for the bushfire risk to "more appropriately addressed" in its preliminary stage one approval after ticking off on stage two.

"I feel it is of importance for the Minister's decision on the preliminary approval and stage one for Cedar Woods be amended as soon as possible to rectify this deficiency," Cr Simmonds said.

Ms Trad's office has been contacted for a response.

The developer originally applied for 1350 residential lots but council claimed it was scaled back to 980 so 40 per cent of the site would be saved for open space.

The first 21 lots of the development were released for sale in June this year.

[#Metro]

Pretty sad outcome

- buses unviable in that area with lower density
- hard to see how fewer houses decreases bushfire risk
- "missing middle" housing has been banned apparently from the area, little rationale for this
- It's not even in The Gap

This is why clear rules are needed and 'as of right' codes.

[Jonno]

Couriermail --> Scaled back Cedar Woods development at Upper Kedron gets green light

A CONTROVERSIAL housing project in Brisbane's northwest has been given the green light for its stage two expansion after waiting for more than a year for approval.

But Brisbane City Council have scaled back the second stage of the Cedar Woods development in Upper Kedron by 30 per cent, approving 99 residential lots after the developer applied for 159. Council claimed the State Government's bushfire requirements restricted its decision.

The massive development was granted preliminary first-stage approval for 480 lots on 228ha of land after it was called in by the Labor Government shortly after coming to power last year.

In September last year, Local Government Minister Jackie Trad gave council one year to redo its local planning schemes to reflect the development outcomes for the remainder of the site.

City planning boss Julian Simmonds yesterday said he formally asked Ms Trad for the bushfire risk to "more appropriately addressed" in its preliminary stage one approval after ticking off on stage two.

"I feel it is of importance for the Minister's decision on the preliminary approval and stage one for Cedar Woods be amended as soon as possible to rectify this deficiency," Cr Simmonds said.

Ms Trad's office has been contacted for a response.

The developer originally applied for 1350 residential lots but council claimed it was scaled back to 980 so 40 per cent of the site would be saved for open space.

The first 21 lots of the development were released for sale in June this year.

Town Planning at its worst!!! Bring on the congestion.  Planning to make the things they were complaining about worse!!  ...and when it stuffs up ...and it will...they will say the Government is not building enough roads!!!  Brisbane - Stuck in Last Century Somewhere!!

[tazzer9]

Is cedar woods under BCC or MBRC control?   Its one of those places that right on the boundary between the two.

[aldonius]

Upper Kedron is BCC.
In Google Maps, you can click on the suburb name to get an overlay of its boundaries. (Enoggera Reservoir is also BCC).

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane City Council approves draft plan at centre of Cedar Woods development

A DRAFT neighbourhood plan at the centre of a controversial inner-west Brisbane development has been endorsed by council a year after it was ordered to revisit it.

Brisbane City Council voted to endorse the Ferny Grove/Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan at the final meeting of the year at City Hall today.

The State Government ordered council to revisit the plan in September last year after the contentious Cedar Woods development was called in following an election promise by local member Kate Jones.

The State Government subsequently gave preliminary approval of 480 lots in part of the Cedar Woods site after rejecting the original proposal for 1350 lots. Council earlier this year then approved a further 99 lots for the stage two development.

Council planning boss Julian Simmonds accused Ms Jones of caving in to community pressure despite the State Government identifying the area for future development.

"That is why we've had to plan - because they've completely changed the goal posts on the community," Cr Simmonds said.

"We saw the Deputy Premier out there saying this area could accommodate up to 1200 dwellings - even more than what council had originally envisaged as part of its approval process. That is why we're out there with the community in order to conduct a planning process - because the labor politics that was conducted prior to an election."

Council were given one year to finalise the plan but Lord Mayor Graham Quirk told the chamber today it took a little longer because proper processes needed to be followed.

"The administration prides itself on various steps of non-statutory consultation undertaken for all of our neighbourhoods," Cr Quirk said.

"As such, we did not propose to reduce or cut corners in any of those three opportunities for public consultation."

Opposition Labor councillor Shayne Sutton said council should have started a neighbourhood plan for the area back in 2009 when the it had been identified as an emerging community.

"Only as result of a State Government call in and then a subsequent ministerial direction did this council finally commence this neighbourhood plan," Cr Sutton said. "That is an indictment on every single LNP councillor in this place."

Any future Cedar Woods development approvals will go through normal council processes.

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Labor MPs slam claims State demanded 500 more homes in Cedar Woods development at Upper Kedron

LABOR MPs have slammed claims the State Government demanded an extra 500 homes be crammed into the controversial Cedar Woods development with one calling them "absolute crap".

Cr Steve Toomey (LNP — The Gap) said Brisbane City Council had been told to boost the number of homes allowed in Upper Kedron under the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan to about 1500.

"This is a clear breach of trust with our community," Cr Toomey said.

Ferny Grove state Labor MP Mark Furner, whose electorate covers Upper Kedron, said Cr Toomey's claim was a "blatant lie" and called on him to "stop playing grubby gutter politics".

Cr Toomey told the North-West News: "The State Government has instructed that the low density residential Cedar Creek South area of the plan is increased by 33ha, consequently reducing the small-acreage "urban edge" area by 33ha. "The density of the Cedar Creek South area was also increased from 12 lots/ha to 15 lots/ha ...

"The development will now be around 1500 homes, a 50 per cent increase on the original 980 homes that (Ashgrove state Labor MP) Kate Jones said was an 'unsustainable mega suburb'."

Mr Furner said: "I've not seen any paperwork, any correspondence, that suggests there needs to be 1500 homes."

Ms Jones described the LNP claims as "complete and utter crap".

"I have been 100 per cent consistent in saying I do not think our local infrastructure can support the new plan released by Council to expand the urban footprint at Upper Kedron," Ms Jones said.

Planning Minister Jackie Trad joined the fray, taking aim at comments by Brisbane City Council Planning chairman Julian Simmonds (LNP).

At last week's BCC meeting Cr Simmonds said the State Government had directed it to increase the housing density to 1500 homes.

Ms Trad said the claim was "totally false".

"Decisions about lot numbers and yields are made by council in response to development applications," she said.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Upper Kedron is BCC.
In Google Maps, you can click on the suburb name to get an overlay of its boundaries. (Enoggera Reservoir is also BCC).

BCC goes half way up Mt Nebo because there's always a cop with a radar gun hiding near the welcome to brisbane sign.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> State government backs down after Upper Kedron density ruling error

The state government has been forced to correct an error that could have doubled the density in a controversial planned community in Brisbane's north-west.

But the government's retraction of its original decision has not stopped the political blame game surrounding the Cedar Woods development at Upper Kedron.

The draft Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan includes the Cedar Woods development, which has been controversial since it was first proposed in June 2014.

At a council meeting earlier this month, city planning chairman Julian Simmonds accused state government minister Kate Jones of being secretive and going behind the community's back as the state review of the draft neighbourhood plan called for an increase in housing density – something Ms Jones had campaigned against in 2015.

Cr Simmonds said the state government changes, outlined in a letter received by the council on April 20, directed the council to increase housing density by 50 per cent, increasing the number of new homes from 980 to around 1500.

Letters from the state government to the council, sighted by Fairfax Media, did not state exact number for the increase of density or lots at the site.

The letter included several directives including the Cedar Creek south diverse sub-precinct area to be amended, and also removed text and replaced it with the stipulation that "development for housing diversity is based on a pattern that provides for a mix of dwelling types".

The council argued it was the second change that effectively removed the specified density from the draft neighbourhood plan, which meant the density reverted back to the regional plan guidelines.

According to the SEQ Regional Plan 2009, new residential developments in development areas should achieve a minimum dwelling yield of 15 dwellings per hectare.

The council was quick to object to the changes the state government imposed on the area and councillor Steven Toomey (The Gap) started an e-petition rejecting the state government's changes to the draft neighbourhood plan.

To date, the e-petition has attracted 454 signatures.

On May 18, Ms Trad wrote again to Cr Simmonds.

"I have decided to remake my decision," she said in the letter.

"In my reassessment of the proposed amendment, I have concluded that the only matter requiring direction in order to satisfy the SPP (State Planning Policy) and SEQRP (South East Queensland Regional Plan) relates to bushfire hazard. I am also requiring that a minor technical error be corrected."

The letter stated the conditions relating to extent and development provisions within the Cedar Creek diverse housing sub-precinct be removed.

"To remove any doubt...my position is that the density and yield envisaged for the site is a matter for the council to determine," Ms Trad wrote in the letter.

"It is my clear intention that this should result in no increase to the density or yield provided for on the site put forward by the council in the proposed amendment."

Cr Toomey said the state government's reversal of its previous direction to increase density was a win for the community.

"Clearly the local state MP Kate Jones had not previously relayed community concerns about development on this site, but the minister had now heard out community voice and I thank her for this," he said.

"This confirms the state government knows it got this wrong, this is excellent news fore local residents."

Ms Trad said decision to lower the densities was made following a meeting with Ms Jones and Member for Ferny Grove Mark Furner and community groups.

"This shows the Palaszczuk Government's commitment to ensuring the community can have their say in local planning, especially where sensitive issues like National Parks are involved.

"As with all draft neighbourhood plans, I now expect council to thoroughly consult with the community to ensure it reflects good planning outcomes and the views of local residents."

The council is still required to perform further bushfire analysis before the draft plan can be put to the public for consultation.

The e-petition will be presented to the council for consideration on Tuesday.

Cedar Woods timeline

June 2014 – The Cedar Woods development application was lodged and proposed 1349 residential lots and one mixed used commercial lots to be delivered over a 10 year period. Less than 10 dwellings per hectare were proposed and 91 hectares of the site was to be given to the council as green space.

December 9, 2014 - The council approved the development with a reduced yield of 980 lots per hectare, a 27 per cent reduction in lots.

January, 2015 - At the state election, Kate Jones was fighting to reclaim the seat of Ashgrove and the Cedar Woods development was the focus of one of her key election promises. Election material distributed by Ms Jones said if she was re-elected at the January 31 election, her first act would be for the Queensland government to use its call in powers to re-assess the Cedar Woods development. Ms Jones successfully won the seat of Ashgrove in 2015.

April 24, 2015 - Deputy Premier Jackie Trad called in the project to review the development application. The call-in notice said the state government would consider the proposed development and how the approval from council could impact on the perception of an efficient, effective and accountable planning and development assessment system.

July 31, 2015 - The state government issued their decision notice in which it awarded preliminary approval in part and approved the development permit for reconfiguring a lot for Stage 1 in part, both subject to conditions, and refused the development permit for reconfiguring a lot for Stage 2.

August 7, 2015 - As part of the approval, Ms Trad wrote to Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and requested the council amend the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan to determine appropriate planning and development outcomes for the site. The existing neighbourhood plan was first adopted in 2007.

January, 2017 - The newly developed draft neighbourhood plan was sent to the state government.

April 20, 2017 – The council received a response to the draft neighbourhood plan from the minister which included changes that resulted in an increase of housing density within the Cedar Woods development.

May 9, 2017 – Council planning chairman Julian Simmonds accused Kate Jones of being secretive about the state government's order to increase housing density at Cedar Woods.

May 17, 2017 – Councillor Steven Toomey started an e-petition objecting to the state government changed surrounding density.

May 18, 2017 – Ms Trad wrote to Cr Simmonds to say she remade her decision in regards to the draft city plan and removed directives that would alter the density within the precinct.