Urban Planning and Development

Urban planning and development is one of those issues where the amalgamation of planning schemes from across the 5 shires has commenced, but is still not complete, some people may see this as council dragging their feet, but there is a good reason for this.

Planning schemes define our community. They identify who we are and what we want to be. Development of a planning scheme has a direct and tangible relationship to the social wellbeing of any community, which is why it cannot be rushed.

Planning schemes not only define things like minimum lot sizes and boundary clearances, but how different types of land use relate to each other. They often are the only tool available to the public that gives them a say about what goes where, and what it will look like.

Having said all that, a review of the planning schemes is now due and we must start to think about what we want our communities of the future to look like. Where do we want to see our housing, commercial and industrial land, what directions our towns should grow and how we are going to service them?

We need to be thinking about the relationship between floods and future development. Things like minimum floor heights in flood prone areas, whether or not we allow subdivision in flood prone areas, stormwater management and the impact of headworks.

We also need to consider the ratios of commercial space to residential space. As a community grows, the need for additional shops and offices also grows. Where are we going to source our water from and where are we going to dispose of our waste to.

There has been some criticism of council for failing to prepare for the affects of the resources boom, but I would counter that by saying there was a failure of the resource companies to inform council of their intentions in the area. The resource industry seem unwilling to  share some information on what they have planned for the region as they seem to treat their plans as “It’s commercial in confidence” this kind of secrecy makes any form of planning difficult and some of the growing pains that our community is experiencing now must be laid at their feet.

I have a number of views on what I feel our community should look like into the future, many of them I have expressed elsewhere but for the record here are some of the key points:

·         I do not support further subdivision in flood prone areas
·         I do not support a reduction in minimum lot sizes
·         I support the expansion of the area currently zoned commercial land in Roma (where that extension would be is up for debate)
·         I do not support developments such as the ULDA (Clearview Rise)
·         We must mitigate the impact of flooding
·         Retaining current block width to depth ratios

While council endeavours to process planning approvals as quickly as possible, I for one would hate to see the process rushed as once the approval is given, there is no going back. Figures must be checked and design must be scrutinised. A little bit of time for a thorough examination is fine by me.