Background to the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014

Preparation of the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 commenced in December 2009 and concluded with the adoption of the planning scheme on 14 April 2014.

Phase	Key Activities	Timing - completed
Phase 1	Statement of Proposals Opportunity for public comment (statutory requirement)	Dec 2009 - Feb 2010
Phase 2	Background planning and development of strategic framework Opportunity for public comment	Feb 2010 - May 2010
Phase 3	Intensive planning and scheme drafting	June 2010 - June 2011
Phase 4	Preliminary internal and legal review	Oct 2010 - June 2011
Phase 5	First state interest review process	Feb 2012 - Oct 2012
Phase 6	Public notification process	19 Oct - 14 Dec 2012
Phase 7	Consider and report on submissions	Dec 2012 - Dec 2013
Phase 8	Ministerial review process	Dec 2013 - Apr 2014
Phase 9	Adoption and commencement of Planning Scheme	Adoption - 14 Apr 2014 Commencement - 21 May 2014

Planning scheme preparation and adoption process

The process begins... Our Place Our Future

Under the consultation program for Our Place Our Future the Statement of Proposals for the new planning scheme and a range of other strategy documents were placed on public display from 12 October to 7 December 2009 – Phase 1 of the planning scheme preparation.

During Phase 2 of the planning scheme preparation, community feedback was sought at a more local level to gather information on the character and identity of townships and local areas.

As part of this process, a community focus group and an industry focus group were formed to allow an exchange of knowledge and to provide input into the planning scheme development.

State government—Preliminary Draft Planning Scheme

On 29 July 2011, council delivered the preliminary draft of the proposed Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme to the Queensland government for consultation.

Iconic places advisory panels

The Blackall Range and the former Noosa Shire are designated Iconic Places on the Sunshine Coast.

The state government-appointed Blackall Range and Noosa Iconic Places Advisory panels reviewed the draft planning scheme and provided recommendations to protect the iconic values of these places.

First State Interest Review

On 15 February 2012, council submitted the iconic place reports (ie council's impact reports, the advisory panels' reports and council's response reports) for the Blackall Range and Noosa, together with the Preliminary Draft Planning Scheme to the state government to formally conduct the First State Interest Review. On 3 October 2012, the state government advised that council may proceed to public consultation on the draft planning scheme.

Public Notification

The Sunshine Coast Council released the Draft Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2012 for public consultation from 19 October 2012 until 14 December 2012. The extensive consultation program included a permanently staffed display in Maroochydore, 40 local information displays, 8 community forums and approximately 65 key stakeholder meetings with representatives from industry, business and community groups. Approximately 20 individual scheduled appointments were also conducted to discuss individual property details.

In total, during the consultation process, the public consultation team spoke to over 5,000 people across the Sunshine Coast.

Council received over 3200 submissions in relation to the draft planning scheme (2880 relating to the new Sunshine Coast Council area).

Noosa de-amalgamation

In March 2013, the Noosa community voted to de-amalgamate from the Sunshine Coast region to form the Noosa local government area. The Noosa part of the draft planning scheme and all related submissions were given to the Transfer Manager for the new Noosa Council for its consideration.

Consideration of Submissions

In accordance with Statutory Guideline 01/13 – Making or amending a local planning instrument, council reviewed all properly made submissions relating to the Sunshine Coast Council area and made modifications to the draft planning scheme to simplify, improve useability and respond to submissions.

Each submitter received a response detailing how their submission has been dealt with by council. The Overview of Submissions and Responses provides a summary of the issues raised and outlines how these issues were addressed in the proposed planning scheme. For further details, Key Issues Reports have been prepared for the key issues raised in the submissions.

Final Ministerial Review

On 2nd December 2013, Council resolved to forward the Draft Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme to the state government to seek the Minister for Department State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (DSDIP) approval for Council to adopt the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme. On 6 December 2013, the Draft was submitted to the minister for approval.

Council officers worked with officers from DSDIP to resolve outstanding issues and finalise the proposed Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme. As part of this process, further changes were made to the revised proposed Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme, mostly in response to the State Planning Policy.

On 7 March 2014, Council received a letter from the Minister advising that Council may proceed to adopt the proposed Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme, subject to conditions.

Adoption and Commencement of the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014

On 14 April 2014 council adopted the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 and the planning scheme policies (the planning scheme).

The planning scheme and the planning scheme policies were gazetted[285KB] on 2 May 2014 and commenced on 21 May 2014.

The Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 replaced the existing Caloundra City Plan 2004 and Maroochy Plan 2000 planning schemes with one plan for the region.

The Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 has also been prepared in accordance with:

The Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 was amended for alignment with the Planning Act 2016 on 3 July 2017.

Overview of Submissions and Responses

Council received 3252 submissions during the consultation period for the Draft Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme. Of these, 2880 related to the de-amalgamated Sunshine Coast Council area.

A range of issues were raised. About a third of submissions sought a change in zoning for a particular property or group of properties. Around half of submissions related to a handful of localised issues. For example, over 900 submitters were concerned with extractive resources near Browns Creek Road, Bridges and Yandina Creek.

While a number of issues have emerged as key concerns, on the whole the draft planning scheme was well received by the community. A summary of the submissions and an overview of council's response is provided in the Summary of Submissions and Responses[76KB]

Council has prepared key issue reports to provide more detailed responses to the concerns raised. They have been categorised into 'region wide' and 'area specific'.