The minimum number of people an evacuation centre at Twin Waters West would have to cater for would become the maximum under proposed changes to approval conditions for the development.
Stockland has lodged an application for minor changes to some of the 100 conditions in the preliminary approval granted by Sunshine Coast Council last December for the 450-home development on 104 hectares.
A Stockland spokesperson said the changes would simply bring the approval conditions into line with technical reports, but an opponent of the controversial development has described them as anything but minor.
The changes sought by Stockland through town planning firm Project Urban relate to the evacuation centre required as part of the development, heritage trees, a park, and a park bench.
Under the preliminary approval that was granted by the council, Stockland must provide an evacuation centre with a minimum floor area of 700sqm, capable of sheltering a minimum of 583 people in immediate circumstances and 140 people on a temporary basis, with enough onsite power and water for 583 people for five days.
Stockland’s application for changes, referring to a Red Cross guide for emergency shelter, submits that 583 should be the maximum number of people the centre should be able to hold in immediate circumstances, and that 140 be the maximum number of people it should be able to shelter temporarily or for up to five days.
The requested minor changes would also release Stockland from a requirement to accept recommendations from the National Trust of Queensland about protecting a blazed tree and four mango trees at Settlers Park, on David Low Way.
The application also asks to change a water quality testing condition for the Twin Waters West lake, so that it aligns with an approved lake management plan that requires acceptable test levels 75 per cent to 85 per cent of the time.
Other changes would mean a lakeside park would not need to be finished until the first residents move into the first stage, and a bench seat near Settlers Park would not have to be built until the nearest stage was complete.
A Stockland spokesperson said “the minor change application is technical in nature and is in accordance with the Sunshine Coast Council Planning Scheme”.
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“The application will be assessed by council against the preliminary approval,” the spokesperson said.
“Stockland will continue to work with the relevant stakeholders to progress the plans for the proposed development in line with the preliminary approval and the approved overall plan of development.
Kathryn Hyman, president of Save Twin Waters West, said the changes were concerning.
She said the evacuation centre had been a condition of approval because the development was not supposed to burden emergency services in times of disaster.
“This shifting of the requirements doesn’t benefit the community in times of disaster. It further burdens emergency services,” she said.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said a request for a “minor change” to a development approval could only be made when the change met the definition in the Planning Act.
“Council’s assessment team is in the initial stages of reviewing a change application submitted on behalf of Stockland Development Pty Ltd,” the spokesperson said.
Ms Hyman predicted the application for minor changes would be the start of more to come.
“We know that what was proposed was never going to occur. This is just the beginning of what they are starting to retract, and they’ll retract and retract and delete certain conditions of the approval,” she said.
Ms Hyman urged the council and councillors to maintain the conditions it had placed on the development.
“They need to understand that this what they voted for and this is what we said might happen,” she said.
“This is just the beginning of the changes that we are going to see.”
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