Locals have been invited to have their say on an iconic farm that could be the site of hundreds of homes and hectares of green space.
A public notification period is underway for a proposed development at Wises Farm – at 239 Wises Road, Buderim – which is for sale.
The 39-hectare property has been owned by generations of the Wise family, but it was placed on the market with plans for a master-planned community.
Community members can now make submissions about the proposal until September 3.
The director for town planning consultancy Innovative Planning Solutions, James Brownsworth, said people had started to make their opinions known via a limited number of formal submissions and also verbal feedback.
“Many locals are aware that the land is for sale and are expecting future development,” he said.
“To date, feedback received has been generally positive, with residents citing support for the development application, due to the Sunshine Coast’s housing shortage, economic growth, environmental considerations and community benefit.”
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An existing development approval for the property, lodged by IPS on behalf of Peter Wise, was granted in 2012, before another application was lodged in 2022. It proposes to establish the planning framework for a future residential master-planned community.
The preliminary approval document identifies a maximum of 570 dwellings, which could be houses, townhouses, units and retirement living, in low and medium-density residential areas.
Mr Brownsworth detailed some of the plans.
“It will provide a diverse range of much-needed housing,” he said.
“In addition to residential housing, the current plans also include the opportunity for community uses, a local centre, green space and a public park.”
Mr Brownsworth said the proposal included plenty of natural areas.
“The current master plan protects the central waterway through the site and dedicates to council over 12 hectares of green space as reserve and a 5000sqm usable public park,” he said.
“The DA (also) formalises the flood channel on the Wise land, which currently has no statutory protection and is only there by the goodwill of the Wise family.
“The current plans will result in complete mitigation of flood impacts caused by the development itself, in addition to addressing previous upstream development which has been the cause of historical flooding impacts on Wises Road.”
The sale of the property was instigated by Mr Wise in 2022, after he outlined his vision for the land to become a residential community with green space.
Mr Wise died, aged 82, in January, evoking tributes from around the region.
The family will continue to produce coffee, under the registered trademark of Mountain Gold. The coffee will be grown on their original property, Palmyra, nearby.
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