Updated site plans have been lodged as a major resort fights to build cabins in a known koala habitat.
The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) is appealing to the Planning and Environment Court to have a decision to reject an expansion to its Noosa Heads resort overturned.
In June 2022 the resort applied to build 15 self-contained accommodation units at 94 and 142 Noosa Drive.
It also proposed a new lagoon pool within the existing RACV Noosa Resort complex, an additional 18 carparking spaces and alterations to the existing access.
However, Noosa Council refused the application in November 2023, labelling the development as “an unacceptable loss of vegetation”.
The two sites fall under the Tourist Accommodation Zone (TAZ) and Environmental Management and Conservation Zone (EM&CZ), with a total area of about 5.18 hectares.
According to court documentation, the amended plans are part of a minor change to the application and would reduce site cover, in turn increasing vegetation retention.
The original proposal outlined it would require the removal of 71 trees out of 242 to build the development, with a further 11 trees labelled as “to be confirmed”.
The amended plans now show the number of removed trees decreasing to 64, with five still to be confirmed.
There is also a proposed reduction of the site cover by 151sqm as well as the ground floor area by 152sqm.
This is due to decreasing the size of four of the cabins from two-bedroom units to one-bedroom units.
According to the plans, setbacks to the road and southwest boundary would also be increased and there would now be no built form within the EM&CZ.
“The proposed changes involve taking all of the built form of the development and placing it solely within the TAZ … rather than having some (very minor) incursions outside of that zone into the EM&CZ,” court document stated.
“This has been achieved by shifting the cabin locations (and other infrastructure) within the land, without involving any new or additional land.”
The application for a minor change was heard in the Brisbane Planning and Environment Court on October 8. The matter is listed for review again on November 5.
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