Building height and signage bylaws with a preference for a paint palette of “muted tones“ are sticking points to the approval by Noosa Council of a Bunnings Hardware and Trade supplies store on vacant land beside its existing Warehouse at 178 Eumundi Noosa Road, Noosaville.
The application from the Bunnings Group that went before Council’s planning and environment committee meeting last week is for a two level 1087sqm building with car parking on the lower level and a store on the upper level, primarily to provide timber and trade supplies to professional builders and trades customers.
Proposed on land zoned medium impact industry which complies with the Noosa Plan 2020 the new Bunnings would operate independently from the existing warehouse, have a single elevator, separate website and differentiate itself by its white and green colour scheme.
Council staff told the meeting the building generally complied with the planning scheme, apart from its 12m height which was 2m above the plan’s 10m requirement.
When questioned why they need to go so high, Bunnings told staff they needed the height for “racking and stacking their pallets“.
Staff said they supported the increase in height after considering the proposal’s built form outcomes, its impact on the streetscape, and comparison to surrounding building heights.
Cr Brian Stockwell said he understood the justification for the height relaxation, but the signage needed to be assessed under Council’s new signage bylaws.
Staff told the meeting there was a separate court approval obtained by Bunnings for signage for the existing warehouse and they had probably “maxed out“ their existing signage.
“When we reviewed the sign laws, one of the things we tried to stop was businesses using signage by using corporate logos and colours,“ Cr Stockwell said.
“The colour scheme is part of signage.
“Commercial enterprises will want corporate colours. In Noosa we don’t, we want what our scheme says, which is muted tones.
“We appear to be not trying to get the best outcome. We’d like to see businesses in Noosa, not large with stand-out signage. We don’t need 2m signs saying we’re open.“
The application was referred to Council’s general committee meeting for further consideration.
