Deputy Mayor Frank Wilkie
Noosa Council will help create more social, public and affordable housing through planning changes, advocacy and partnerships with the State, not-for-profit and private sectors but will not become a public housing provider.
This is the approach proposed in the draft Housing Strategy, available online now and open for feedback from July 10 for four weeks.
High buyer demand, conversion of homes into short-term accommodation businesses and cost of living hikes have all helped create the housing availability and affordability crisis here and across the nation.
The draft recommends mandating and encouraging new unit developments to contain a portion of social/public housing. Low, medium and high density residential zones are flagged as needing to be preserved predominantly for residents, not STA businesses.
Council owned land near the cemetery on Lake MacDonald Drive and off Cooyar Street, Noosa Heads is proposed to be investigated for social housing.
Investigations into tiny homes being sited on council-owned, community-owned or church-owned land or in relocatable home parks are also recommended.
Secondary dwellings are proposed to house second, unrelated households without the need for subdivision.
It’s recommended that social housing not be situated away from services and public transport, nor pushed onto fire/flood-prone land or industrial estates where the clash of expectations and uses would be to the detriment of residents and businesses. Studio living in Industrial areas will be considered.
Council’s strategic planning staff advised the number of people that could be housed by the proposals in the strategy amounted to “hundreds, not thousands” and would not drastically increase Noosa’s modest population growth targets nor overload the road network. The intention is to help improve housing opportunities for many already living here.
It’s expected confidential planning scheme amendments will be drafted by July/August, then sent to the State for approval for public consultation to occur around October/November.
See report here www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/3673/2022-06-23-special-meeting-agenda
