By Jolene Ogle
Councillors sat through a marathon first meeting for 2017 on Monday 16 January when the general committee met to discuss a range of local issues including development and plastic bag bans.
Councillors considered 16 agenda items throughout the long meeting with some of them due to be ratified at Thursday’s ordinary meeting.
Among the agenda items was the revision and amendment of current camping costs in tourist parks throughout the shire.
The suggested changes include an increase of 2-3 per cent in the cost of camping at Noosa River Holiday Park and a 4-5 per cent increase in the nightly tariff for Noosa River Tourist long RV powered sites.
The report also suggested an increase of between 9-11 per cent for the Boreen Point Campground tariffs and the cost of long-term sites should increase from $24 per week to $26.
The report requests the fees and charges apply until the end of the June/July school holidays in 2018.
The council deferred a decision on an expansion application from Tewantin RSL that would see the venue build a smokers’ terrace, a 125-car basement carpark, children’s’ lounge, store and an extension of the gaming lounge to allow for up to 180 pokie machines.
Councillors raised a number of concerns over the proposed expansion including the placement of driveways and resulting headlight glare into residential properties, the set-back from Pelican Street and the overall appearance of the building.
Councillors are expected to ratify the decision to submit the plans to an independent architect for peer-review at the ordinary meeting.
Planning and environment manager Kerri Coyle described the plans as “disappointing” and said the proposed expansion “wasn’t the best outcome for the street, but it does comply with the (planning) scheme”.
The proposed expansion of the RSL club won’t impact the current CWA hall and post office, but the former Noosa Community Radio Station building will be demolished if the plans are approved by the council.
Beer-lovers can rejoice with the council expected to approve a development application for a new brewery in Noosaville.
The application is for a large brewery that will brew, bottle and store alcohol, but will also offer tastings, promotional nights, retail sales and craft beer industry nights.
The application is expected to be approved at the ordinary meeting with a number of conditions including restrictions on entertainment and dining operations that must run between 10am and midnight and a $15,000 security bond.
When considering the application at Monday’s general committee meeting, councillor Joe Jurisevic said the brewery was a great way to diversify the local economy.
Mayor Tony Wellington said he would like to ask the developer to consider installing rain water tanks for watering the landscaping and solar panels.
