cover story
Have your say on the Structure Plan for Maroochydore by April 21 and for Palmview by April 19. Go to www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.
December 2008) would still fit within the current Structure Plan,” he says. The application involves a multistorey, residential-retail-office development. However, the complication may be Reed’s expected sale of the site. The company is understood to still be negotiating with big national property developers. A proposed multi-million-dollar expansion of Sunshine Plaza may face some changes. Lend Lease Retail last year said it was working with stakeholders on future plans. Shoppers have been waiting for confirmation that David Jones is joining the Coast’s biggest shopping centre, but the council has not received a development application that identifies it. Now Ron says most of the Structure Plan’s additional retail floor space is distributed on the Horton Park site. “The Plaza can still expand, but there’s no more provision for another department store there, for example,” he says. Those who are eyeing Maroochydore for its new housing will be spoilt for choice, with 4000 additional “dwelling units” spread across the centre – half to the east on the Horton Park site and the rest as infill or along newer greenfield areas such as Dalton Drive. Most of the apartment blocks and townhouses will form part of mixed-use precincts. (See brown and pink sections on map.) A prime example is Chardan’s Sunshine Cove to the west, where Reed is selling units in its Emporio development and expects to start
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COUNCIL MAGAZINE.indd 5
The new Structure Plan covers almost
206 hectares in the heart of Maroochydore It aims to create
29,500 jobs by allocating 150,000 sqm of new commercial floor space and 65,000 sqm of new retail floor space by 2031
Some sustainable design principles may exceed Building Code regulations, but they’re meant to reduce the Coast’s ecological footprint and energy and water consumption while increasing renewable energy production and the use of public transport. Ron Piper, project director of urban development, Sunshine Coast Regional Council construction within months. The council has not included any new detached properties in the Structure Plan’s residential component because of the densities required to house the region’s increasing population. The 4000 units could boost the number of Maroochydore residents by more than 8000 by 2031. Although the council’s original, broader Position Paper factored in 6000 dwellings, Ron says the number was reduced to match the council rules and community desires for the more defined Structure Plan area. “We had to work within height limits [maximum of 10 storeys only in certain sections] and the developable area,” he says. Ron points out that previous public submissions and council decisions opposed raising building heights or decreasing open space. The plan also mandates subtropical designs in general, to “embrace Maroochydore’s unique coastal and waterfront qualities”. That’s why the council is not happy with the State Minister’s decision to remove additional energy-efficiency requirements for buildings. Ron says some of the sustainable design principles may exceed Building Code
regulations, but they’re meant to reduce the Coast’s “ecological footprint and energy and water consumption” while increasing renewable energy production and the use of public transport. The council also wants the Minister to ensure that appropriate state infrastructure will be provided before or at the same time that developments get underway. So how exactly will all these new residents, workers, shoppers and recreational visitors be getting around the new Maroochydore? (See ‘T’ on map.) Not by car, if the council can help it. Besides a variety of pedestrian paths and on-road bikeways, a big transit centre and interchange will be built south of Carnaby Street. It will link various forms of public transport and new roads from outside the area, as well as a possible ‘loop’ of people movers similar to light rail within the centre, although this is not specified in the layout of the Structure Plan. Ron says transport infrastructure is vital to enable Maroochydore to become a vibrant and sustainable community. It wants the State to commit to a second access point from the Sunshine Motorway into the suburb, via an interchange and road connecting to Dalton Drive in the south. continued over >
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2/3/2011 11:10:22 AM