'Seems like a no-brainer': Minister called in over river views, more houses

The city council's chief executive officer Andrew Mason said the proposal to rezone land in the Riverview Terrace area to a residential zone attracted a number of submissions.

He said the move to request Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny to appoint an independent panel to hear the matter came after the submissions couldn't be resolved.

When the proposal was first raised last year it was labelled as a "no-brainer" by a councillor.

Under the plan, land in Riverview Terrance, Hopkins Point Road and Casuarina Court would switch from a rural living zone to residential.

Alongside the rezoning issue, the panel will be asked to consider an application for a two-lot subdivision at 32 Riverview Terrance.

Mayor Ben Blain said it was mainly fixing a planning anomaly.

Concerns about the potential for smaller lot sizes and the impact on view and biodiversity were among the concerns raised about the proposed rezoning.

Objectors argued it represented "careless" and unnecessary urbanisation within an area that lacked an abundance of treed land.

The move to rezone the land, the council said, would bring it into line with neighbouring land to the east and west and would give some landowners "modest" development opportunities.

The proposed changes come after moves to rezone land in the Logans Beach area were rejected by the planning minister.

In 2019, the council had requested authorisation from the minister to rezone land on the south side of Hopkins Point Road to a neighbourhood residential zone - something that could have created up to 200 lifestyle blocks.

But it was knocked back over concerns regarding impact on the landscape values, proposed density and character of the land around the Logans Beach.

Any move by the council to revisit an attempt to rezone Logans Beach land, would require a "substantial budget", the agenda said.

In February 2023, Cr Angie Paspaliaris said the current zoning for the Riverview Terrace area was inappropriate when considered against the existing pattern of development within the area.

Cr Richard Ziegeler told last year's meeting it "makes perfect sense to go down this path".

"It just seems like a no-brainer to me. That particular area is clearly a residential one," he said.

Once the panel has handed down a report, it will be brought back to the council to consider.

The motion was passed in a 6-0 vote. Cr Debbie Arnott declared a conflict of interest and didn't vote.