Have a Say in the New Town Plan

19 Aug

The Sunshine Coast proposed town plan is open for consultation. This process is mandatory and part of the process set down by the Queensland State Government. There have been many changes in order to accommodate the required 84,800 homes that the state government require Sunshine Coast to plan for as our population continues to grow, but the council is adding 20-30% on top of what is needed for the state government. How will our infrastructure cope? Perhaps you could consider adding a lack of infrastructure to your submission?

Sunshine Coast Council have provided a tool to see what is changing. More density is the goal! To do this, they have changed areas to increase building heights, introduced a new zone with reduced block sizes (down to 300m2 and changed many low-density areas to low-medium density zoning. You can use this tool to see how the entire Sunshine Coast is changing, right down to what is changing in your own neighbourhood.

We have an opportunity to have our say, don’t let this opportunity pass. If this proposed plan goes ahead we will not be able to change it.

Unfortunately, in the housing mix, we do not see any non-traditional housing options. When the planning scheme was first open to consultation, many community members asked the Council to add new housing types to increase affordable housing choices. This proposed plan has not taken our feedback into account. We need to be heard.

Tips for Making a Submission

Make several submissions. Ideally, one for affordable housing and others if you are concerned about any other proposed changes. Use strong language to ensure your message is clear so there is no confusion - strongly disagree or strongly agree.

Make it personal. Share your housing experience and explain why you want these changes.
Speak up. You may not like what is planned in terms of increased density or what is planned near your location. Tell them what you want. Support alternative housing choices (see below) and other areas of interest to you.

IMPORTANT: If you would like to include the information provided below, use it as part of your submission. Just don’t copy and paste; change a few words, some sentences here and there. The council may disregard submissions that appear to be a template. Write your submission before you head to their website; you can not save your submission halfway through.

Below is some of our suggested content for your submission on affordable housing. We have focused on Community-Led Housing, Secondary Dwellings and Tiny Homes on Wheels. If you have other items, such as more community green spaces, put another submission in.

Here is the link - https://haveyoursay.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/newplanningscheme/make-submission

Suggested Submission Content

Community Led Housing

Community-led housing (CLH) is a model where local people play a central role in the development, ownership, management, and stewardship of housing that meets their specific needs. It can take the form of collaborative housing, co-housing, and cooperative housing, which offer sustainable and affordable approaches to community living. Each household has a self-contained, private home as well as shared community space. Residents come together to manage their community, share activities, and regularly gather for meals and social events.

Buildings in these housing typologies can include a common kitchen, dining area, living/meeting space, shared laundry facilities, workshops, and other shared amenities. Open spaces, such as community gardens, play structures, seating areas, gazebos, and the like, provide outdoor communal areas. This allows the community to gather and build social capital while having the privacy of a private dwelling. There is a strong focus on community resilience, with a growing emphasis on food production.

The new town plan should include a new code that reflects the community's interest in community-led housing. The current Multi-Unit Residential Uses Code does not reflect community-led housing, as it does not permit diverse shared spaces or community-grown food.

Where there is an agricultural overlay, there should be a requirement for the community to use the land for agricultural purposes. There is already an allowance for several dwellings on rural land through the provision of accommodation for rural workers. While this intent is for temporary use, why can’t it be used for permanent use, allowing communities to come together to live and work the land permanently? The size of the community could be a sliding scale depending on the size of the land, and it would meet all setback and overlay requirements.

I request that a new community living code be included in the new town plan to facilitate the development of community-led housing, increase home ownership, and enhance housing diversity and affordability.

NOTE: You might like to add the following document that supports community-led housing as an attachment to support your submission.

Secondary Dwellings

Secondary dwellings on rural land should not require a restriction on the distance from the primary dwelling. The distance does not make it ancillary.

Ancillary means associated with, but incidental or subordinate to. The dictionary defines "ancillary" as meaning secondary in importance, and "subordinate” as belonging to a lower or inferior class. The secondary dwelling meets the definition of an ancillary because it is on the same parcel of land and is subordinate because it is a secondary dwelling. The distance does not make it ancillary.

There are precise requirements regarding privacy for residents and neighbours in the code, so a distance of more than 80m would not impact neighbours. There is no logical reason to apply a distance restriction when the state government has removed the requirement for a familial connection between the primary and secondary dwellings. This is a low barrier for landowners to help create more housing stock. We should make it easier for them to build secondary dwellings with fewer restrictions and lower costs.

Removing the distance gives residents more flexibility to build the secondary dwelling in a location that suits their preferred way of living.

I request that the 80m rule be removed in the new town plan.

Tiny Homes on Wheels

Homes on wheels used as permanent accommodation are gaining popularity in response to the escalating cost of housing. Changes in technology now allow homes on wheels to manage all grey and black waste independently and provide water and power independently. This eliminates the need for extensive infrastructure to be built, thereby protecting the environment.

Private landowners wish to host tiny homes on wheels on their property without the burden of creating a relocatable home park. Currently, they can only host one ‘temporary’ dwelling on their land, regardless of size. They have proposed a new local law allowing landowners to host up to five homes on wheels.

The relocatable home park and tourist code should be adjusted only to apply if more than 5 (6+) temporary homes are to be hosted. This would allow the local law to be changed to permit up to five temporary homes (depending on size) on private land, thereby avoiding the cost and environmental impact of creating a relocatable home park.

We also request that you follow the lead of other councils across Australia and remove the permit and timeframe requirements for the ‘establishment or occupation of a temporary home’ local law, to provide people who choose this type of secure housing with greater flexibility.

I request that tiny homes on wheels be permitted to be permanently occupied without a permit, and that the relocatable home park be amended to apply only to parks with six or more dwellings.

Submission Process - Deadline 19 September 2025

You will need to either sign up or log in to make a submission. You can use the provided form (preferred) or send it via email. It must be properly prepared to be accepted. When you use the form, you have the option to upload an attachment to your submission. Some tips can be found here.

You can not save the submission and come back to it later. Please prepare your submission in advance, as it must be completed within a single session.

Please share it with family, friends and the wider community; we need everyone to make a submission.