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Since the release of the Brisbane CityPlan 2014 in June last year, Brisbane City Council have been busy working on their first round of amendments. BCC are currently preparing a major amendments package which includes more significant changes which will be reviewed by the State Government and advertised to the public. The recent minor amendments generally include fixing typos and punctuation; however, some amendments include slight alterations to the way the level of assessment tables or Performance Outcomes are written.

So what’s changed and how does it affect you?
The most recent amendments were released on the 1^st September and then the 15^th September 2015, the most significant of which are:

• 3 Storey Houses
• Creek/Waterway Flood Mapping
• Subdivision Code

3 Storey Houses
Under the CityPlan 2014, Council’s acceptable height limit for houses in most residential zones is 9.5 metres above ground level, and of two storey construction.  Exceptions to this limit apply in instances where the proposed dwelling is located on a steeply sloping site, or three storey houses are “prevailing in the immediate vicinity”.   A statutory note has now been included in the Codes which defines this statement as “the building height of more than 50% of the dwelling houses in the same zone as the subject site and within 35m of any point of the street frontage of the subject site”.  This “note” makes Council’s internal interpretation of this provision more transparent to the public, and provides greater consistency in interpretation where 3 storey houses may be accepted.

Creek/Waterway Flood Mapping
BCC have revised the flood level mapping for some areas. In some instances, properties mapped as being significantly affected by flooding have been amended to be included in the lowest sub-categories. The FloodWise Property Report tool has also been revised in accordance with this new information. The flood inundation on one property we investigated was reduced from 3.5m AHD to 2.9m AHD, impacting the development approach and feasibility for that particular site.

Subdivision Code
This change is more subtle, however with an understanding of Council’s current internal discussions, we are aware of the implications of these changes. The wording in question relates to the Performance Outcome for Lot Size which now states that the size of the lot is appropriate to the intended land use and consistent with zones, zone precincts, neighbourhood plans and overlays. This change has implications for subdivision of sites where the particular zone code stipulates a lot size (i.e. Character Zone – Character Precinct) and in Neighbourhood Plans that specifically identify a minimum lot size (i.e. Moggill-Bellbowrie).

Want to know more about how these changes impact you or the development potential of your property?

Call Ken, Doug or Catherine today on (07) 3876 0533

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