FORMER Redland City councillor Toni Bowler used last week’s council meeting to deny rumours she inappropriately lobbied a state minister to change the South East Queensland Regional Plan.
In the plan, released in July 2009, land at Springacre and Taylor roads and Woodlands Drive at Thornlands was confirmed for conservation purposes and excluded from the “Urban Footprint”.
Ms Bowler said she wanted to defend her reputation after claims made at the previous meeting from Thornlands resident Kay Murphy.
Mayor Karen Williams commented on the matter on Facebook in April.
On Facebook, the mayor claimed Ms Bowler and other former councillors went to a state government minister and asked for land to be removed from the urban footprint.
“You ignored a unanimous council resolution and went to the minister to have him remove this area out of the South East Regional Plan,” Cr Williams wrote.
Ms Bowler, who held division 6 from 1994 to 2012, said the claim was “an absolute lie” and she was disappointed it was raised in chambers.
“I never lobbied any minister to change the plan for the areas around Taylor Road, Woodlands Drive or any of those areas,” she said.
“…Residents of Taylor and Woodlands Drive expect the same rights afforded to other residents of Redlands.
“Well, well, not everyone will get the golden egg of development people crave for.
“Throwing a few bucks around at the election time doesn’t justify residential development,” Ms Bowler told the meeting.
Mayor Karen Williams interjected twice, first asking Ms Bowler to remain respectful of the council and not to use the forum to settle scores with other residents.
Thornlands residents claim removing the area from the “urban footprint” meant they could not subdivide their acreage land for housing estates.
Thornlands resident Eveline Fennelly said the Woodlands Drive-Taylor Road land was included in a 2008 gazetted draft of the plan but left out of the final document.
She said in 2005, council agreed to rezone the area to Emerging Urban Community.
However, under the gazetted 2006 council planning scheme the area was left with a Rural Non-urban zoning.
Ms Bowler said the area south of Boundary Road was never intended to be residential following a 2007 Local Growth Management Strategy committee decision, which removed reference to “residential” zoning in Thornlands Integrated Enterprise Area.
"Council decisions must align with the regional plan and the 2007 strategy was never completed," Ms Fennelly said.
