A LOOPHOLE in state planning legislation has opened the way for plans for a mobile home park at Birkdale.
Although council still has to make its decision on the 43-unit mobile home park on Collingwood Road at Birkdale Road, it did decide to ask the state to tighten laws on cutting down koala trees for dwelling homes.
Under the South East Queensland Koala Conservation State Planning Regulatory Provisions it is legal for koal trees to be cut down for a domestic house development.
However, it is illegal to axe mature koala habitat trees to make way for a commercial project.
Redland City Council decided to write to the state government informing it of the planning anomaly which allows koala trees to be bulldozed for dwelling houses but not for commercial developments.
Gateway Lifestyle lodged an application for the mobile home park last year and asked council to reclassify the land from medium value bushland to low value rehabilitation so two trees could be cut down.
Officers told Wednesday’s council meeting, the development area was legally cleared for a dwelling house and a pool.
The officer said previous clearing substantially diminished the site’s value as bushland paving the way for council to consider the request to downgrade the land.
Council downgraded the land to a medium value rehabilitation classification so it could then proceed to assess the development application for the mobile homes.
It will write to the state asking for a review of the South East Queensland Koala Conservation State Planning Regulatory Provisions to ensure tighter controls over exempt vegetation clearing for domestic houses.
Council also called on the state to outline the relationship between the state planning provisions and local planning laws.
Only councillors Wendy Boglary (Div1), Lance Hewlett (Div4) and Paul Bishop (Div 10) voted against the request.