REDLAND City councillor Toni Bowler will not re-contest the Division 6 seat she has held since 1994.
Cr Bowler said the 18 years she spent in the council were "the best years of my life" but she would be watching the new council with interest from an arm's length.
Although she said the decision was a "complex, difficult and emotional" one, she decided not to run when she knew 46-year-old urban planner Lyndsay Byrne was contesting the seat.
"I could not leave this job unless I felt I had a good, honest person to replace me," Cr Bowler said.
"I have worked too hard to not make sure there was someone on the wings who cares as much as me about residents I have represented for 18 years.
"The revision of the Redlands Planning Scheme will be one of the biggest issues the incoming council will face and Lyndsay is qualified and skilled in town planning."
Cr Bowler said she hoped she would be remembered for initiating Indigiscapes, a council-run centre offering nature-related activities.
Her legacy will also extend next door, to Runnymede Road, where there are plans for another community-based project inside some old chicken sheds.
Cr Bowler said she was "most proud" of her role protecting conservation values in Division 6 along with "obsessively" trying to rectify land that had silt and erosion problems.
Another initiative Cr Bowler was involved with setting up is Recycle Land, affectionately known in Redlands as Harrods, a second-hand shop at the Redland Bay tip.
Cr Bowler made national headlines in 1998 when she took then councillor Frank Bradley to the Anti-Discrimination Commission.
In 2006, she worked with the Crime and Misconduct Commission to investigate corruption in Redland's council.
That work resulted in the Local Government Act being changed to close a loophole so elected members had to declare all donations.
Cr Bowler said she was concerned about many candidates running in the election but was looking forward to travelling and spending more time with her recently-widowed mum.
"Although I have disagreed with her at times, I believe Melva is a true community representative who cares about doing the right thing for the city and its future," Cr Bowler said.
"She has done a good job leading a diverse group of independents and keeping them on track for the area's benefit."
