Summits shape exciting futures for city centres

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Two key city centres in Logan will receive $10 million in funding to deliver projects that will drive investment and economic growth.

Funding forms part of the 2019/20 Budget delivered by Logan City Council.

Meadowbrook’s evolution into a health and wellbeing precinct will be boosted with $5 million, with another $5 million set aside to unlock the economic potential of Logan Central.

Logan City Council Strategy and Sustainability Director David Hansen, said funding for the city centres was set aside following successful Council-hosted summits last year.

Officers from Council’s Economic Development and Strategy team collated the feedback from summit attendees and community members to compile a list of priority projects.

“This funding means we can take these projects from being ideas on paper through to the planning, detailed designed, and ultimately delivery stages,” Mr Hansen said.

“Meadowbrook is well-placed to become a leading health precinct.

“It is already home to the Logan Hospital, Griffith University and TAFE campuses, making it Logan’s prime site for health care and advanced education.

“This funding will allow for infrastructure upgrades along Loganlea Road, such as a new pedestrian crossing between the hospital and shopping centre, as well as projects aimed at attracting health-care and education investment to the area.

“Logan Central is another significant city centre, incorporating Council offices and chambers, the Logan Entertainment Centre, major retail centres and a richly diverse community.

“This funding will allow Council to proceed with projects that stimulate the local economy and enhance its standing as the cultural centre of Logan.”

Some of the key projects identified for Logan Central include:

  • A shared pathway and promenade from Wembley Rd to Logan Gardens, connecting to the upcoming water park, incorporating gathering spaces, street furniture, lighting and public art
  • Free Wi-Fi to Logan Gardens
  • A Streetscape Masterplan for the Croydon Road Precinct, including Croydon Road and its laneways, Station Road, Railway Parade and Blackwood Road and delivery of streetscape upgrades
  • Place Branding, Centre Activation and Building Improvement Strategies aimed to improve place identity, improving a night time economy and encouraging land owners and business to invest in upgrades to shop fronts

Projects for Meadowbrook include:

  • Delivering a new pedestrian crossing on Loganlea Road between Logan Hospital and Meadowbrook Woolworths Shopping Centre
  • Create a ‘Meadowbrook Leadership Group’ comprising of key stakeholders to champion Meadowbrook as Logan’s premier destination for health-care and education investment
  • Implement works to start the transformation of Loganlea Road into a ‘Healthy Street’, including street scaping and street trees, an improved pedestrian environment and off-road cycle infrastructure
  • Develop a transport and parking strategy for Meadowbrook, including a feasibility study for multi-level car parking

In addition to the above funding, an initial $300,000 has been set aside for the planning of place-making projects and programs for Jimboomba, to deliver on the key outcomes from the Jimboomba Summit, Council’s most recent summit.

Jimboomba’s centre provides essential retail, commercial, community and educational services to the regional community, including the rapidly-growing Flagstone development.

About 200 community members and business owners attended the March event to give their feedback on projects that could meet the needs of a growing community and boost the local economy.

A list of priority projects is still to be determined. In previous budgets, $5 million was allocated to Beenleigh and Springwood following similar summits in those locations.

Logan Planning Scheme 2015 Version 6 released

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The Logan Planning Scheme commenced on 18 May 2015. Council has committed to ensuring that our Planning Scheme is a living and evolving document that responds to community, business, investment and environmental needs and changes.

Over the past 4 years not only has significant development occurred across the City, the Planning Scheme has also been instrumental in achieving numerous community and environmental accolades as well. As part of Council’s commitment to ensuring an updated and responsive Planning Scheme, Council has released its most up to date Version 6.

This new version of the planning scheme will give effect to nine planning scheme amendments and is a milestone in the evolution of Logan’s Planning Scheme.

The City of Logan recognises the importance of niche culinary tourism. For this reason, an amendment to the planning scheme is reducing red tape for microbreweries and coffee roasteries. Where microbreweries were formerly subject to the highest levels of planning assessment in many parts of the city, the small-scale brewing of beer and cider is now widely supported with less undue regulation. This reduction in red tape will allow for the continued growth of this valued emerging industry.

Industry Thresholds

  • Allowance for water and emission-intensive developments (brewery, coffee roasting, garlic press, etc.) to be code assessable (formerly impact assessable).
  • Updated thresholds table to reflect current technologies (e.g. vehicle brakes no longer contain asbestos).
  • Support for niche culinary tourism industry uses by lowering them from High/Medium Impact Industry uses to Low Impact Industry uses.
  • Significant reduction in number of impact assessable development applications.

Hours of Operation in the Mixed Use Zone

  • The requirement for development in the Mixed Use Zone to restrict operating hours to 6am to 7pm where adjoining particular zones has been removed

Version 6 of the Logan Planning Scheme 2015 has taken into account feedback from our residents and other community members about the type and extent of future development in the city. In response to this feedback, this new version of the scheme addresses specific concerns including changes to auxiliary units and Logan Reserve.

Council has a responsibility to ensure that there is housing diversity and affordability options for existing and future residents. However, over the last few years there has been an increasing number of auxiliary units being constructed in the city. An increase in auxiliary units for investment purposes was never the intent of Council. Rather the key purpose was to make it easier for residents to build a secondary dwelling on their existing home sites for their families and extended families.

Council reviewed and revised its policy position on auxiliary units and in version 6 of the scheme there is increased requirements on developers in relation to minimum lot size, road frontages, and on-site car parking spaces as well as the siting of the dwellings. From the 1st July 2018 Council introduced the payment of infrastructure charges for auxiliary unit development to ensure that where development was increasing additional dwellings on residential lots that developers were paying for the increased demand being placed on our critical infrastructure such as roads, water, parks and sewerage.

Auxiliary Units

  • Minimum lot size requirement of 450m² is located in the administrative definition
  • Minimum frontage requirement of 15m (acceptable outcome)
  • Requirement for five on-site car parking spaces (acceptable outcome)
  • Requirement for 5.5m wide crossover and driveway
  • Siting performance outcomes have been revised to reduce ability for siting variations

Logan Reserve

  • A Land Use Area Plan for Logan Reserve is now located in the Strategic Framework. This guides the land uses and residential densities in the plan area.

For more information visit the Logan Planning Scheme 2015 website.

Council is committed to maintaining a current and contemporary planning scheme which reduces red tape and provides simpler and more consistent planning regulation and policy. This is in accordance with the community’s expectations to support greater economic development opportunities, while recognising and enhancing our key environmental and regional landscape values. Council has developed a program of regular future amendments and welcomes the feedback of the community.