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OUR SAY
"OUR PLACE OUR FUTURE"
SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF:
EUMUNDI & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE INC
EUMUNDI & DISTRICT HISTORICAL ASSN INC
EUMUNDI & DISTRICT COMMUNITY ASSN INC
EUMUNDI COMBINED COMMUNITY ORGANISATION LTD
INTRODUCTION
Eumundi is an historic village in the Noosa Hinterland. It is home to a small community, has a community of interest with residents in surrounding areas for which Eumundi is the social and service hub and supports weekly markets that bring in a community of market stall holders and visitors from the entire Sunshine Coast, Brisbane as well as national and international tourists. The key attributes of the community is a genuine sense of being tight and close-knit, a community with a high level of capacity and resource.
The community has a strong interest in its future and has come together to pass that vision to Council which holds the responsibility of planning and regulating the processes that will lead to the fulfilment of our vision.
We support Council in its search for a planning document that will allow Eumundi to continue to be an historic town, a village with a diverse but cohesive community that retains its uniqueness as a precinct and that is supported in the way we choose it to develop. We support a planning document that will protect our biodiversity and our heritage, and build on our capacity.
The Eumundi community has strong and informed opinions with the ability to synthesise them sensitively, having developed and demonstrated structures and processes within our community for decision making, planning and implementation. We come together to solve our own problems and address our issues. We have progressively developed reliable revenue streams which enable us to care for our members, enhance and enrich our village and to partner with government in improving our environment or our services when necessary.
We strive to be a diverse, generous, caring and tolerant community that can come together to question, plan and move forward together in a decisive manner.
Above all we love our town and its people and the very special place Eumundi has as an historic village and the gateway to the Noosa Hinterland. Eumundi values its natural capital, its human resources and the role it plays in the rich fabric of the Sunshine Coast.
We welcome and applaud the Sunshine Coast Regional Council's approach to this matter.
We welcome particularly Council's Corporate Plan 2009 with a vision for our region as "green, sustainable and diverse" into the future. We hope this document informs all future initiatives not only planning. Accordingly, we consider that the current approach to developing a single planning scheme is very positive.
We compliment Council on the quality of the documents produced. The intellect and the effort subscribed and particularly the consistency of the sentiments embodied which so align with our own, is warmly acknowledged and appreciated. We now offer our input from two community workshops and several community group meetings in refining the submission.
THE EUMUNDI VISION
A village community which demonstrates through its natural and built surrounds recognition of a valued past, whilst developing its community capacity and self reliance to achieve a more sustainable future.
Consistent with this vision, the residents of Eumundi have expressed the wish to:
- always remain a socially cohesive, warm, welcoming, concerned, caring, nurturing and tolerant community for all of its members from their cradle to their grave
- retain our relaxed and healthy lifestyle which is the most important indicator of our well-being
- be distinguished from all other villages by our unique village character, our pride in our heritage buildings and the welcoming though unique, identifying entrances and streetscape
- have streetscapes, treed rural and urban hill sides, parks, gardens and open spaces, particularly our amphitheatre, to calm and nurture the inner-self not only of the individual members of this community, but of our very many visitors
- be distinguished by our art, culture and heritage, by our artists and our performers, by our appreciation of public art and our heritage buildings and trees
- be known locally, regionally, nationally and internationally for our community-spirited village, markets, events and festivals
- be recognised for our respect of our forebears, for preserving what they created and for those who fought, were wounded or who died on our behalf
- be appreciated for the presence and appearance, the "look" and "feel" of our town, that Eumundi is a community, in every sense proud of who it is
- ensure that Eumundi is known to all as a valued place to live, to engage, to develop, to raise our families and to invest of ourselves in our community
- be recognised by our active and ongoing enhancement of Eumundi
- identified as a village with a commercial centre of diverse, independent, small businesses
- work with Council to ensure that our values and principles are evident in our town.
THE SUBMISSION
Growth
Our vision for growth in Eumundi is more about managed growth and not merely accommodating growth. We see growth as positive only when we talk about it in terms of quality of life, richness of culture, abundance of fresh food, the health of the people, robust local economy and happiness for the community and its visitors.
We want a future that has
- a greater emphasis on building styles that are sympathetic to Eumundi's character and clever, innovative architecture using appropriate materials and energy-efficient concepts whether it is for residential or commercial purposes
- Council working with this community through extensive consultation processes on any development plans that deviate from the current zoning or density regulations in Eumundi
- restrictions on multiple dwelling or commercial development to ensure it is innovative and in keeping with the Eumundi vision and adds aesthetic and social and economic value to the built environment
- commercial development that adds to the village and historic character of the town centre
- transport and mobility plans for the people of Eumundi and our visitors
- a streetscape that reflects the high proportion of pedestrian movements in the town
- Eumundi seen as a town with a market and diverse small businesses, not a 'market town'
- our vision which includes a more localised, energy-efficient, hub-style of community infrastructure and facilities reflecting a carbon footprint consciousness
- no large format retail which does not match our vision.
The Local Economy
Our vision for a robust economy in Eumundi endorses the "Key Principles for Achieving a Robust Economy" and the "Key Directions for the New Planning Scheme". We are particularly supportive of Council's "New Direction" seeking to enhance synergies.
One of the Key Principles aims to "Create active, well-performing, connected and accessible coast and hinterland centres each with their own complementary role and function". We do not see Council taking on the responsibility for this alone, in fact, we see Council supporting this community towards that end.
Eumundi wishes to encourage
- businesses that meet the needs of the Eumundi community and its visitors
- innovative and niche businesses
- businesses that model sustainability principles
- businesses that enhance the quality of life of the township
- home businesses
- businesses that promote local production and sales
- a diverse range of independent, small businesses.
We see Council support through
- clear and transparent regulations
- regulatory processes that are timely, expeditious and transparent
- processes that are not beyond the means of a new and establishing business, particularly small businesses
- transparency, with local payments collected from developers within the town being spent directly on projects for the town.
We do not support
- any multinational, big brand presence within the business district
- the establishment of any business simply because "demand" or "need" is projected solely from population numbers.
Sustainability
Our vision for ecological sustainability in Eumundi strongly endorses Council's "A More Detailed Vision for Ecological Sustainability", the "Key Principles for Achieving Ecological Sustainability" and the "Key Directions for the New Planning Scheme" as sound, forward-looking and contemporary in its approach.
The people of Eumundi seek a sustainable future that is based on,
- a sustainable environment
- a sustainable human settlement and culture
- a sustainable local economy
1. Our sustainable environment would have
- more trees on the entrances to town, as statements on roundabouts, within the streetscape and in parking areas
- retained and enhanced public open spaces
- community gardens and orchards
- treed hills surrounding the town
- a town water storage dam/lake fed by storm water runoff
- a fire and storm strategy to reduce damage to the environment in times of extreme weather events
- retained and enhanced areas for wildlife corridors
- protected state and crown lands
- no or few introduced pests in native bush lands.
2. Our sustainable human settlement would have
- cool and shaded streets and meeting places
- a streetscape that valued the past and looked towards a fulfilling future for all residents and visitors
- slow traffic in the main street with shared zones
- safe footpaths and cycle ways within the town and into the surrounding areas
- innovative and niche businesses that provide the goods and services needed by the local population for their daily life
- safe roads
- local employment through local businesses in the town and running from homes in and around the town
- food production close to and within the town to ensure food security for the entire population
- enhanced open spaces for use on non-market days
- regular, reliable sustainable transport links to other towns, places on the Sunshine Coast and into Brisbane either as electric buses or light rail links
- affordable housing and mixed housing options
- a variety of local accommodation
- places for all generations to live for the best possible quality of life at every stage of life
- encouragement of rural industries for the best use of cane lands rather than for more housing
- emergency plans for the population so they know what to do and where to go in the case of an emergency.
3. Our sustainable local economy would have
- a vibrant and diverse main street
- businesses that meet the needs of the local population and that will bring visitors to our town
- a continued, improved and enhanced market presence
- increased emphasis on art and creativity
- events and festivals
- micro-businesses
- a business incubator
- no large supermarket or multi-national franchise businesses
- a reduced carbon footprint
- local energy production
- recycled waste within the town
- businesses that provide services for a sustainable future.
We ask for Council support through
- working with Eumundi on plans for our streetscape, entry statements, forested areas, community gardens and local alternative water supply
- enforcement of regulations regarding visual amenity
- working with us through regulation processes in community consultation to achieve our goals
- working with us to establish emergency plans in time of flood, storm or fire
- continuing to support our events and festivals
- providing models of sustainability in Council's own activities and infrastructure.
Health and Wellbeing
Our vision for Eumundi's health and wellbeing strongly endorses "A More Detailed Vision for Health and Wellbeing", the "Key Principles for Achieving Health and Wellbeing" and the "Key Directions for the New Planning Scheme" but notes that community consultation at the town and village level will be essential.
Eumundi looks forward to a future that has
- clean air and water
- abundant treed and forested areas that will filter the air and moderate temperature
- local food security and access to fresh organic produce locally
- sporting facilities that are supported and well managed to meet the needs of the residents
- recreational groups such as sporting groups, special interest groups and support networks
- safety considered in all infrastructure planning and development
- intergenerational equity
- appropriate local waste management strategies
- emergency plans that are well designed and practiced so that residents have a greater chance of survival by acting calmly, appropriately and decisively in any emergency.
We ask for Council support to
- work with the Eumundi community to develop a strategic plan of action for the township to increase biodiversity, sequester carbon, reduce water use and loss and to make households more self reliant in the capture and storage of water and the production of food close to their homes
- reduce the use of fossil fuels through the establishment of private and community energy source projects
- assist landholders to increase riparian zones
- increase wildlife by regulating the movements of companion pets and feral pests
- stimulate forestry projects, particularly biodiverse native forest, on private and public lands
- work with the community to ensure the continued provision of sporting and recreational opportunities within the town
- support the community initiatives for our youth and our elderly
- assist in developing our emergency plans
- allow the community to use council land within our township for initiatives that meet the goals of both the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and the Eumundi Community.
Social Cohesion
Our vision for social cohesion in Eumundi is complementary to our vision of Health and Wellbeing and strongly endorses Council's "A More Detailed Vision for Social Cohesion", the "Key Principles for Achieving Social Cohesion" and the "Key Directions for the New Planning Scheme".
We look forward to a future that
- has our social cohesion as our most distinguishing social asset
- increases generational inclusivity that honours all ages in the community and recognises the special needs of people in all age groups
- provides affordable housing without changing the character of our population
- develops a town streetscape that gives a sense of a secure past and a sustainable future
- takes into account our "Eumundi Youth Statement"
Eumundi prides itself on being a generationally inclusive community that strives to meet the needs of all, from its youngest to its most elderly citizen.
We understand that the nature of youth is to grow and to leave home to explore and learn. We strive to ensure that our youth is prepared through interaction and mentorship and that they have the ability to learn and move safely within our community and the region to do so.
The Eumundi community identifies access to public transport (for special events, recreational venues and to institutes of learning) as the greatest need for our youth at this time. At present this need is not being met in even a basic form. We believe appropriate, regular and safe transport will facilitate social development, and learning as well as allowing our youth to remain on the Sunshine Coast and to foster the desire to return as young adults.
We ask for Council to support us by
- partnering with us in the provision of complementary facilities
- ensuring building height limits and aesthetic compatibility for new developments and refurbishment of existing buildings
- streamlining the approval processes to keep house prices down
- working with us to build a model of intergenerational interaction through the creation of our Shed and Studio concept for the retention and passing on of skills and knowledge
- linking our community with others in a transportation facility for our youth and elderly that is not reliant on private cars.
Accessibility and Connectedness
Our vision for accessibility and connectedness for Eumundi strongly endorses Council's "A More Detailed Vision for Accessibility and Connectedness", the "Key Principles for Achieving Accessibility and Connectedness" and the "Key Directions for the New Planning Scheme".
Our vision for accessibility and connectedness has partly been addressed in our visions for health and wellbeing and social cohesiveness and we understand there are natural overlaps within all these headings. We have repeated comments to ensure that each aspect carries with it the full range of solutions as envisioned by our community.
As a small rural village Eumundi is mindful that it could be neglected as services develop to cater for larger populations in higher density centres. We particularly endorse the sentiment in "Key Direction 14", where we seek to partner with Council in catering for our ageing members. We see this as developing transport options for the aged, without which, in the past, required them to relocate away from the support of their families and their Eumundi community.
We see this aspect of planning as being the key for the future of the region in nurturing connectedness while being a "community of communities" simultaneously. All community members, but particularly our youth, need to be able to access recreations, employment, services and entertainment safely and conveniently.
Eumundi would like to see in the future
- housing choices, including housing for the aged
- housing for the aged located within close proximity to the town services and commercial centre
- aged care in town for visiting specialists for the aged i.e. bringing services to the people.
- multiple dwellings located within the town, suitably designed and on land buffered from single dwelling sites and from the road and train noise. (Noise barriers are not a suitable means of abatement as they degrade the visual amenity of and entrances to the town.)
- local employment provided through the continuance of our many successful businesses and encouragement of more innovative local businesses in the town and the surrounds that provide sustainability services, services to other communities nationally and internationally, provision of local organic produce and sustainability education.
Council support in the previous areas will assist us in the area of accessibility and connectedness also.
Innovation and Creativity
Finally, our vision for innovation and creativity, great governance affecting Eumundi strongly endorses council's "A More Detailed Vision for Innovation and Creativity, Great Governance", the "Key Principles for Achieving Innovation and Creativity, Great Governance" and the "Key Directions for the New Planning Scheme".
We strongly agree that "Striking the right balance between certainty and flexibility remains a major challenge" in this regard.
Eumundi's vision for innovation and creativity is reliant upon
- continued and highly valued support for our markets and events
- a planning document that makes it clear that developments within our town, not compatible with the planning scheme, are not possible without proper community consultation and a consensus on what can be allowed
- a state government that does not override the decisions of the communities and their regional councils
- Eumundi supporting its council in conflict between our Regional Council and State Government where the State Government's action may stop, change or deny Eumundi the ability to create the future it envisions for itself and its region.
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