IS MULTI NATIONAL SEKISUI DUMPING 5 HECTARES OF RATES LIABILITY ON THE COMMUNITY?
SEKISUI'S GIFTED LAND - HOW MUCH CAN A DEVELOPER BE TRUSTED TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON THEIR PROMISES?
The local Sunshine Coast Media has placed an uncritical and positive view on the offer by Japanese construction multi-nat giant, Sekisui, to donate over 25% of their Yaroomba development site back to the community.
A Sekisui spokesperson said “over five hectares of parkland, lakes, protected mature vegetation and road has been offered to be gifted to Sunshine Coast Council – but maintained by Yaroomba Beach as an integral part of the tourism hub and coastal village.”
He also stated that “more than 25% of the 19 hectare Yaroomba Beach development site will be put into community ownership to preserve it for all time from development.”
Unlike our media, we are more than prepared to examine this ‘offer’, and ask a few questions, and express a few opinions.
Sekisui claims that they are preserving this small 25% portion of their land from development for all time. Such PR spin plays well in the media but it falls on deaf ears in the village atmosphere of Yaroomba.
Sekisui is very quiet about the fact that the remaining 75% of the land surrounding their small donated portion will be subject to huge over-development. Their 5 Stage Development wilfully ignores the building height restrictions required for Yaroomba under our Peoples’ Document, the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014.
Under the Planning Scheme the allowable building height in that area of Yaroomba is 8.5 mtrs (2 storeys). Sekisui has gained approval from the Sunshine Coast Council to build up to 24.5 mtrs (7 storeys), after importing around 5 metres of fill to the areas of the site to be built on (allowing for the Q100 levels now required for any building on the site.
Sekisui’s sitein Yaroomba was designated as medium-to-low density in the Coolum Local Area Plan, yet Sekisui is cramming 750+ dwellings and a 220 room hotel on that site. The end result will increase the current population of Yaroomba from 1,623 to well over 4,050. By any definition that is high-density.
The offer of the donated land could well prove to be an unwanted gift that just keeps on giving.
Contained within the development documents submitted to Council is the statement "the development's community management entity will commit to the maintenance and upkeep of all community parkland and facilities for a period of 100 years through a deed with Council" and it "will be administered by the ultimate body corporate for the project." In other words they hope to foist the future upkeep costs onto an on-site and probably unsuspecting future body corporate group... their residents will be paying for the upkeep in their Body Corporate fees, reducing the attractiveness of owning a property in the development.
With the donated land Sekisui is very careful to use the words community ownership. If Council accepts this gift of land on our behalf, and if the maintenance costs blow out and become a source of contention or litigation between Council and the body corporate, guess who will be left holding the can? The ratepayers of the coast of course, under the guise of community ownership.
ANOTHER SALIENT QUESTION - WHO WILL PAY THE RATES ON THE GIFTED LAND?
In our opinion developers cannot be trusted to follow through on their promises, and the gifted land is no more than a red herring to distract local residents from the mega-scale of Sekisui’s proposed Yaroomba development. We do not want this gifted land.
The local Sunshine Coast Media has placed an uncritical and positive view on the offer by Japanese construction multi-nat giant, Sekisui, to donate over 25% of their Yaroomba development site back to the community.
A Sekisui spokesperson said “over five hectares of parkland, lakes, protected mature vegetation and road has been offered to be gifted to Sunshine Coast Council – but maintained by Yaroomba Beach as an integral part of the tourism hub and coastal village.”
He also stated that “more than 25% of the 19 hectare Yaroomba Beach development site will be put into community ownership to preserve it for all time from development.”
Unlike our media, we are more than prepared to examine this ‘offer’, and ask a few questions, and express a few opinions.
Sekisui claims that they are preserving this small 25% portion of their land from development for all time. Such PR spin plays well in the media but it falls on deaf ears in the village atmosphere of Yaroomba.
Sekisui is very quiet about the fact that the remaining 75% of the land surrounding their small donated portion will be subject to huge over-development. Their 5 Stage Development wilfully ignores the building height restrictions required for Yaroomba under our Peoples’ Document, the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014.
Under the Planning Scheme the allowable building height in that area of Yaroomba is 8.5 mtrs (2 storeys). Sekisui has gained approval from the Sunshine Coast Council to build up to 24.5 mtrs (7 storeys), after importing around 5 metres of fill to the areas of the site to be built on (allowing for the Q100 levels now required for any building on the site.
Sekisui’s sitein Yaroomba was designated as medium-to-low density in the Coolum Local Area Plan, yet Sekisui is cramming 750+ dwellings and a 220 room hotel on that site. The end result will increase the current population of Yaroomba from 1,623 to well over 4,050. By any definition that is high-density.
The offer of the donated land could well prove to be an unwanted gift that just keeps on giving.
Contained within the development documents submitted to Council is the statement "the development's community management entity will commit to the maintenance and upkeep of all community parkland and facilities for a period of 100 years through a deed with Council" and it "will be administered by the ultimate body corporate for the project." In other words they hope to foist the future upkeep costs onto an on-site and probably unsuspecting future body corporate group... their residents will be paying for the upkeep in their Body Corporate fees, reducing the attractiveness of owning a property in the development.
With the donated land Sekisui is very careful to use the words community ownership. If Council accepts this gift of land on our behalf, and if the maintenance costs blow out and become a source of contention or litigation between Council and the body corporate, guess who will be left holding the can? The ratepayers of the coast of course, under the guise of community ownership.
ANOTHER SALIENT QUESTION - WHO WILL PAY THE RATES ON THE GIFTED LAND?
In our opinion developers cannot be trusted to follow through on their promises, and the gifted land is no more than a red herring to distract local residents from the mega-scale of Sekisui’s proposed Yaroomba development. We do not want this gifted land.
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The Save Yaroomba Group (as a sub committee of Friends of Yaroomba Inc) is dedicated to the preservation of social amenity in the Yaroomba Village area. We are not opposed to appropriate development or economic growth across the Sunshine Coast region or the Yaroomba Beach precinct. We are opposed to the Sekisui Yaroomba Beach development because it does not conform to the reasonable restraints contained in the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014. The Sekisui DA will greatly affect the social environment for all residents in the Yaroomba Beach Community, and our aim is to ensure that the Sekisui Yaroomba proposal fully adheres to the height and density requirements stipulated for the Yaroomba Beach district in the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014. We welcome appropriate development to Yaroomba Beach, but we will strenuously oppose the current form of the Sekisui Yaroomba Beach proposal. If you would like to support our cause to save the Yaroomba Beach Community from this inappropriate Sekisui Yaroomba development, you are welcome to either donate via the facility on this website, or join our email list to receive updates.
