Understanding the city planning puzzle

Building a liveable Redlands Coast

Town planning helps create organised, sustainable, and liveable communities by managing land uses and guiding new development. It plays a vital role in shaping the places we live, work, and enjoy. On the Redlands Coast and across Queensland, planning ensures that neighbourhoods are connected to essential services like schools, healthcare, transport, parks and shops. 

Good planning helps communities change and grow in smart and responsible ways. It protects the environment and guides where roads, buildings and services can work best together.

Planning also helps make room for different places and the people who use them, like busy workplaces and retail spaces, peaceful recreation areas and a variety of homes. By setting a clear plan for the city’s future, good planning helps communities grow, stay strong, and care for people and the environment over time.

With a clear plan, we can work to deliver infrastructure where it's needed most and allow people to make informed decisions about where they chose to live to suit their needs and lifestyle.

A growing community

Redlands is growing and changing. In 2021, about 159,000 people called Redland City home. By 2046, this number is expected to reach 211,500. To support this growing community, this requires about 19,800 new homes by 2046.

Right now, about 58% of Redlands Coast residents travel outside the area for work. We want to support more local jobs and offer a wider mix of housing options close to where people work and access services.

We are blessed with an amazing coastline and bay, natural habitat that meanders through our suburbs, high quality schooling and a community that cares deeply for our Redlands Coast. As we grow, we have a great opportunity to guide our future in a way that builds on what makes the city special.

Queensland Planning Framework

The Queensland Planning Framework established under the Planning Act 2016 guides the planning and development processes in Redlands Coast. It aims to balance economic, environmental and community outcomes and is collectively administered by State and local governments.

There are three key elements to how the Queensland Planning Framework works:

• Plan-making
• Development assessment
• Dispute resolution.

Let's take a look at the plan-making process. There are three levels of planning instruments:

• State Level – The State Planning Policy 2017 outlines the State interests in planning and development across Queensland. This identifies things like protecting key mineral resources for future extraction, protecting productive agricultural land from urban expansion and the mapping and protection of koala habitat.
• Regional Level – The Queensland Government also prepares regional plans. In South East Queensland the regional plan is called ShapingSEQ 2023. This outlines key planning principles, such as locating more dense development around public transport and commercial centres, and sets targets for each local government for accommodating new dwellings and jobs. This helps to guide growth across the region and allows neighbouring Councils and the Queensland government to work as a team to solve big challenges.
• Local Level – Councils develop local planning instruments to manage land use and development. Redlands Coast’s local planning instrument is called City Plan. In developing a new City Plan, it goes through a State interest review, where the Queensland Government checks that it reflects the State interests expressed in the State Planning Policy and ShapingSEQ.

Queensland’s planning system uses a performance-based approach, focusing on good development outcomes, rather than rigid rules. This flexible system supports innovation and adapts to the diverse and changing needs of communities.

As an example, it would be false to say that the City Plan sets building height limits – the Queensland Planning Framework doesn’t allow this. Instead, it identifies expected building heights in different locations that will achieve key outcomes, such as developing a consistent streetscape and urban form, limiting overshadowing, limiting privacy concerns and not impacting key public view corridors. It is these key outcomes that new development is assessed against, not rigid criteria.

Planning for the Redlands Coast's future

Growth and change are inevitable as people move, age, and have families. Planning helps respond to this change by ensuring enough homes, jobs, and services while also protecting what makes Redlands Coast special.

Council uses lots of different data and information to anticipate what growth and change might occur and balance sometimes competing needs for the whole community:

• Population trends – Understanding how and where our community is growing and changing.
• Land supply – To make sure there’s enough space in the right locations for new homes, businesses, and industry.
• Environmental features – To map and protect important natural assets like wildlife habitat, Moreton Bay, waterways, and wetlands.
• Natural hazard and risks – To keep people safe by considering the risks from natural hazards like flooding, bushfires, and storm tide.
• Infrastructure planning – To make sure important local infrastructure is planned for and used efficiently.

All this information helps planners make informed decisions about how land is allocated for different land uses and creates a City Plan that supports a vibrant, safe, and connected Redlands Coast.

Your voice matters: How the community shapes the City Plan

Planning isn’t just about regulation and data; it is also about people and their local insights. The Queensland Planning Framework recognises the importance of community involvement and requires public consultation for key planning activities. For example, changing or making a new City Plan and some development applications must be publicly notified. Community input also goes beyond these formal processes. Planners regularly receive questions, feedback, and suggestions from residents. These everyday interactions help planners understand what matters most to the community and guide improvements that reflect local priorities.

The planning framework in Queensland involves four main players – each with different roles and responsibilities in how our city grows and evolves to meet community needs.

Queensland Government – under the Planning Act 2016, the state government is responsible for the framework that sets how planning is to occur at a state, regional and local level.  It sets the process that councils must follow when preparing their plans and assessing new development.

The Queensland Government has various state-wide and regional level planning interests which are outlined in the State Planning Policy and regional plans (the South East Queensland Regional Plan – ShapingSEQ).  This includes matters related to housing, economic growth, the environment, infrastructure and resilience to natural hazards, as well as setting dwelling growth and employment targets. Councils must reflect these interests in local planning schemes.

In some cases, the State may take a more direct role in planning by declaring a Priority Development Area (PDA), taking over the role of planning authority for that area. A recent example of this is Southern Thornlands.

The Queensland Government also plans for and delivers State infrastructure, including major roads, hospitals and schools.

Local Government – Council is responsible for guiding growth and development within its boundaries.  This includes preparing a planning scheme to specify what and how development should occur and assessing development applications in accordance with it.

Councils also prepare local government infrastructure plans to identify and schedule the essential services needed to support growth anticipated by the planning scheme.

Developers – whether it be a ‘mum & dad’ subdividing their property, a not-for-profit organisation building affordable housing, or a large company constructing a new shopping centre – developers propose and deliver the housing and services needed to accommodate our growing city.

Planning and development consultants may also represent developers to assist them with interpreting and applying planning rules and preparing applications for council to assess against the City Plan.

Community – the Redlands community play a key role in shaping the future of their city by engaging in the planning process and having their say on State and Council planning instruments as well as certain proposed development types (the ones where you see the ‘Proposed Development – Have Your Say’ sign).

The preparation of a new City Plan provides the best opportunity to tell Council how you would like to see Redlands Coast accommodate growth and change over the next 20 to 25 years.

Zoning is a powerful tool that town planners use to shape how cities grow and evolve over time. It divides land into distinct areas, called zones, intended to accommodate particular types of development, such as residential, industry, retail or commercial. Zoning also sets aside land for environmental purposes, parks, community facilities, and rural activities.

Zoning decisions in City Plan are made based on good planning principles, such as:

• Encouraging higher density residential development in and around commercial centres, as they provide easy access to services, facilities, employment and public transport
• Looking at population trends that give an idea of the need for particular types of development over time
• Separating incompatible land uses from each other, such as industrial and residential uses
• Considering the constraints on the site, such as flooding or bushfire hazard
• Considering the values on the site, such as existing habitat and waterways.

Each zone has its own set of guidelines, called planning provisions, that form part of the zone code. These guidelines answer important questions: Can you build a house here? Run a cafe? Or open a vehicle repair workshop? They also influence how land in the zone is used and developed, ensuring everyone, from residents to developers, has a clear understanding of what type of development is anticipated in the area and why.

But zoning is more than just making sure development is in the right places. It defines the character of a place; the kind of neighbourhood an area is meant to be. This can range from quiet, low density residential streets designed for families to vibrant centre zones filled with shops, bars and restaurants. In this way, zoning plays a key role in influencing the identity and growth of our neighbourhoods.

What type of development needs a development application?

Not all development requires planning approval from Council.

• Most houses won’t – they will just require a building approval from the building certifier and a plumbing and drainage approval from Council.
• Some houses will – for example, if a house or a carport is proposed close to the street boundary, then this may need to be referred to Council to assess whether it will fit in with the street.
• Most rural activities in a rural zone won’t – for example, undertaking cropping on an already cleared parcel of rural land.
• Most other development will, including multiple dwellings (townhouses and apartments), shopping centres, industrial warehouses, and so on.

Whether a proposed development requires a development application or not is determined by the City Plan. It also identifies whether that development application will require code assessment or impact assessment.

So, what does code and impact assessment mean?

There are 4 categories of development and assessment:

Accepted development

No development application required.

This may be dependent on meeting particular requirements. For example, a home-based business might be accepted development if there are only a certain number of customers per day and the floor area for the business is kept to a maximum size.

Code assessment

A development application is required.

This level of assessment is generally for development that is expected in that zone, and the assessment ensures the design and operation meet the outcomes of the codes. Applications are assessed only against relevant codes in City Plan and do not require public notification.

Impact assessment

A development application is required.

This level of assessment might indicate that the development was not expected in that zone or may be at a size that wasn’t expected. Public notification is required by the applicant to understand the community’s views on the proposal and the assessment is broader than just the relevant codes in City Plan. These applications are also assessed against the strategic objectives of City Plan and can include other relevant matters. For example, is it meeting a community need that wasn’t there when the City Plan was first drafted?

Prohibited development

A development application cannot be submitted.

Only the State Government, through the Planning Regulation 2017, can prescribe prohibited development.

How does Council assess proposals against City Plan codes?

Queensland’s planning system adopts a performance-based assessment framework. Assessment codes contain qualitative outcomes for things like building design, environmental protection and managing stormwater (in the current City Plan, these are called ‘performance outcomes’). A proposed development is assessed against these qualitative outcomes.

Assessment codes also contain quantitative (measurable) outcomes for things like building height, setbacks to boundaries and number of car parking spaces (in the current City Plan, these are called ‘acceptable outcomes’). Development is not assessed against these outcomes, instead they offer an applicant one way to achieve the qualitative outcome.

This performance-based approach is designed to:

• Allow development assessment to respond to change (whether that be change in technology or community needs)
• Encourage innovative outcomes, rather than just prescriptive compliance
• Allow assessment tailored to local context, rather than a 'one size fits all' approach.

If you want to learn more about the development assessment process, please see the Queensland Government's development assessment website.

Who else is involved in development assessment?

State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA)

The SARA is part of the Queensland Government. Some development applications are required to also be assessed by this State agency. This is where that development impacts a particular State interest, such as clearing koala habitat or work on a State heritage listed place.

In these cases, the SARA will assess this aspect of the development and can direct Council to either refuse the application or impose conditions on any approval of the development application.

Community members

For impact assessable development applications, community members play an important role too. If you are concerned about a development's potential impacts or want Council to know that it's exactly what your local area needs, you can lodge a submission expressing your views.

These must be submitted during the public notification period and explain your concerns. You don't need to be a lawyer or planner to make a submission, just someone who cares about what's happening in their community.

Appeals process: a second opinion

If the person that lodged the application doesn’t agree with Council’s decision, they can ask for a review. For applications that require impact assessment, a person that made a properly made submission can also ask for a review of the decision. There are two levels of review:

• For small developments, most commonly building work, an appeal can be made to the Development Tribunal.
• For all other development, an appeal is made to the Planning and Environment Court.

City planning doesn’t just shape where we live, it also plays a key role in where we work, shop, and do business. By providing clear direction on where and how different types of businesses can operate, planning can help attract investment, generate local jobs, and foster innovation.

Here are some of the ways this is done.

Land availability

A city plan makes sure there is enough commercial and industry zoned land to allow businesses to establish and grow; but not an oversupply that can result in unused land and empty shops.

This balance is informed by population and employment data and trends, state and local economic development initiatives, infrastructure planning and land supply studies.

The identified areas are mapped and described in the City Plan in the form of centre and industry zones, helping both investors and residents understand the city’s economic vision.

Location

A city plan focusses employment areas in locations where there are strong transport connections, access to a workforce and there is available or planned infrastructure.

It also considers the possible conflict between different types of land uses and separates or groups them as necessary. Not only does this protect residential areas from things like noise and odours, but it also means businesses can conduct their operations without being unnecessarily constrained by nearby sensitive uses.

Flexibility

Of course, it isn’t possible to predict every type of business use or its ideal location; and sometimes there’s a need to think outside of the box.  A city plan can facilitate this by including some flexibility to consider alternative proposals – this is guided by having a clear strategic framework that sets out the overarching goals, aspirations and values for the whole city. If a proposal contributes toward achieving these goals whilst protecting the areas values, there is scope for it to be approved. 

Home business to homemaker centre

The City Plan recognises the economic contribution of businesses of all sizes and caters for their growth and change.  This can range from facilitating small scale home-based enterprises that operate within someone’s house to larger commercial or industrial centres. 

Encouraging home-based businesses makes it easier for start-ups to launch without the immediate cost of commercial space. This assists in maximising the use of commercial zoned land for larger scale business that require visibility and are not suitable for residential areas. 

Vibrant centres

Vibrant, active places are appealing to both locals and visitors which makes them more attractive to investors – encouraging new shops, services, and employment opportunities.

As city planning considers land use mix as a whole, it is able to promote higher‑density housing around major centres which increases activity, foot traffic and demand for local services.

Infrastructure coordination and investment

It is essential that both State and local governments plan and deliver the infrastructure needed to support new or expanded commercial and industrial areas.  The Local Government Infrastructure Plan provides focus for Council to invest in important infrastructure that helps unlock or build up these employment areas. Council also advocates strongly for the State government to invest in its infrastructure (such as major roads and rail), which is critical to the success of these employment areas.

Certainty

In combination, these approaches and initiatives provide certainty and help businesses make informed decisions and invest with confidence.

Balancing community needs, economic growth, and environmental protection is a key part of planning. The City Plan aims to support sustainable development by making sure new homes, businesses, and infrastructure are built in the right places, while also protecting our naturally wonderful Redlands Coast.

To help protect the natural environment, Council uses data to map important areas like wildlife habitat, waterways, and wetlands. Some of this information comes from the Federal or Queensland Governments, while other data is collected by Council through research and technical studies as part of its wider efforts to care for the environment.

The State Planning Policy sets out that there are some environmental values that City Plan must identify and protect. These are:

• Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) – protected under federal law, such as threatened species and wetlands.
• Matters of State Environmental Significance (MSES) – protected under Queensland law. For example, koala habitat is a key MSES and is mapped and regulated by the State Government.
• Matters of Local Environmental Significance (MLES) – identified by Council as important to our local environment, and includes important areas that are not protected as MNES or MSES.

One of the ways City Plan protects environmental values is by guiding Council’s zoning decisions, which determine how land can be used for housing, industry, conservation, or recreation. The most important natural areas are protected in either the environmental management zone or the conservation zone.

Environmental data also informs environmental overlays, which identify Matters of National, State, and Local Environmental Significance (MNES, MSES, and MLES). These overlays help ensure that when land is zoned for housing or business, any new development is planned in a way that protects nature as much as possible. The overlay code does this through assessment benchmarks for new development, which go in this order:

1. Avoid – First, try not to harm the environment at all. For example, build somewhere else if the area is important for wildlife.
2. Minimise – If some impact can’t be avoided, make them as small as possible. This might mean changing the design to save trees or reduce light and noise.
3. Mitigate – If there is still some damage, take steps to reduce the harm. For example, replanting trees or improving nearby habitat.
4. Offset – If the damage can’t be fixed on-site, do something good for the environment somewhere else, like protecting or restoring another area. Developers can choose to make a financial contribution to Council or the Queensland Government to do this on the developer’s behalf.

When development is proposed in sensitive areas, Council may ask for detailed ecological assessments, vegetation management plans, and wildlife habitat plans. This makes sure that environmental values are protected during and after construction.

The City Plan is a city-wide tool that uses the best available data, but it may not always reflect recent changes on individual properties like lawfully cleared vegetation or vegetation that is not native. That’s another reason more detailed, site-specific assessments are required when development is proposed, to ensure decisions are based on current conditions on the ground.

By working together Council, developers, and the community can make sure Redlands continues to grow in a way that values and protects our unique natural environment.

Australia is often described as “a land of drought and flooding rains”, and for good reason. Our climate brings bushfires, floods (riverine and overland flow), landslides, and coastal hazards like erosion and storm tide inundation. These natural hazards can pose serious risks to people, property, infrastructure, and the environment, and we need to sensibly plan for them.

The areas at risk from natural hazards are identified using scientific studies, historical event records, and technical modelling, which together form the basis for the City Plan overlay maps.

Natural hazard risk assessments

Natural hazard risk assessments are a key part of preparing overlay maps for the City Plan. These assessments evaluate how frequently a hazard event might occur, how severe its impacts could be and the consequential exposure risks to people and property. This risk-based approach helps focus attention on areas with the greatest potential exposure, guiding Council determining where to apply special planning controls to protect people, property, and infrastructure.

For example, Council’s City Plan 2018 uses thresholds such as the 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP), which represents a flood event with a 1 in 100 chance of occurring in any given year, as a benchmark for applying planning controls.

Planning frameworks aim to manage risk while supporting safe and sustainable growth across the city. The goal is to balance safety with practicality, enabling growth while minimising exposure to hazards. In some cases, however, critical public infrastructure such as hospitals must be designed and located to remain operational during rarer and more extreme natural hazard events.

Council's key roles in keeping the community safe from natural disasters

The City Plan plays a role in keeping the community safe by making sure new development is designed and located to avoid natural hazard risks, or to reduce those risks to an acceptable level. This includes using overlay maps to identify areas like floodplains and bushfire zones, and applying planning rules that support safer, more resilient development.

Separately, Council also has a legislative responsibility for disaster management. This is delivered through the Local Disaster Management Plan, which focuses on building community resilience, improving preparedness, and guiding effective response and recovery during and after natural hazard events.

How can I stay informed?

Understanding the natural hazard risks in your area is an important first step in being prepared. Redland City Council encourages residents to familiarise themselves with local risks, sign up for emergency alerts, and access the Local Disaster Management Plan, which outlines how the city prepares for, responds to, and recovers from disaster events.

A key tool for staying informed is the Redland City Council Disaster Dashboard. It provides real-time updates on:

• Weather warnings
• Road closures
• Power outages
• Flood camera feeds
• Rainfall and river levels

This dashboard helps residents make informed decisions and stay safe before, during and after emergencies.

You can also sign up for Redlands Coast Alerts.

What is infrastructure?

Infrastructure is the basic systems and services that help a city run and support the people who live, work, and play there. Examples include:

• Everyday essentials: roads, footpaths, drainage to carry away rainwater, pipes that bring clean water, and systems that remove wastewater safely.
• Places and services for people: hospitals, schools, parks, sports fields, nature reserves, police and emergency services, libraries, and community facilities.
• Digital connections: mobile phone networks, internet access, and other technologies that keep us connected.

Who plans and delivers what infrastructure?

The delivery of infrastructure is a joint effort between governments at different levels and private developers. The table below shows who is involved, the key plans and strategies they use, and examples of the types of infrastructure each is responsible for delivering. 

What is the Local Government Infrastructure Plan?

Council plays a key role by planning, funding and delivering trunk infrastructure, which refers to the large, shared networks used across a whole city. Developers provide non-trunk infrastructure, which is the smaller, local improvements that link a development into the wider network.

The Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) is part of City Plan, and it:

• Identifies assumptions where population and job growth is likely to occur,
• Matches new trunk infrastructure to these growth areas,
• Sets out what infrastructure is needed, where it should go and when it should be built.

Council’s key challenge is balancing growth with the rising costs of building and maintaining infrastructure, while ensuring it is available when and where people need it most.

Trunk infrastructure networks in the LGIP that Council provides are:

• Water supply network
• Sewerage network
• Local transport network
• Stormwater network
• Parks and land for community facilities. 

Non-trunk infrastructure is smaller scale and sits within a development site, or links it to the wider trunk infrastructure networks. These include local roads, footpaths and site drainage. Developers are responsible for funding and providing this infrastructure, and it is not included in the LGIP. 

What are infrastructure charges?

Council collects infrastructure charges on new developments. These charges help cover the shared cost of providing trunk infrastructure that supports growth across the city.

When new housing or industry is built, they add extra demand on these networks. Infrastructure charges collected from development ensure these trunk infrastructure networks can keep up with this demand.

However, the State Government has set a cap on how much Council can charge per development. This cap does not cover the full cost of providing trunk infrastructure to support growth and, because construction costs have risen faster than this cap, this funding gap has only widened. Council must cover the shortfall through other means such as rates, grants, subsidies or reallocating its budget to make sure the city’s essential infrastructure is delivered.

Town planners help shape Redlands Coast by guiding how land is used, ensuring development meets community needs, promotes sustainability and reflects local character. They do this by developing plans and strategies and consulting with professional experts, but also importantly, by engaging with the Redland community.

Community members are the local experts, they know their neighbourhoods and the daily realities of living on Redlands Coast. Your input into town planning is crucial for identifying what works, what needs to change, which areas require special attention or protection and what you love about our place.

Without community input, plans and strategies are less likely to align with the aspirations of the community or respond to the challenges or concerns that the community may face.

When is the best time to get involved?

Redland City Council values the voices and opinions of the community and encourages ongoing collaboration between Council officers and community members. All community members are welcome to speak to Council's town planners to share ideas, raise concerns or to seek information to better understand the planning process.

In additional to this open communication approach, there are times when community engagement and participation will add the greatest value to shaping the Redlands Coast. Community feedback is particularly important during the development of a new City Plan or when Council are making amendments to the City Plan. At these times, Council will seek community input through activities such as workshops, surveys, community forums and meet the planner sessions. These interactions will help Council to understand and reflect local priorities.

How community engagement shapes decisions

It is important to recognise that community engagement does not mean decisions are made by a vote. Instead, it provides decision makers with valuable insights form the community which are carefully considered on their merit, weighed against other contributing factors, including technical studies and expert opinions, to inform a balanced and well-rounded decision.

Redland City Council's commitment to meaningful engagement

The Redland City Council Community Engagement Framework outlines when and how community engagement may take place and sets out clear principles and guidelines to ensure community engagement is effective, meaningful, inclusive and transparent.

How you can get involved

Redland City Council is preparing a new City Plan to replace the Redland City Plan 2018. This new City Plan will guide growth and change across Redlands Coast over the next 20 to 25 years. Everyone who works, lives or plays in the Redlands Coast will be invited to have their say on shaping the future of our city.

For updates about the City Plan process and how to have your say on the future of Redlands Coast, visit Developing a new plan - Redlands Coast City Plan.

Redland City Council welcomes the opportunity to support our local community groups by offering more detailed and personalised small-group sessions on town planning. These sessions, facilitated by members of Council's town planning staff, will present tailored information as well as answer questions from members of the group. These sessions can be held from August 2025 to February 2026. Council will endeavour to host sessions Monday to Friday during business hours and we anticipate sessions to be approximately 2 hours in duration. We will do our best to accommodate requests.

Please note these sessions will not cover or debate specific planning and development matters currently under assessment.

To express your interest in one of these tailored sessions please fill out an Expression of Interest form (Understanding Local Planning -Tailored Information Session)