Understanding the city planning puzzle
Understanding the city planning puzzle is an initiative designed to explain how planning works, why it matters, and opportunities to be involved.
Over the coming months, we’ll share clear and practical information on key planning topics, including zoning, infrastructure, housing, the environment, and development assessment. Supported by short videos, this content will be available as separate topics below.
This initiative aims to support:
- A better understanding of how local planning decisions are made
- The principles that guide growth and change in our region
- Where community input fits into the planning process
- How to access plans, policies, and opportunities to have your say.
Planning considerations may involve different, and sometimes competing, interests, emotions, and investments. This project page and conversation will intentionally avoid focusing on individual developments or disputes.
Instead, the purpose is to provide a broad and accessible framework and objective perspective on how planning works, highlighting where and how planning decisions shape the places we live, work and enjoy.
This understanding also supports future community involvement in preparing the new Redlands Coast City Plan – the key document guiding how our city grows over the next 25 years.
If you want to learn more about the City Plan project and how you can stay informed and involved, visit our Developing a new plan - Redlands Coast City Plan page.
We invite you to explore the topics below with a curious mind. We will continue to update and expand this information over time.
What is planning and why is it important?
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 peaceful homes or retirement villages. 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 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.
How do we plan?
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.
As well as mandating the development assessment and dispute resolution processes, the Framework also outlines the process for plan-making. 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.
Who is involved in town planning?
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 25 years.
What are zones?
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 topics are coming next?
Council will be releasing further topics, videos and information over the next few months. Some of the topics still to come include:
- Infrastructure planning
- Managing the impacts from natural hazards
- Protecting our natural environment
- Development assessment
Are you part of a community group and want to find out more?
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)
Useful links