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Agenda – Planning & Environment Committee 12 May 2010 - #2553387

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

12 MAY 2010

8 CAIRNS CITY CENTRE MASTER PLAN - PROJECT BUSINESS CASE AND UPDATE Peter Boyd : 8/26/5: #2551227v1

RECOMMENDATION: That Council approves the commencement of the Cairns City Centre Master Plan and endorses the attached business plan subject to budget deliberations.

INTRODUCTION: The development and implementation of a Cairns City Centre Strategy for the revitalisation of the Cairns City Centre is specifically identified as a Key Project in Council's Corporate Plan 2009 - 2014. To this end, the Cairns City Centre Strategy Committee formed in 2008 has been working toward the preparation of a Discussion Paper to formalise outcomes of discussions and exercises undertaken thus far, and confirm a strategy for implementing activities to ensure achievement of the project outcome. As the Discussion Paper was completed in April 2010, it is now recommended that Council prepare a City Centre Master Plan that will assist in the delivery of: - A clear vision and guiding principles for the City Centre that is shared by Council, the Community, Key Stakeholders and State Agencies; - A Master Plan and other outputs consistent with CairnsPlan, the Vision and guiding principles; - An implementation program to assist Council and other stakeholders deliver outcomes consistent with the Vision and guiding principles; - A world class City Centre, delivering a high quality and unique visitor experience, visual amenity, residential living options and commercial and retail floor space. This report seeks to provide Council with information regarding the current status of the project, moving toward finalising a Business Plan for consideration as part of Budget deliberations.

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BACKGROUND: In September 2008, Council resolved to form a Committee to oversee the development and implementation of a Master Plan for the Cairns City Centre. The Cairns City Centre Strategy Committee is comprised of the Mayor, Councillor Schier, Division 5 Councillor, Councillor Blake, the Chair of the Finance Committee, Councillor Cooper, together with the Chief Executive Officer and a number of Council Officers. The Committee has recently been expanded to include a number of key stakeholders for the area, including: The Member for Cairns, Desley Boyle MLA Cairns Chamber of Commerce representatives Department of Transport and Main Roads representatives Ports North representatives and Cairns Urban Design Advisory Board representatives. Matters for the consideration of the Committee include: ● Overseeing the development of the Cairns CBD Strategy ● Identification of opportunities for the reinvigoration of the Cairns CBD in an integrated and consistent manner ● Provision of strategic and outcome focussed direction for the project ● Ensuring that a project management approach is followed that will assist in encouraging and facilitating environmentally sustainable, economic, social and cultural development and prosperity for Cairns ● Working with existing committees and reference groups to undertake a variety of roles within the Cairns CBD. The April 2010 Cairns City Centre Discussion Paper has provided the genesis of the Master Plan by undertaking a review of and reporting on appropriate foundations for the Cairns City Centre Strategy. The Master Plan will provide detailed guidelines for future development within the City Centre. A copy of the Discussion Paper is provided for consideration at Annexure 2 to this report.

COMMENT: Moving forward, preparation of a master plan for the Cairns City Centre is required to assist in the achievement of the Vision for the City Centre, which is: The Cairns City Centre is the best Regional City Centre in Australia. A place where people want to be for shopping, dining, entertainment and doing

business.

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A place where people want to live. A tourist attraction in its own right, drawing local day visitors and visitors from

around the world. A vibrant, prosperous economic driver of our Region. Environmentally, economically, socially and culturally sustainable. A green, tropical, attractive cityscape that is safe, friendly, efficient, accessible

and human in scale.

The Master Plan will need to consider options to complement existing land use planning for the area confirmed within CairnsPlan, including: - Streetscape improvement works, incorporating landscape; - Precinct place making, particularly given the scale of the study area; - Unique way finding signage, potentially differing between precincts; - Cultural activities and opportunities, including markets, street 'parties' and events.

CONSIDERATIONS: Corporate and Operational Plans: The preparation of a Cairns City Centre Master Plan is aligned with following elements of the Corporate Plan: Goal 1 – Caring for the Environment Objective: To ensure that the natural and built environments are managed and protected in a sustainable manner. 1.1 Deliver improved management of the region’s natural resources and

biological diversity for sustainability and ecosystem health. 1.2 Achieve greater recognition of the natural environment as an integral part of

the region’s identity and fundamental to quality of life. Goal 2 – Building Vibrant Communities Objective: To build more creative, innovative and self reliant communities where participation in community life is enabled and encouraged. 2.2 Improve the quality and opportunities for use of public space across the

region.

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2.4 Provide enhanced arts and cultural activities that add value to the life of

residents and visitors alike. 2.6 Improve the capacity and wellbeing of valued areas in the community that

traditionally have difficulty being heard. Goal 3 – Delivering Integrated Planning Objective: To take an integrated planning approach to development that creates a sustainable region reflective of our uniqueness and tropical lifestyle. 3.1 Implement an integrated approach to planning by Council and stakeholders. 3.2 Deliver integrated provision of physical and social infrastructure in existing and future parts of the region. 3.3 Effectively plan and respond to significant changes in the demographic

profile of the region. 3.6 Prepare integrated local area plans across the region using a place based planning approach. 3.7 Promote good urban design outcomes which are responsive to the region’s tropical environment and unique character. Goal 4 - Delivering Services and Infrastructure Objective: To plan, deliver and maintain the region's infrastructure such as roads, drainage and flood mitigation and provide a sustainable high quality water supply to meet current and future needs of the community. 4.3 Deliver a transport network, including footpaths and cycle ways, that better matches service level expectations and future growth. Goal 5 – Creating a Prosperous Region Objective: To increase the region’s capacity for long-term economic growth by supporting opportunities for local businesses and local employment. 5.1 Support more diverse urban and rural economies. 5.3 Plan and make financial and capital decisions with the state of the local

economy in mind. 5.4 Encourage self containment of communities through the integration and co-

location of employment opportunities with residential development and public transport.

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Goal 6 – Striving for Organisational Excellence Objective: To ensure that Council is open, accountable, ethical and financially responsible. Recognise that Council plays a leadership role for our immediate communities and for the wider region and will strive to represent our community’s needs and expectations. 6.1 Have excellent leadership throughout, all working together to create a great culture and achieve our corporate goals. 6.3 Collect, interpret, manage and capture data and information to inform good decision making. 6.6 Be innovative and work in collaboration with key stakeholders, suppliers,

partners and in collaboration with Council Boards and Reference Groups. 6.7 Consistently perform better, deliver on our objectives and operate

sustainably. The preparation of a Cairns City Centre Master Plan is not contained in the 2009/10 Operational Plan. Statutory: There are no legislative requirements to consider at this point in time as the Master Plan being proposed is a non-statutory plan. However, the Master Plan will need to consider the effect and process of a numerous statutory instruments, including, but not limited to: Sustainable Planning Act 2009 Sustainable Planning Regulation FNQ Regional Plan 2009 - 2031 Regulatory Provisions Land Act 1994 Queensland Heritage Act State Planning Policies (Various) The above legislation imposes a range of requirements and potential constraints in regard to any work or development within the preferred Study Area. Policy: Preparation of a Master Plan for the Cairns City Centre aligns with other projects currently being undertaken by Council, in addition to acting upon recommendations of the Steering Committee.

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Financial and Risk: A more detailed Financial and Risk analysis for the project is contained within the Preliminary Business Case at Annexure 1 of this Report. It is noted that the budget will be confirmed at a later stage, although it is anticipated an appropriate range would be $150,000 to $200,000. Sustainability: The Cairns City Centre Master Plan will assist Council in encouraging and facilitating environmentally sustainable economic, social and cultural development and prosperity for the CBD and the broader Cairns Region.

CONSULTATION: Internal consultation regarding the proposed project has been undertaken with officers within Corporate Services and Planning and Environment. The CBD Strategy Committee and the Urban Design Advisory Board have been provided with the Draft Business Plan for review and comment.

OPTIONS: Options for consideration include: a. Note the Report and not endorse the Preliminary Business Case; or b. Note the Report, and endorse the Preliminary Business Case in advance of more detailed budgetary considerations associated with the Project.

CONCLUSION: The business case has been prepared for consideration during the budget preparation. At this stage, the report is provided for information purposes, and it is recommended that Council notes the contents therein.

ATTACHMENTS: Annexure 1 - Preliminary Business Case (#2546329v1) Annexure 2 - Cairns City Centre Discussion Paper (April 2010) Peter Boyd Manager Planning Strategies Peter Tabulo General Manager Planning and Environment

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ANNEXURE 1: Preliminary Business Case

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LIVE-#2553387-v2-Agenda - Planning & Environment Committee ... · Agenda – Planning & Environment Committee 12 May 2010 ... Ensuring that a project management approach is ... 3.6