Brisbane City Council (Council) has recently endorsed a proposed amendment to its planning scheme, City Plan 2014 (CP2014), to encourage the development of rooftop gardens and landscaped greenspace in residential, commercial and mixed-use multi-storey developments (Amendment).
The Amendment encourages the development of rooftop garden spaces by not counting them as an additional storey for the purpose of calculating maximum storeys under the relevant provisions of CP2014, provided the garden meets certain key standards within the following zones:
- medium density residential zone;
- high density residential zone;
- district centre zone;
- major centre zone;
- principal centre zone; and
- mixed use zone.
Key standards required for a rooftop garden to not be considered a storey include that the rooftop garden:
- must provide for communal open space;
- meet minimum landscaping thresholds; and
- limit rooftop structures in accordance with maximum footprint, height and setback requirements under the relevant provisions of CP2014.
The Amendment also includes provisions intended to ensure that rooftop gardens are:-
- integrated within the overall architectural design of buildings;
- support a green building appearance; and
- enhance the visual amenity of the rooftop and skyline.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has promoted the amendment as part of an initiative to spark innovation among developers to create a “more vibrant and unique” Brisbane skyline, in preparation for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Amendment has been referred to the Queensland Government for consideration to adopt under the Minister’s Guidelines and Rules.
This article was written by Peter Bittner, Partner, Chris Vale, Solicitor and Ruby King, Law Clerk.
