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8 Comments

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1. Initially, when this property was purchased I was informed by the residents that it was to be a Buddhist Retreat. There was no mention of it being turned into a religious venue with a caretaker. I believe that the whole context of this property has been changed into a commercial development.

2. I hereby object to MCU 2572/2019 – Material Change of Use at 92-94 Fiona St Bellbird Park QLD 4300.
   This property is located in a low density residential area. When the property was purchased by Minh Quang Buddhist Monastery Incorporated it was understood the property was to be used as a nuns’ retreat and as such was generally supported in the neighbourhood.
   I do not consider this property to be suitable for use as a Place of Worship which will be open 7 days per week between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Most places of worship are open one or two days per week for shorter periods. The opening times are excessive and will have an adverse impact on the noise, parking and traffic on Fiona Street.
   During the period of Ming Quang Buddhist Monastery Incorporated’s occupancy a substantial number of mature gum trees have been removed at both the front and rear of the dwelling. Removing more gum trees to build a driveway and car park will have a negative effect on the leafy character of the surrounding area.
   The 2016 Census for Bellbird Park shows 1.5% of residents of Bellbird Park speak Vietnamese as their language (other than English). Therefore, I do not consider this proposal is in line with community expectations nor does it meet the needs of the local community. There is already a Buddhist Temple in Harris Street, Bellbird Park and with the low number of Vietnamese people living in Bellbird Park I do not feel another temple, in a residential area, having a negative impact on the surrounding area, is justified.

3. I strongly object to this application as its not appropriate for this type of 'use of property' in this street let alone the area. It will increase traffic, create unnessesary noise, there's no suitable parking, they have already cut down a lot of trees and have been 'open for business' since they bought the property without any form of approvals in place. This type of application is not in the best interests of the community and is not in keeping with the type of suburb that Bellbird Park is. This area is low density, made up of mostly acreage and half acre blocks, a buddest temple in the middle of our suburb is not nessesaary, there's already one in Harris St. The area is made up of mostly Australian families who follow Western culture, not asian people (less than 1.5% of Bellbird parks population is of Asian background so there is no demand or need for this type of development). If a temple of this sort was approved, it would send our property prices downwards, we work hard to live here and maintain the community that it is, the suburb does not need this type of service/temple, especially in a residential area. My family and I strongly object.

4. I strongly disagree with this application. There has been many gum trees removed from this block already. For years there has been sightings of koalas behind this property, these trees were potentially used by koalas .
   There was support from the community when the property was first open as it was to be a retreat for Buddhist Nuns , it is not suitable for a regular place of Worship.

   I object to this " change of use "

5. I object to this development. MCU 2572 / 2019. It is a massive overdevelopment with a daily use .the traffic flow will lead to a significant increase. The developers should be made more than aware of their potential impact on the environment, in particular, the removal of many gum trees. This area is having much pressure put on it without any overall development plan. This is a further example of a piecemeal approach to the carving up of this neighbourhood. The QLD ' New Planning document" states clearly that the "community must be involved with planning and should be central to development which in this case sees no structured integrated approach to making decisions in line with community expectations. Every application for development in this particular area always involves the clearing of bush and the local community have their amenity Negatively impacted. The council should know that there are strong signals from the local community that future development should be appropriate to the area. This development is not. The council must work closely with the local community group "friends of Bellbird Park" who have an intimate knowledge of community needs and expectations in this area. If the council were to work closely with the local community and make it clear as to the requirements, in particular in the respect of the environment, then developers would have a clear idea as to what is appropriate and what is not. This application clearly falls outside of community expectations for this area.

6. I object to this MCU for a number of reasons.

   I believe a Buddhist temple is incompatible with the suburban setting, particularly given the applicant states most activity will occur on the weekend.

   In their application to Council, the applicant states the development will contribute to the diversity of places of worship available to the community. Given there are already two Buddhist temples located in Goodna and Bellbird Park, surely Council can see if anything the Buddhists are over-represented compared with other religions in the area and a third temple is not required.

   I object to the additional noise and traffic created by this development, particularly as it will occur on the only two days of the week when the suburb is a peaceful haven.

   But mostly I object to the underhanded way the monastery has gone about obtaining approval for this development, as the initial application was for a nun's retreat.
   Since purchasing the site, the owners have removed many mature gum trees in what is known koala habitat, thus now negating the potential for "adverse impacts on the natural environment" to be address in the MCU - which makes me think they had this plan in mind all along;

   I think if the applicant had been more open with the community and consulted with neighbours in the first place, they may have found less resistance to their plans. However there is now a strong feeling amongst residents that the owners are not to be trusted and therefore, general cynicism about what the future may hold for this site if this MCU is approved. Council, please do not approve this MCU.

7. Material Change of Use 92-94 Fiona Street Bellbird Park
   I object to this MCU 2572/2019 to build a Buddhist temple on the site mainly because of the infrastructure in this locality. This section of Fiona Street is already a busy road, and being narrow has no provision for on street parking. This will then require that the property will need the removal of established gum trees to allow for worship parking by their congregation. This in turn will effect the wildlife in this area.
   I have no objection to the property being used for its original application as a Buddhist retreat

8. Additionally to Brian Liverton's concerns. Fiona Street is a very narrow suburban street. The existing homes have the ability to park their cars on their respective properties. This street CANNOT cope with street parking because it is TOO NARROW and by allowing the overflow of the 'Temple' parking to be on the street it CREATES A HAZZARD BECAUSE NO EMERGENCY VEHICLES WOULD BE ABLE TO DRIVE DOWN THE STREET. We really have to question what is behind the rapid development applications/approvals occurring under this administrator. It was a political appointment that was rushed upon Ipswich, when there were councils such as Logan, that have been under investigation for years and are still being investigated, and you have to wonder what the State Government is gaining out of this.

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