The Queensland government has drawn a line in the sand over housing densities, knocking back Sunshine Coast Council's attempt to downsize development in a booming beachside suburb.
The council had sought to change its planning scheme so a section along the Buddina beachfront would be zoned medium density, instead of high.
Council voted 5-4 in favour of the move that would have seen building heights restricted to 12 metres, instead of 21 metres.
Councillor Joe Natoli pushed for the change and received a letter from State Development Minister Steven Miles this week confirming it would not be allowed.
"To see the minister come back and virtually ignore the wishes of the people just makes me very disappointed for the community ... that we couldn't get democracy work in the way it was meant to be," Mr Natoli said.
The community group Friends of Buddina was also unhappy with the decision.
Group secretary Lesley Dimmock said Buddina beach was one of the most significant turtle nesting beaches on the whole of the Sunshine Coast, particularly for endangered loggerheads.
"The risks posed by artificial light at night to the dark beach nesting habitat multiply exponentially with high density, high-rise beachfront buildings," Ms Dimmock said.
"Buddina beach does not have the foreshore buffer like Bokarina.
"The community values its extraordinary environmental privilege of having an endangered species selecting nesting habitat along darkened sections of Buddina beach."
Ms Dimmock said the amendment had only applied to the four corners of the Buddina Urban Village, not the whole precinct.
She said the group was also concerned about loss of amenity and "redevelopment as a Gold Coast look-alike."
As low as you can go
In a letter to the council, Mr Miles said he was "not satisfied" the state's interests relating to housing supply had been "appropriately considered or integrated".
"I am acutely aware of the growth and development pressures faced by the council and the need for appropriate policy settings for new development in residential areas that carefully balances development, and design and amenity expectations of the local community," the minister wrote.
A spokesperson for the minister added that any change to reduce housing was "not viable" given the "housing challenges" across the Sunshine Coast and Queensland.
But Mr Natoli argued the change was only in a small area.
"It won't make any impact whatsoever in regards to the housing crisis that exists today ... maybe about 10 blocks of land that might be affected," he said.
Federal Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace accused the state government of trying to "jam" people in.
"I speak to people that live in and around Buddina ... they have made it clear they don't want to see wall to wall high-rises," Mr Wallace said.
"Unfortunately Steven Miles just seems to be riding roughshod over the will of the people of Buddina as well as their elected representatives.
"The state government wants to jam another 170,000 people into the Sunshine Coast by 2041 ... without investing in more infrastructure.
"Well, I'm sorry, that's just not going to work."
