January 2023
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Below is the response the community received from the CEO to our campaign to suspend the local law
We were not happy with the response, so we emailed the CEO again. Her response is below.
In response to our campaign, SCC added the local law to the February Ordinary Meeting. The discussion starts at 4.09. Read the minutes from the meeting about the local law.
A mother with two boys with special needs moved onto the property.
Sunshine Coast Council issued another Show Cause indicating they had received seven complaints about the number of persons/households living in either tiny homes, caravans, a bus, other vehicles or camping sites on the subject premises owned by you for either short-term or long-term occupation.
Investigation reveals that there are five campsites on the premises to date, comprising a bus, two tiny homes, a caravan, and other vehicle campsites.
Under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 Jacqueline is operating a Relocatable Home Park and/or Short-term Accommodation or alternatively is an Undefined use, all of which require impact assessment for a Material change of use. Plus t
There is no record of any local law authorising temporary accommodation.
There were never any campers on the property.
Angela participated in a SBS The Feed short video and Sunshine Coast News did a story.
We hold our first community event. We now have the attention of the Council our desire to explore how we accommodate caravans, buses and tiny homes on wheels (THOWs), and community living in the Town Planning Scheme. This event brought together those wishing to live permanently in tiny/micro dwellings, land owners who want to create community living and the general public who would like to see a change in how we live.
Jacqueline submitted a Harassment Complaint to SCC, which was internally investigated by the Integrity Management Team.
Neighbours weaponise the local petition process to have the tiny homes on wheels evicted. The petition was presented and accepted at the May Ordinary Meeting. Starts at 2.43. In response the community started it’s own petition to SCC:
We, the undersigned, respectfully petition Sunshine Coast Council to:
• During this housing crisis, cease threatening and evicting people off private land when they are living in caravans, buses and tiny houses.
• Recognise in the new town plan that caravans, buses, tiny homes on wheels are permanent choices of accommodation so that people can live with certainty and security.
• Allow rural landowners to have several small homes on their properties, so they can not only be part of the solution to the housing crisis and provide a safe place for people to live.
These petitions were old school, printed, signed and sent into SCC to be tabled at the monthly ordinary meetings. We had over 1000 signatures. Sunshine Coast News did a story on our petition.
We also started a Queensland petition which 5373 Queenslanders electronically signed:
Queensland residents draws to the attention of the House that we are living in a housing crisis, yet people living in caravans, buses and caravans are being evicted off private property during a housing crisis.
These housing types are currently classed as ‘temporary’ accommodation by local councils across Queensland and managed with a local law that limits the time people can live in them.
For many Queenslanders, these types of housing are the only affordable form of housing they will ever have, yet they cannot live in them permanently.
Many Queensland residents also wish to host these housing types but are not allowed under local councils' town plans.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to:
1. Recognise that buses, tiny homes on wheels and caravans as permanent housing choices so residents can live in them permanently and not on a temporary basis.
2. Do everything in its power to cause a change in local town plans across Queensland to allow rural landowners to host several tiny housing types including caravans, buses and tiny homes on wheels on their private land.
We also received some great media coverage. A Current Affair, Sunshine Coast News, News.com.au, Glasshouse & Maleny Country and a podcast to share our story. We even made the international news with a story on The US Sun.
SCC July Ordinary Meeting tabled their Homelessness and Housing Action Plan. The gallery was overflowing with community showing their interest in housing. No community engagement was undertaken during the preparation of the Housing and Homeless Action Plan 2023, but council officers point to community consultation undertaken during the preparation of council’s regional strategies and corporate plan. There was applause, heckling and laughter at some of the proposals and statements put forward by council, with the mayor having to tell the crowd they had no time to answer their questions.
A letter from SCC indicated that “an application for a permit under Council’s Local Law No1 and the associated Subordinate Local Law to authorise the establishment of one temporary home on your property could not be considered by Council, because the application would need to be accompanied by an approval for development that, as mentioned above, is prohibited and unlawful.”
One of the tiny homes on wheels could not apply for a permit to live in their tiny home.
We received a response from the State Government from our petition.
What was becoming clear is that State Government inferred that Local Council has the authority to manage homes on wheels; while Council indicated that it was up to state. They were handballing the issue and we were piggy in the middle.
Sunshine Coast Council issues another Show Cause Notice, the same as the May Show Cause notice.
At this point in time, there were only two tiny homes on wheels and one caravan on the property.