The protracted process of amending rules around rural tourist and visitor accommodation in Byron Shire are edging toward a conclusion, with councillors set to vote on the final set of changes to Council’s policy on Thursday.
Council resolved to review and amend Byron LEP 2014 and DCP 2014 for rural tourist and farm stay accommodation back in June 2019.
This was undertaken after an investigation found that the existing planning framework was resulting in development on rural land that was inconsistent with Council’s zone objectives.
Farm stay accom exempt
In June this year, Council resolved to adopt an amended planning proposal, including the introduction of a 20-hectare minimum lot size for rural tourist accommodation.
However, when the NSW Department of Planning requested this be reduced to 15 hectares, and that farm stay accommodation be excluded from the minimum lot requirement, density tables were reintroduced to ensure the intent of the planning proposal was maintained.
In accordance with these new rules regarding density of tourist accommodation, properties with 15-20ha can have a maximum of three buildings, each with a maximum of five bedrooms.
Properties with 20-25ha can have a maximum of four buildings, each with a maximum of six bedrooms.
The new rules in relation to farm stay accommodation state that properties which are 0-5 hectares in size can have maximum of one building with two bedrooms.
Properties with 5-10ha can have a maximum of two buildings, each with up to three bedrooms.
The full density tables, including the rules in relation to larger properties, can be viewed on Council’s website.
The latest changes will be voted on at this Thursday’s Council planning meeting, to be held in the chambers.
