Angry community members and tenants from the neighbourhood surrounding the Kurilpa commons at 250 Boundary Street have stormed the Brisbane offices of McNab, the latest developer to threaten their beloved common farm.
About 30 farmers from the commons, neighbours, and local tenants entered McNab’s second floor office, walking through cubicles and reading testimonials in defence of the commons to office staff, before scattering the pages all over the office and marching out.
The testimonials were submitted by hundreds of local residents surrounding the commons who oppose its destruction and the destruction of the Riviera building next door, which would evict its tenants into homelessness.
McNab proposes to use an old DA approval controversially acquired by Bluebird in suspicious circumstances in 2021 https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/queensland/gardeners-dirty-after-development-receives-hundreds-of-submissions-from-same-ip-addresses/news-story/55d7e314c25d3669fcd30f948f0aaa1d
McNab has applied for a “minor change application” to this DA which is currently being considered.
The “minor” changes?
– Growing the building footprint by 15%—213 square metres!
– Deepening the basement (on a flood plain!), which lowers the level of the apartments under the habitable zone, thereby putting them at risk of flood.
– Increasing the number of parking spaces from 19 to 22—that’s 22 parking spaces for just 8 apartments.
– Dramatically decreasing the setback on the western side on all levels of the building—i.e., building even closer to the boundaries than the previous application.
– Removing rehabilitation planting which was necessary condition for approval of the previous DA—this alone should make the minor change application non-compliant.
The Kurilpa Commoners are ready to fight this development every step of the way. Mass neighbourhood meetings are being held weekly at the commons, where locals have unanimously endorsed combative action over the coming months to save the Kurilpa commons and defend the Riviera building and its tenants, including pickets, rallies, and eviction defences if necessary.
The next public action will be a rally on Saturday the 14th of September at 1pm, starting in Bunyapa Park: https://www.facebook.com/share/NJDcoyfZGk63jzBW/
For more context and information, check the Growing Forward facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=509639968111029&set=a.196831552725207
