Regulatory and incentive mechanisms to implement Transit Oriented Development (TOD in South East Queensland)

The Queensland Government recently released a statutory planning document South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026 to manage the rapid growth of its south east region. One of the strategies identified in the document is to establish a number of transit-oriented developments(TODs) to create compact, walkable communities around high capacity public transport nodes.The objective of the paper is to examine a range of regulatory and incentive mechanisms to implement TODs in South East Queensland. While the present regional planning document focuses mainly on regulatory mechanisms such as the statutory regional plan and local planning schemes,there is also scope for consideration of incentive mechanisms to achieve its goals. The current challenge for many local governments is to integrate the principles of TOD into appropriate regulatory and incentive framework for implementation.The paper proposes two types of incentives– one aimed at the local community and the other at developers. The range of community incentives could include integration of community facilities,public spaces and promotion of local businesses as part of transit oriented development. Thereshould be a wider consultation/education campaign to highlight the need for TODs to the community. Likewise, a range of incentives could be offered to developers in the form of supportfor land assembly, streamlined development approval and relaxation of development control requirements. State and local governments have an important role to play in developing these incentives.For successful implementation of TODs in South East Queensland, there is a need for effective use of both land use planning instruments as well as travel demand management measures. Land use planning instruments should include regulatory provisions in the planning schemes for developing TOD precincts around major public transit nodes. Similarly, travel demand measures should include incentives for communities to make greater use public transport.