88-90 Hornibrook Esplanade & 20-24 Lane Street, Clontarf
City of Moreton Bay DA/2024/4397 was for 78 dwelling units in a 9-storey building fronting both Hornibrook Esplanade and Lane Street, Clontarf. All vehicular traffic was to enter and leave via a driveway to Lane Street, a local residential street. Lane Street is the only roadway available for vehicular access to the amalgamated property.
The building height planned is 36 m which was in excess of the area Height Overlay of 21 m.
In the Council General Meeting held 29-October-2025 there was much discussion facilitated by Cr Booth. In breach of Standing Orders, Cr Booth conducted the vote on the Motion and subsequently, after tallying the show of hands for/against he declared the Resolution LOST 6/5. In accordance with Council's Standing Orders, the Vote on the Motion should have been taken by the Chairperson.
Importantly, one of the NO votes tallied by Cr Booth was from Cr Hain who raised his arm to show he wanted to vote Against the Motion. However, there is a Standing Order (4.1.3) that states (emphasis added):-
The mover or seconder of a motion is taken to be in favour of the motion so moved, unless the motion is being moved or seconded for the purpose of debate.
In accordance with Standing Orders, Cr Hain's vote, as Seconder of the Motion, is to be taken as in favour of the motion, making the result PASSED 6/5.
Neither the video record (available below) nor the Minutes of the Meeting show any mention that the Motion might have been moved or seconded "for the purpose of debate".
A copy of the Council's Standing Orders can be viewed and downloaded below.
The Council, the third largest in Australia, has unwittingly approved the Development Application, but all went home that day under the impression that they had declined the DA. After the vote, the Admin staffers spent about 20 minutes in session developing the defense they might need at a Planning and Environmental Court appeal.
On 10-November-2025 a notice was sent to the Council CEO by one of our contributors (John Griffiths) alerting Council to the "stuff-up". A response from Council is pending.
The Meeting Procedures and Standing Orders PDF:
Link to view and download below.....
Here is a section from the Minutes of Meeting showing the recorded result of the Vote. Note that Cr Hain seconded the motion and then raised his hand during the tallying of votes to vote Against the motion. This is contrary to Standing Orders.
The Minutes of the Council Meeting on 29 October 2025 were subsequently Confirmed in a Motion at the 12 November 2025 council meeting.
Subsequent to the Refusal
After being notified of the Refusal, the Applicants for the Development permit, Doyen Town Planning, has lodged an appeal with the Planning and Environment court. See and download the Appeal Document below:-
The Council Vote Segment
Below is a video clip of the segment of the Council Vote tallying process undertaken for the application for a permit for DA/2024/4397.
Below is a 28 minute segment from the City of Moreton Bay Council Meeting 29-Oct-2025 that shows the Motion being Moved, Seconded, Discussed and Votes tallied.