In 2008 a consortium of five developers sought the rezoning of of prime agricultural land in order to build an additional 7,700 new homes which would increase the population of Mount Barker from 10,258 to around 35,000 . The land included rezoned to light industry in order to provide jobs for the new population . The plan was rejected by the Mount Barker Council as it had just completed a 15-year development plan for the area that would retain the town 's " rural character " and it could not afford the required infrastructure , a decision supported by a survey indicating that the rezoning was opposed by 98 % of residents . In April 2009 , the developers approached Paul Holloway , the State Planning Minister , to override the council decision , arguing that the land had " no outstanding attributes except for its suitability for urban development . " In May 2009 the Minister announced that his office would go ahead and bypass the council . The following month Mark Parnell , the SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council made a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1991 for copies of documents passed between the developers and State Government . The State Government in December 2010 approved the rezoning and development and construction began without the usual council infrastructure however , the state Government agreed to a $ 550 million infrastructure support package . The rezoning also included amending the area 's bushfire risk level from high risk to only a general risk . The council expressed concern that the reduction of the threat level would lead to a reduction of building standards compared to those standards required for homes in high risk areas and pointed out that the previous year , Victoria 's Black Saturday bushfires Royal Commission had recommended that there should be less building in bushfire-prone areas
Black Saturday bushfires
Black Saturday bushfires
Mount Barker, South Australia