Brisbane City Council hopes the move will create up to 6000 new homes by 2032.

Council on Tuesday voted to adopt a final plan into low-to-medium residential (LMR) zones, which covers about 14 per cent of the city.

Affected suburbs either partially or fully located in LMR zones include Morningside, St Lucia, Moorooka, Zillmere, Fitzgibbon, Bulimba, Indooroopilly, Nundah, Northgate, Clayfield, Hamilton, Ascot, Hawthorne, Coorparoo, East Brisbane, Stones Corner, Carina, Taringa, Toowong, Highgate Hill and Wynnum.

The LMR changes were supported 25 votes to one, with only independent councillor Nicole Johnston opposing it, amid concerns the plan would boost the profits of developers.

The changes will allow building heights to increase from two to three, to three storeys and up to four storeys in well-located sites near frequent public transport or shops.

They also allow the minimum block sizes to reduce from 260 sqm to 120 sqm — smaller than a tennis court — while development assessment processes will be simplified, to encourage the development of more apartments, duplexes, villas, terraces, and townhouses.

Average block sizes in the affected suburbs have traditionally ranged from 300 sqm to over 600 sqm.

Low-density residential properties will now also be able to be subdivided into 300 sqm lots if they are located within 300 metres walking distance of a shopping centre.

“This is all about supporting more homes in the right places and particularly in well-serviced middle-range suburbs where there’s an opportunity not necessarily for high-rise buildings but for villas and townhouses and low-scale unit developments,” Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said.

“It’s important that we don’t just have the housing needs of the city met in one particular zone but we have opportunities in all zones.”

Under previous rules, the construction of new units in low-medium density residential areas declined significantly, from an average of around 1100 homes annually to just 445 by the end of 2023.

Council Opposition Deputy Leader Cr Lucy Collier, who voted for the plan, said there were concerns infrastructure was not keeping up with increasing density in the suburbs.

“We all support sensible density — townhouses, apartments, different housing types and a mix of those that give people choices at different stages of their lives,” she said.

“Public transport, safer footpaths, safer local intersections, parks, playgrounds, sports clubs — these things can’t just be an afterthought.

“If we are going to ask these same communities to accommodate substantially more growth, then this council has an obligation to plan for what comes with it.”