2021-11-15 GC Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 2 - Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan with tracked changes

        Community Engagement
Engaging with the Noosa community and other stakeholders has formed an important part of the
development of this plan. This engagement has provided for a two-way shared understanding of
the risks Council and the community face from coastal hazards, and has helped to create a plan
that reflects a vision for Noosa shared by many.

Several rounds of stakeholder engagement were carried out during the course of this plan’s
development with members of the public, industry experts, State government representatives, and
specialists within Council. Identifying coastal values, coastal hazard risks and adaptation options
were topics of focus for this consultation process, with feedback yielding valuable insights into
Noosa’s most valued assets and preferred adaptation options. These activities included multiple
online and in-person surveys, pop-up events, static displays, workshops, and meetings with groups
of stakeholders with a range of special interests.

An important aspect of this CHAP has been working with members of the community to understand
the values, wants and needs of Noosa Shire residents, business owners and other stakeholders.
Knowing that adaptation decisions haveresponses must recognise the potential to be politically
sensitivediversity of values and objectives amongst community members, this process has
required complex stakeholder engagement in order to build upon existing knowledge within the
community regarding coastal hazards, andas well as to ensure community stakeholders are
meaningfully involved in the planning process.

These actions were critical to identifying the locations and assets the local community deems to be
of most importance and why, as well as the extent to which the community is able to tolerate
damage or other impairments to these due to coastal hazards. These perspectives were vital in
appropriately determining the risks and areas of most concern, as well as for assessing adaptation
options.

The most prominent messages from the Noosa community received during the plan’s development
have been:

    Natural and scenic amenity assets are considered to have the highest intrinsic value to the
     community.
    Short -term disruptions to public access are tolerable, with a strong emphasis on restoring
     accessibility quickly and safely.
    There is a general acceptance that temporary interruptions are reasonably likely to occur
     and that these are forecast to increase/worsen, but there is a low tolerance for more
     permanent impacts.
    There is a strong preference for nature-based solutions that fit with the look and feel of
     Noosa, and that minimize impacts to natural environments.
    There is a preference for protection and active on-ground management of local beaches,
     dunes, habitats and waterways to help build coastal resilience and manage erosion risks.
    There is a need for scientific monitoring that provides for local area locally-specific data to
     inform future adaptation responses.
    The CHAP needs to take a flexible pathways approach that is staged, evolves over time,
     and takes advantage of new information and technological advancements.
    The CHAP should make clear the relationship with the planning scheme, and not direct
     planning scheme changes that adversely affect private property or conflict with the State
     Planning Policy for coastal hazards.




Noosa Council – Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan                                              Page 17