2021-10-08 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                                         8 OCTOBER 2021


         been identified as a critical priority for Council and the community in helping to build coastal
         resilience and manage erosion risks.
        More monitoring – more emphasis has been added in relation to the need to monitor changes
         over time. This includes enhancing our program of monitoring and data collection to inform
         future adaptation responses in partnership with the State Government, research agencies,
         CSIRO, the University of Sunshine Coast and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) where
         possible.
        Clarity on Planning Scheme – One of the misconceptions with the draft CHAP is that it impacts
         on private use rights. It does not. Only changes to the Council planning scheme could do this.
         The draft CHAP does however make clearer that the Council will take a ‘stepped’ monitor-
         manage-review approach to help inform appropriate land use planning responses. It
         recognises that the Council will need to amend the Noosa Plan 2020 to ensure it aligns with
         State Planning Policy requirements regarding coastal erosion risks. This latter issue is a
         requirement mandated by the State.

    Community comment                                        Proposed response
    General – CHAP approach
    Many current Noosa residents did not live here           The CHAP takes a measured approach to
    throughout the 70's when a couple of cyclones            managing risks progressively over time as coastal
    affected Noosa. Building in vulnerable areas needs       hazards increase and new information is available.
    to consider extreme weather events and climate           It acknowledges the need for early planning and a
    change and take account of information being             clear monitor-and-manage approach to ensure that
    provided by scientists regarding rising sea level        suitable management responses are taking at the
    rise.                                                    appropriate points.
    Over the last 40-50 years of coming to Noosa, there      The CHAP seeks to ensure that Council and the
    has been erosion of Noosa’s beaches and flooding         community are well informed of potential risks of
    in Noosaville from time to time. You just need to        coastal erosion, tidal inundation and sea level rise,
    look at the old photos at the Surf Club to know how      as well as the necessary steps to manage these
    the beach eroded in the past. These rare events will     risks.
    continue to occur, and the Noosa Council must            This will guide council decisions around
    learn as much as possible from history to try and        infrastructure planning and design, environmental
    mitigate their effects. The models into the future are   management, and development requirements, as
    less relevant than what historical data tells us and     well as help the community with making informed
    the model’s validity should be treated with caution.     building and investment decisions.
    Rate payers in the future should not be burdened
    with clean-up costs associated with neglect of the
    warnings in place now.                                   The following proposed changes to the CHAP
                                                             have been made:
    CHAP needs to take a moderate and “stepped
    approach” in determining what assumptions and            - The CHAP has been made clearer to show the
    responses are adopted at different time periods            interrelationships between the various adaptation
    rather than focusing on worst case scenarios.              responses and their staged implementation over
                                                               time. This helps take account of uncertainties,
    The CHAP needs to take an iterative adaption               highlights key steps and provides for the
    approach that evolves over time and takes                  consideration of any new information.
    advantage of increased information and
    technological advancements – as reflected in the         - Pathway diagrams for each locality have been
    intent of the Q2100 program, which makes it clear          added to show the various adaptation responses,
    that not everything has to be done in one hit.             linkages and their sequence of delivery.
    CHAP spends too much time talking about the
    development of the plan, and does not provide            Refer to Sections 5 of CHAP for changes and new
    enough specific detail on adaptation plans and           diagrams.
    actions proposed.
    As someone who knowingly bought a property
    within the hazard area, I don’t expect Council to be
    taking responsibility for my potential loss, by
    spending too much money on mitigation works.


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