2017-04-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   11 APRIL 2017




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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                            11 APRIL 2017

                                                                                          Attachment 1

       Climate Change Adaptation Plan                                                                           D>
       Community Engagement and Communications Plan

     Project Name               Climate Change Adaptation Plan
    Date                        1 March 2017
     Department                                               Branch            Strategic Land Use Planning
     Contact                    Grant Hinner — Program Coordinator Climate Change Adaptation (+617 5329 6432)
                          1 March 2017                              Target finish date  30 December 2018
     Project Description
     To help the Noosa Shire region adapt to and mitigate the likely effects of climate change over time, Noosa Council
     is responding to potential climate change risks by undertaking a two year project to develop a Climate Change Adaptation
     Plan (CCAP) in order to build adaptive capacity within Council and across the community. The project is being partly funded
     under the Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection’s QCoast2100 coastal hazard adaptation initiative,
     which is being administered by the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ).

     Design - Project background
     An important part of being a liveable community is ensuring the safety of people, property and the environment from natural
     hazard risks. Existing and future natural hazards, including impacts of future climate change, present a number of challenges
     and threats to Noosa Shire. The significance of these threats will be amplified by the region’s coastal location, development
     pressures, settlement pattern and significant and vulnerable coastal environments and biodiversity.

     Although the likely climate change-related impacts are not projected to occur for some time, it is critical Council ensures that
     it takes proactive and informed action regarding climate change and disaster management to improve its own and the
     community’s preparedness, as well as to help ensure Noosa’s natural values are resilient in the face of environmental
     change.
     Risks of not proceeding with this project include:
        e   Council and the community may be subject to increased levels of risk to key assets (public and private) and human
            health.
        e   Future planning schemes will not be reliably informed as to the likely impacts of climate change on future land use
            and development considerations and constraints;
        e   Reputational risks may be incurred as a result of not maintaining alignment with Council's Sustainability Principles;
        e   Damage to- or loss of valuable ecosystems and ecological processes may occur;
        e   Damage to key infrastructure or the broader Noosa economy could result in significant financial impacts; and,
        e   Legal action undertaken could be undertaken against Council in response to real or perceived financial losses.

     Design - Understand context & scope project :
     Context
     Political
        e   Given the reach within the community and various interest groups, the Climate Change Adaptation Plan will be of
            considerable interest and it is important to keep the community engaged throughout the project.
     Economic
        e   Adaptation responses may involve significant capital expenditure and therefore require long term financial planning
        e   Economic impacts on Noosa’s local economy and tourism industry as a result of climate risks will be an important
            consideration

     Social
        e   Impacts to private property and community assets will be an important consideration for the project

     Technological
        e   New methods of communicating using innovative digital technology will be employed.

     Legal
        e   The project is funded under grant funding agreement between LGAQ and Council.

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