RFI - Ecological Assessment Report

                                                                                Ecological Assessment Report




5.3.2 State Legislation

Vegetation Management Act 1999

The site is mapped as supporting regulated vegetation (Category B) under the RVM map, however
vegetation clearing associated with the development for a residential dwelling is exempt clearing under
the Planning Regulation 2017.

Planning Regulation 2017: Development in South East Queensland koala habitat areas,

The site is mapped in the Koala Priority Area (KPA) and does contains mapped Koala Habitat Area
(KHA ) (Koala Conservation Plan Map ; administered by DES , Figure 5, Appendix 3 ). The proposed
house footprint does not intrude into the mapped KHA , but the Bushfire APZ does . The proposed bushfire
APZ will require the removal of native vegetation from within this overlay , including mature koala habitat
trees . Removal of mapped native vegetation in such areas is prohibited in the KPA , unless complying
with an exemption in schedule 24 of the Planning Regulation 2017.

The definition of Exempted Development in Schedule 24 allows for the removal of vegetation for
bushfire management under item (n) as essential management:

(n) development that is or involves operational work that is the clearing of native vegetation in a koala
habitat area if the clearing—

        (vii) is necessary for essential management and is qualifying clearing;

Essential management means clearing native vegetation:

(a) for establishing or maintaining a necessary firebreak to protect infrastructure, other than a fence,
road or vehicular track, if the maximum width of the firebreak is equal to 1.5 times the height of the tallest
vegetation next to the infrastructure, or 20m, whichever is the wider.

The closest vegetation surrounding the development site is up to 30m high, and therefore a bushfire fire
break (APZ) up to 45m wide would be allowable under the definition of Exempted development. The
proposed bushfire APZ will be from 36.7m (East side of house) to 39.9m wide (south-west side of
house), which complies with the exemption. The APZ will consist of two zones, an inner protection area
(IPA) and an outer protection area (OPA). The IPA will be 15m metres wide and all vegetation will be
removed from this zone. The OPA will not involve the clearing of canopy trees, only understorey
vegetation. Within the mapped KHA, there will be around 570m2 of full vegetation removal in the IPA
and a further 1,900m2 of understorey vegetation clearing/management in the OPA.

The proposal is not assessable under State Code 25- Development in South-East Queensland koala
habitat areas.




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