2017-08-08 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                   08 AUGUST 2017


The property owner has not undertaken any of these steps to progress the development.
Submission of the Survey Plan
The applicant maintains that:
      Our client’s commitment to extending the life of this approval has been demonstrated via the
      recent lodgement of the Survey Plan for the first stage of the development
Whilst it is acknowledged that a Survey Plan for the first stage of the development has been lodged
it is noted that the submission of this plan is in breach of Condition 1 of the approval which states:
      Unless otherwise stated, all works required by the conditions of this Decision Notice as
      relevant to each particular stage must be completed prior to submission of the subdivision
      plan to Council for compliance assessment for the particular stage.
Furthermore, no Operational Works application has been lodged and no works have been
undertaken as required under the original approval.
5.    CONSULTATION
IDAS Referral Agencies
Initial application
Department of Natural Resources & Water (DNR&W)
The initial application was referred to the Department of Natural Resources & Water (DNR&W)
as a concurrence agency due to the site containing mapped vegetation and a wetland regional
ecosystem. DNR&W finalised their assessment on 27 June 2008 and directed Council to refuse
the application. The applicant subsequently suspended the decision period to make
representations to DNR&W and when this period expired requested that Council not decide the
application for an extended period.
DNR&W did not revise their decision and directed Council to refuse the application as:
  The proposed lot boundaries are located in an area of remnant endangered regional
    ecosystem and remnant of concern regional ecosystem and will result in fragmentation of
    these areas;
  Assessable vegetation to be cleared will reduce the water quality of the natural wetland as
    there will be an increase in the amount of pollution and nutrients entering the wetland from
    the effluent disposal systems and the runoff from buildings and roads that will be established
    in the area mapped as a wetland regional ecosystem;
  The area of aquatic and terrestrial habitat will be reduced on the site;
    Clearing of assessable vegetation in proximity to a watercourse is likely to be undertaken to
      define the boundary between lot 81 and park and will reduce the area of aquatic and
      terrestrial habitat on the site;
    Several of the large areas of remnant vegetation are fragmented by lot boundaries and
      clearing for fences may fragment the connectivity of this vegetation and increase the area
      subject to weed invasion;
    The proposal does not maintain the current extent of endangered regional ecosystem and
      remnant of concern regional ecosystem due to likely clearing for fencing of lot boundaries
      and would change the structure of the ecosystem; and
    An area of approximately 2 hectares identified as essential habitat is proposed to be cleared
      for buildings and allotment boundaries. A large amount of fill will be required to raise the
      level of this area so it no longer gets inundated.
During the appeal process the permit applicant amended the proposed layout which resulted in
reduction in lot yield from 81 lots to 52 lots and a park. DNR&W did not object to the new layout
and provided conditions. The conditions were to ensure that:


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