2015-01-12 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                               12 January 2015


6                        ENVIRONMENT LEVY POLICY
OCUMENT IN FOR MATI ON




Author                              Principal Environment Officer, Peter Milne
                                    Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index                               ECM\Subject\Environment Levy

Attachments                         1.    Environment Levy Policy


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Principal Environment Officer to the General Committee
Meeting dated 12 January 2015 and
A.                       Adopt the Noosa Environment Levy Policy as set out in Attachment 1;
B.                       Endorse the development of an Environment Levy Guideline to guide the implementation of
                         the Environment Levy Policy;
C.                       Endorse the development of Strategic Biodiversity Corridor maps to assist with the
                         implementation of the Environmental Levy; and
D.                       Endorse the formation of an Environment Levy Working Group consisting of the Council
                         staff identified in the report and Councillor ______.



REPORT
Noosa Council imposes a levy of $60 per annum on all rateable land for the purpose of protecting
and enhancing Noosa’s environmental and biodiversity values. The Environment Levy Policy
(Attachment 1) defines the purpose, scope and primary outputs for the Environment Levy
program. The policy identifies three key programs to be funded by the levy:
•                        Acquisition of Environmentally Significant Land
•                        Support for Voluntary Conservation Agreements
•                        Contributions to the Noosa Biosphere Trust
It is further proposed that an Environment Levy Guideline be developed with the detail required to
support the implementation of the Environment Levy Policy.


1.                       Acquisition of Environmentally Significant Land

Since 1996, 31 parcels of land covering 1400ha, have been purchased with the Environment
Levy. The acquisition of environmentally significant land is part of a wider strategy for landscape
protection and preservation/enhancement of biodiversity in Noosa Shire. Strategic Biodiversity
Corridors are broad tracts of vegetated, cleared or partly cleared land, extending across the
Noosa landscape that consolidate or connect core habitat, and can occur across private and/or
public land. Having these identified corridors will provide a focus for land acquisition with
environment levy funds and provide a finite objective.




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