2018-09-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   11 SEPTEMBER 2018




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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                           11 SEPTEMBER 2018

           POLICY GUIDELINE —- Conservation Land

           A landholder may approach Council with an offer to sell their land. The ELWG makes an
           assessment of whether the land meets the criteria under the mapping methodology. If so, an
           assessment is undertaken for:
           °     Verification of biodiversity values and condition
           °     Investigation of encumbrances including weed infestation, future road corridors or impacts
                 from climate change such as sea level rise
           °     Assessment of funding opportunities for revegetation if the property is partly cleared.
                 Examples include grants, environmental offsets or carbon offset programs
           °     Suitability for potential Nature Refuge dedication under the Nature Conservation Act 1992
           °     Value for money: A potential purchase must also be ‘value for money’ based on a current
                 land valuation
           The ELWG has recommended that land parcels in or adjacent to             ooloola-Noosa CPA be
           considered as the highest priority because of the potential t!         f development (including
           clearing for views) in the lower Noosa River catchment. Land         in this area are considered
           for ‘buy and hold’ under public protection and not recomme             elling. After purchase the
           land may be managed by Council as a bushland reserve          ed’ to       al Parks to add to the
           protected area estate.
           Land parcels that do not meet the mapping meth            may also be con       d on a case by
           case basis. For example, a smaller land parc         y have unique charact         that warrant
           conservation such as the last remaining populatio     threate      ecies.
           2) Land acquisition-Buy and on-sell (Revolving fund
           Similar to the land acquisition ‘buy and@old’ program         land parcels identified through the
           mapping methodology are suitable for a   BU   d on-sell pr   ition (also termed a revolving fund).
           Only the Cooloola Noosa CPA land pa          a    et suitable    esale through a revolving fund
           because they are identified as a priority        E      n and       commended for the highest
           level of protection through public ownership’
           Under the Environment                 land  (OF \     ereof),  “may be on-sold with conservation
           protection if there are    adverse    pacts to   thé environmental values of the land. The main
           mechanisms to do tk     e:
           °     On-sell entire [an@yparcel: Th€ land parcel i  rchased, dedicated as a Nature Refuge and
                 on-sold
           °     Bound       alignme        adjoining Ta     cels can undergo a boundary realignment, one
                 pan    sded      dasa       re Refuge and the balance parcel on-sold
           °         division: A la   arce     be subdivided for park purposes, one parcel is dedicated as a
                    ure Refuge and      balanéé  parcel on-sold
           A Revol¥      und Guideline‘ia@s been developed to implement a revolving fund.
           3) Volunta      anservation Agreements
           Private land co    wation      play an important role in re-connecting corridors between CPA's.
           Council may ente      3     greement with a private landholder to place conservation protection
           over their land (or pa     eof). A covenant or Nature Refuge is placed on title to protect land in
           perpetuity. Council may provide funds towards the costs of establishing the covenant or Nature
           Refuge and may also provide ongoing funding support to deliver an Environment Management
           Plan.
           Land parcels identified through the mapping methodology are suitable for the VCA program. In
           addition land parcels that occur in mapped biodiversity corridors may also be suitable for the VCA
           program.
           A Private Landholder Conservation Partnerships Guideline has been developed to implement the
           VCA program.

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