Bushfire Hazard Assessment and Management Plan

                                                         Bushfire Hazard Assessment and Management Plan



            o   Plants must be arranged to minimise vertical and horizonal connectivity of plant
                material. Plants must be no closer than 10 metres from an exposed window or door.

            o   Mulches within any landscaped areas are to be non-combustible.


    •   Outer Protection Area (OPA): 15 – 36.7m/39.9m measured from the edge of the dwelling
        (Figure 8). This area is to be maintained in low/reduced fuel load state to deprive an advancing
        fire front of fuel continuity. The OPA is to be managed as follows:

            o   To minimise clearing of native canopy vegetation, removal of trees is not proposed
                within the OPA. However, removal of sub-canopy trees and understorey vegetation
                (shrub layer) is required to remove continuous and ladder fuels.

            o   Landscaping treatments within the OPA shall comprise low threat vegetation, including
                lawn/grassed areas managed in a minimal fuel condition (i.e. ≤ 100 mm nominal height
                as specified in AS3959:2018) and plant species that are of low combustibility (i.e.
                species with high leaf moisture content, low volatile oil content, absence of shedding
                bark, low production of leaf litter etc.). Plants should also be arranged to minimise
                vertical and horizonal connectivity of plant material.

            o   Flammable plants are not permitted (except for existing retained trees).

            o   Garden beds and shrubs are not to be located under trees.

            o   All trees are to have lower limbs removed up to a height of 2 metres above the ground.

            o   Mulches within any landscaped garden areas are to be of non-combustible materials
                (e.g. pebbles).

Regular maintenance of the APZ should be undertaken to remove fuels and debris, particularly prior to
and during the fire season (i.e. late Winter to early Summer). This must include regular vegetation
management and maintenance where necessary and practicable (e.g. grass slashing, weed removal
etc.) and removal of debris and rubbish.

4.6 Access Roads

Direct access shall be provided via a driveway along the eastern and northern boundary of the site to
Davis Road. This driveway is approximately 400m long and is currently unsealed, but will be sealed
with bitumen in the future. The driveway follows a ridgeline through the property and passes through
areas of intact, unmanaged forest. The existing driveway passes through a managed access corridor
of around 20m wide, where understorey fuel is managed via regular slashing but canopy trees are
retained.

This driveway will provide for the egress of dwelling occupants in the event of an approaching
bushfire, and the driveway is either flat or downhill the entire way out to Davis Rd. The driveway
surface is capable of supporting Rural Fire Service 4WD vehicles, but the longitudinal gradient of the
driveway exceeds 12.5% at two locations, which may cause issues for emergency services vehicle
access uphill to the dwelling. There is a short stretch of driveway close to the property entrance that
has a slope of around 13.5%, and another short stretch of driveway just below the dwelling site that
has a slope of around 16%. There are no alternative locations for the driveway on the property that
would have a lesser slope, so these driveway slopes cannot be avoided.




                                                   PR22116_BHAMP_178 Davis Rd, Cootharaba         Page 25