2014-03-25 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda Pages 81-167

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  25 MARCH 2014


Critically, the report highlighted that the send site lots are outside the Urban Footprint under the
SEQ Regional Plan, are zoned either Open Space Conservation or Rural and have minimal
existing development rights. Thus, the send site was not considered at risk of development or
significant impacts on koala habitat values, such as from vegetation loss and fragmentation.

Sunshine Coast Council resolved to advise the Department that it did not support the proposed
Biodiversity Development Offset Area, as it was likely to lead to a development outcome that
would not provide a net benefit to koala conservation values in the area. The following reasons
were given:

    The ‘send’ sites have significant protection of their current habitat values through zonings
     under The Noosa Plan 2006 and the protection of existing significant vegetation under the
     Vegetation Management Act.
    The ‘send’ sites currently have minimal development entitlements.
    There is only limited potential to approve development entitlements over the ‘receive’ sites
     due to their existing or potential habitat values for koalas.

The Department subsequently advised the Sunshine Coast Council that the Minister gave in-
principle support for the BDOA declaration on 12 December 2011, subject to the negotiation of
an infrastructure agreement with the applicant. An infrastructure agreement was executed
between the State and the applicant on 20 January 2012. The agreement requires the applicant
to lodge a development application over the receive site within 12 months of the BDOA
declaration and for the send site to be transferred to the State for inclusion into the Noosa
National Park following the issue of a development approval over the receive site. The BDOA
declaration was gazetted on 3 February 2012.

Correspondence from the State did not indicate how it assessed the BDOA application or
considered the proposal would be of net benefit to koala conservation values. Notably the
applicant made undertakings to the State during the BDOA assessment that the development
would meet Table 7 of the SEQ Koala Conservation State Planning Regulatory Provisions (which
prohibits clearing of non-juvenile koala habitat trees) but the development application does not
meet those provisions.
Sunshine Coast Council’s position on the BDOA was raised with the applicant during the current
application process. The applicant responded:

Council should note that the BDOA is not a process which should be assessed as part of a
Preliminary Approval for a Material Change of Use. It was a separate application which was
gazetted on 20 January 2012. Notwithstanding this, a summary of DLGP’s reasoning for
gazetting the Noosa on Weyba BDOA Infrastructure Agreement has been provided as follows to
demonstrate the benefits of the project.

While it is acknowledged that in preparing the Noosa on Weyba BDOA Infrastructure Agreement,
EHP (formerly DERM) and SCRC did not provide their support, DLGP were of the opinion that
the BDOA Agreement would result in a significant net benefit for koala conservation in Noosaville
and South East Queensland for the following reasons amongst others:

    The proposed BDOA ‘Send’ site is located in Noosaville location adjacent to Lake Weyba
     and the Noosa National Park. The send site constitutes a significant adjunct to the Noosa
     National Park to the north and together with an existing vegetation corridor to the south in
     the receive site provides a major potential link between heavily vegetated SCRC owned
     land to the south (i.e. as a nature refuge) and the national park.




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