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

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                    25 MARCH 2014


Based on the information supplied there are no sound grounds to accept reduced buffer widths
for this development proposed on the shores of the internationally recognised Noosa River
Wetlands. Substantially wider precautionary buffer widths than proposed are considered
necessary to provide for ambulatory boundaries, rising water levels due to climate change,
increased competition for resources, provide contingency for unintended consequences of
development to better protect sensitive receiving environs and maintain the natural visual
amenity of Lake Weyba.

Native Frog Habitat

Core and seasonal habitat of native acid frogs will be destroyed within development precincts
one and two. This will occur due to the excavation and re-profiling of the existing drainage line
(Keyser Creek) and the filling of the flood plain west of this drainage line. The downstream frog
habitats associated with Keyser Creek will also be impacted during major rainfall events (events
beyond the capacity of standard erosion control design/fences) initially with silt runoff associated
with bulk earthworks and then the on-going earthworks associated with residential construction.

Urban development results in on-going downstream impacts associated with runoff, elevated
nutrients, herbicides, pesticides and other pollutants, all of which have major impacts on native
frogs and result in the dominance of some species (those adapted to urban environments) over
the more specialized species of wallum acid frogs.

The site is known to contain suitable frog habitat and the applicant was requested to survey for
threatened frog species within the site. The survey effort was limited to sub-optimal times for
identification of cryptic species through call-back survey. No records of frogs have been supplied
with any application material. The lack of scientific rigor associated with the survey effort and lack
of data to enable peer review creates significant uncertainty as to the extent of frog habitat, frog
species and response measures necessary to ensure viable future populations.

The alteration of natural drainage systems in Precinct 2 will drastically alter local frog habitat and
the urbanisation of the catchment will lead to inevitable changes to water /soil chemistry. The
uniqueness of acid frog habitat and changes to their natural acidic environs has led to their
decline in numbers to such an extent their existence is classified as “threatened”. The absence of
information does not allow the imposition of reasonable and relevant conditions and the
precautionary approach should otherwise prevail.

Watercourses and Wetlands

The extent of bulk earthworks to modify the landform to accommodate the development does not
appropriately account for the habitat requirements of acid frogs, in-stream aquatic fauna, and
downstream impacts on receiving waters such as Keyser Creek and Lake Weyba.

There is a real and significant threat that Lake Weyba and Keyser Creek will be contaminated
with sediment after significant rain events due to the extensive earthworks. The risk of
contamination comes from the exposure of large areas of land by stripping topsoil and
vegetation, stock piling and re-profiling extensive tracts of land. The duration these works are left
exposed will depend on the staging, weather and opportunity costs associated with the
management of the project. The extent of earthworks proposed to overcome the natural features
of the land to make it suitable for urban development is a good indication the land is unsuited to
the proposed use.

The proposed works and the lack of scientific rigor associated with fauna sampling do not provide
clarity regarding the impacts of the works and use within this sensitive receiving environment.




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