2022-11-14 GC Agenda - Item 3 - Attachment 1 - Draft Eastern Beaches Foreshore Management Plan

Private yard extensions into public land
As part of private yard extensions into public land, native vegetation is cleared and many are
planted with garden plants. Some yard extensions extend over 40 metres into the public bushland.
In some places, initial Council investigations indicate that yard extensions are very common - over
90% of the residential neighbours sharing a boundary with EBFRs have a private yard extension
into public land.

Replacing community bushland with a private garden is prohibited under Local Law No. 4, spreads
weeds and blocks firefighting access. Reducing the functional width of often already narrow
vegetated foreshores reduces their ability to manage extreme weather, improve water quality,
reduce sediment and erosion and act as wildlife corridors and habitat.

Vegetation damage for views
Vegetation damage for views includes pruning, cutting, breaking, pulling, poisoning and clearing
native vegetation – including trees, shrubs and ground covers - on the dune and foreshores for
views. It also affects foreshores without a shared residential boundary.

There are a few different types of clearing - all layers cleared to bare earth or mowed grass,
topping, killing or clearing the tallest vegetation where many of the largest trees are killed, or under
scrubbing, where the understory and midstory are removed.

Vegetation damage makes the remaining vegetation more vulnerable to weeds, wind and salt
damage, and degrades and fragments the bushland.

Council responses to tree safety issues in foreshore reserves near neighbour boundaries are
managed under the Noosa Council Tree Management on Public Land Policy, and under Local law
No.4 (Local Government Controlled Areas, Facilities, & Roads) 2015 elsewhere.

Private recreation areas
Private recreation areas are cleared areas away from the boundary, often on top of the dunes or
near the back of the beach and are generally accessible from private beach accesses and private
property rather than public accesses. Some of them are planted with garden plants, turfed or
furnished with tables and chairs. Many of the issues associated with vegetation damage and yard
extensions apply.

Garden plant escapees
Most environmental weeds start out as ornamental plants, and many garden plants easily spread
in bushland by seed, suckers and runners, or are deliberately planted in bushland.

Garden rubbish dumping
Dumping garden rubbish in community bushland can introduce weeds and replace diverse mixes
of native plants with infestations of just a few weeds. Rubbish dumps are an attractive ignition point
for arsonists, can cause a fire to flare and block emergency and management access.

Dogs and cats in dunes
Dogs in dunes can cause erosion on steep slopes and fragile front dunes and scare or attack
wildlife. Their droppings can discourage wildlife, spread disease and make working in the dunes
very unpleasant for our bush regenerators and Bushcare volunteers. Cats can scare and attack
wildlife and their droppings introduce and spread deadly diseases like toxoplasmosis to wildlife.




Eastern Beaches Foreshore Management Plan – Draft (V4 26.9.22 – for public consultation)        Page 27